The word list contains 181 words that are commonly used in the earth sciences, notably in the sub-disciplines of geology, mineralogy and geomorphology. They include words for the broad categories of minerals, rocks, land forms, earth processes, textures and the minerals industry. Each of the words includes translations to all eleven of South Africa’s spoken national languages. These translations were either compiled from existing words or were transliterated by language experts from Stellenbosch University’s Language Centre. The word list is the product of the work by a team from the Mineralogical Association of South Africa and funding for the project derived from the 36th International Geological Congress Legacy Fund.