Somali Vocab - Mousemat on BBC Radio Wales
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Vocab is a computer application developed by BBC Wales's New Media Department which enables users of BBC Cymru'r Byd - the most comprehensive of all Welsh language websites - to translate individual words into English simply by holding the cursor over them.

The application means that anyone from learners to fluent Welsh speakers who are confronted with an unfamiliar Welsh word can check its meaning instantly on the page without having to either use a paper dictionary or click out of the site and into a separate online dictionary.

BBC Cymru'r Byd - which provides everything from local, national and international news and sport to games and educational materials for children - has recorded its highest ever levels of traffic since Vocab was introduced last November.

The tool, which sits in an unobtrusive box at the side of the screen, received a warm welcome, not only in Wales but from users all over the world, and it became quickly apparent that the application could be adapted for other languages too.

So, as a first step, and as part of BBC Wales's community strategy in Butetown in Cardiff Bay, a Vocab service was launched to translate between English and the Somali language on BBC Wales's Where I Live website for South East Wales - click here to see it working.

The Vocab initiative coincided with the launch of two months of BBC Wales programmes and events - ranging from a concert of African music to the arrival of Doctor Who's TARDIS - to be staged in the Butetown area of Cardiff this summer.

The Vocab service is of use to people who are learning English, but also to those who want to improve their Somali. The translation was carried out by Mr Mohamed Dualeh, a member of Cardiff's Somali community.

It is estimated that there are around 15m Somali speakers in Africa and in other parts of the world. It is one of Africa's strongest languages, with speakers in Somalia, Somaliland - which broke away from Somalia in 1991 - in Djibouti, Kenya, and Ethiopia.

There are some 8,000 Somali people in Cardiff, where they form one of the oldest Muslim communities in Britain.

Their ancestors were originally drawn to Cardiff as seafarers at the end of the 19th century - shortly after the opening of the Suez Canal - to work in the thriving docks. The community was swelled further in the 1980s by people fleeing civil war in Somalia.

Since 1972, the Somali language has had an agreed written form, based on the Latin alphabet. The culture has a strong oral tradition, with a wealth of stories and traditional poems.

"Vocab was designed so that it can be used to translate words from any language into any other language," said Grahame Davies, executive producer of BBC Cymru'r Byd.

"As well as Somali, we are also investigating the possibility of developing versions for other languages used by minority communities in the UK as well as Gaelic and Irish versions for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

"We've also has interest from as far afield as Japan, the USA, Israel, the Netherlands and Belgium.

"Work is also progressing, in conjunction with the Welsh Language Board, to improve and extend the Welsh-language Vocab service," he added.

In addition, Vocab has also been used this spring to provide translations of musical terms on the BBC's Cardiff Singer of the World site.