SIL Software Catalog

SIL has developed more than 60 pieces of software to support the work of its fieldworkers; most available to the public for free download. This on-line catalog contains product descriptions, download or purchasing instructions, and technical support information, including the latest SIL software Service Bulletins.

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Bantu Literacy Tool (BLT) (Endorsed)

Current version: 1.2, released April 2010

The BLT makes primer-making simple. It produces a tentative teaching order for graphemes, by conducting two kinds of frequency counts for each grapheme (letter, digraph or consonant cluster to be taught). It makes story-writing with a controlled vocabulary (using only letters which have been taught in the texts which accompany each lesson) a much more pleasant, creative experience than before. The BLT software does a lot of tedious work which native authors and literacy specialists traditionally had to do themselves. Now, the author retains all his creativity but is given a list of usable words for each lesson. Each story he writes can then be checked by computer. The BLT searches the text and highlights any untaught element).

The BLT uses two primary resources for all of the work it does: wordlists, and texts. It uses both to find words and phrases which the writer and literacy specialist need in order to construct a primer. The whole process only takes about nine days to complete, including filling in a primer template with drills and most illustrations needed.