What if a word we add today becomes part of the digital heritage of the Kadazandusun language for generations to come?

On 9th September 2026, 70 students from 15 primary schools across Sabah gathered at Sekolah Kebangsaan Tengkurus in Kota Belud with a purpose that may seem simple, but carries great significance: to document Kadazandusun vocabulary in the digital world through Wiktionary.

This was SoKiD 2.0, short for Sompuruan Komi Boros Kadazandusun, or Kadazandusun Vocabulary Group.

From Vocabulary to the Digital World

Kadazandusun is one of the major languages spoken by communities in Sabah. However, like many heritage languages, its use among younger generations faces various challenges.

In schools, students may still have a limited command of basic vocabulary. Some may recognise a word but have difficulty understanding its meaning, context, or how to use it in a sentence. When vocabulary is limited, learning, writing, and communicating in one’s mother tongue can also become more challenging.

This is where SoKiD takes a different approach.

Rather than simply memorising words, students are encouraged to identify, understand, edit, and document Kadazandusun vocabulary themselves in the digital world through Wiktionary.

This approach is not entirely new. The SoKiD programme was first implemented at the Kota Belud district level in 2025 through the Kadazandusun Wiktionary Workshop. The positive response and feedback from that programme opened the door for it to continue and expand to the state level, bringing together 15 schools from various districts beyond Kota Belud.

What began as a school-based intervention is now showing potential as an approach that connects language, education, and technology.

One Workshop, 15 Schools, Thousands of Words

The SoKiD 2.0 workshop was organised by the Kota Belud District Education Office (PPD Kota Belud) in collaboration with Sekolah Kebangsaan Tengkurus, with the support of 10 Wikimedia Malaysia volunteers serving as facilitators.

Students came from 15 schools:

• SK Tengkurus, Kota Belud
• SK Torintidon, Kota Belud
• SK Melangkap, Kota Belud
• SK Lasau Podi, Kota Belud
• SK Timbang, Kota Belud
• SK Piasau, Kota Belud
• SK Dudar, Kota Belud
• SK Linongkuan, Tuaran
• SK St. John, Tuaran
• SK Kimondou, Ranau
• SK Kauluan, Ranau
• SK Dallas, Pitas
• SK Maringgan, Pitas
• SK Gana, Kota Marudu
• SK Barambangon, Kudat

Over the workshop of approximately two hours, the students did more than simply learn about Wiktionary. They became contributors to an open language resource.

The result?

2,849 new Kadazandusun–Malay words were added to Wiktionary.

In addition, 3,280 edits were made to improve and add example sentences to existing translation pages. On average, around 41 new words were contributed by each editor during the workshop.

These numbers may look like ordinary statistics. But behind every word is a student learning about their own language through Wiktionary. 

Students Are Not Just Learners, They Are Contributors

Among the top contributors was Lestley10 from SK Tengkurus, Kota Belud, who contributed 163 new words. This was followed by Hannah Evangeline Valerie Cornie Bryan from SK Kauluan, Ranau, with 131 new words, and Loevellyca from SK Lasau Podi, Kota Belud, with 102 new words.

Stories like these highlight something important: primary school students can also become part of the open knowledge movement when they are given the space, guidance, and trust to contribute.

In this context, Wiktionary is more than just a website for looking up word meanings. It becomes a learning space where students can see their language as something valuable enough to be documented, shared, and passed on.

SoKiD Is More Than Just a Name

There is something interesting about the name of the programme.

In Kadazandusun, “sokid” means “highland.”

Symbolically, the name reflects the programme’s aspiration to take the Kadazandusun language to greater heights, not only in the classroom, but also in the digital space.

Through Wikimedia, words that may once have been used only in family conversations or within local communities now have the opportunity to be discovered by anyone searching for, learning about, or simply wanting to understand the Kadazandusun language. Perhaps, one day, a student from outside Sabah will type a Kadazandusun word into a search engine and discover the work contributed by these students.

From SK Tengkurus to More Schools

The success of this workshop also brings hope that SoKiD can continue as an annual programme of the Kadazandusun Language Committee, particularly through collaboration with the Kota Belud District Education Office (PPD Kota Belud) and the Sabah State Education Department, with support and guidance from Wikimedia Malaysia.

Madam Lorendah, a Deputy Officer at PPD Kota Belud, also expressed support for this collaborative effort, while Mr Sisom bin Awang, Headmaster of SK Tengkurus, Kota Belud, expressed his willingness to assist other schools interested in implementing a similar programme.

For SK Tengkurus, this journey may have begun with a single workshop. But its goal extends far beyond a one-day programme.

It is about building an ecosystem where students learn the language, teachers provide guidance, communities contribute, and technology helps ensure that the language continues to exist in the digital world.

One Word at a Time

Language preservation does not always have to begin with a large project.

Sometimes, it begins with one word.

One word known by a student.
One word contributed to Wiktionary.
One word that can then be read by someone else.
And eventually, one more piece of a language that does not simply disappear.

SoKiD 2.0 demonstrates that when education and Wikimedia come together, students are not only users of knowledge but they can also become creators and custodians of knowledge.

From the 2,849 new words contributed in a single workshop, this may be the beginning of thousands more Kadazandusun words continuing to live in the digital world.

We, Malaysian Wikimedian strongly encourage and hope to see more programmes like this, bringing more contributors of ethnic languages into the movement and encouraging them to continue contributing and expanding ethnic-language content across Wikimedia projects, especially content from the Kadazandusun community.

One word at a time. One student at a time. One community towards the future.