GILLBT
TRIBUTE TO GILLBT FOUNDER DR JOHN BENDOR-SAMUEL
by
Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah
GILLBT Executive Director
Odupon Atutu(A mifghty Tree is Fallen), an Akan/Ashanti phrase announcing the death of kings, nobility and the great--was the only phrase I could think of after the phone conversation the evening of January 6 in which I was informed of the death of GILLBT Founder Dr John Bendor-Samuel.
In reflecting upon his life, and an appropriate tribute to him, this phrase provides the most relevant conceptual foundation upon which to do so. This is because, first,JBS devoted his academic training---an MA in History from Oxford University and a Phd in Linguistics from London University—to the study and development of African languages. Among numerous contributions, he edited The Niger-Congo Languages, a state of the art handbook covering two-thirds of the languages spoken in Sub-Sahara Africa. He served as the Editor of the Journal of West African Languages from 1982-94, and has since 1965 been a member of the Council of the West Africa Linguistic Society. It is only fitting, therefore, that I announce his death, and begin the tribute to him, in an African language!