N'ko: Celebrating Unique West African Alphabet
N'ko: Celebrating Unique West African Alphabet
N'ko, meaning "I say" in all Manding languages, is celebrated on April 14 in several West African countries as a unique alphabet designed specifically for languages like Bambara, Malinke, and Susu.
Features of the N'ko Script:
🟢Origin: Created by Guinean scholar Souleymane Kanté in 1949 to address limitations of Arabic/Latin alphabets for Mandinka languages;
🟢Geographic Use: Primarily adopted in Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, and Cote d’Ivoire;
🟢Alphabet Structure: 27 letters (20 consonants, 7 vowels); 8 tone markers to accurately represent African language tones;
🟢Unique Traits: Right-to-left writing direction (like Arabic); designed specifically for Mandinka languages’ phonetic needs;
🟢Modern Education: Taught in universities across Africa and abroad, like Russia.
In 2006, UNESCO's B@bel initiative led to N'ko's inclusion in Unicode 5.0. This step enabled its use online and across various electronic devices, further promoting its accessibility and preservation.
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