 The word N'Ko written in the N'Ko alphabet N'Ko is both a script devised by Solomana Kante in 1949 as a writing system for the Mande languages of West Africa, and the name of the literary language itself written in the script. The word N'Ko means 'I say' in all Mande languages. Kante created N'Ko in response to what he felt were beliefs that Africans were a "cultureless people" since there was prior to this time no indigenous African writing system for his language. N'Ko came first into use in Kankan, Guinea, as a Maninka alphabet and disseminated from there into other Mande-speaking parts of West Africa. "N'Ko Alphabet Day" is April 14, relating to April 14, 1949, the date the script is believed to have been finalized. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words see here. ...
Phonetics (from the Greek word φωνή, phone meaning sound, voice) is the study of sounds and the human voice. ...
Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ...
This is a concise version of the International Phonetic Alphabet for English sounds. ...
The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
Western Africa (UN subregion) Maghreb West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. ...
Bambara, also known as Bamanankan in the language itself, is a language spoken in Mali by as many as six million people (including second language users). ...
The Mandinka language is a Mandé language spoken by some 1. ...
Maninka is a Niger-Congo; Mande language spoken by 3,300,000 (including all varieties) in Guinea and Mali where it is the official langauge and also in Liberia, Senegal, and Sierra Leone where it has no official status. ...
Dioula (Jula) is a language spoken in Burkina Faso and Côte dIvoire. ...
Current distribution of Human Language Families Most languages are known to belong to language families. ...
Map showing the distribution of Niger-Congo languages The Niger-Congo languages constitute one of the worlds major language families, and Africas largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. ...
Mandé is the name of an ethnic group or nation, as well as a group of languages which are spoken in several countries in West Africa, including Mandinka, Soninke, Bambara, Dioula, Kagoro, Bozo, Mendé, Yacouba, and Vai. ...
Mande (or Manding) is the name of a group of languages which are spoken in several countries in West Africa, including Mandinka and Bambara. ...
ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ...
ISO 639-2:1998 Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 2: Alpha-3 code Twenty-two of the languages have two three-letter codes: a code for bibliographic use (ISO 639-2/B) a code for terminological use (ISO 639-2/T). ...
ISO 639-3 is in process of development as an international standard for language codes. ...
For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words see here. ...
Phonetics (from the Greek word φωνή, phone meaning sound, voice) is the study of sounds and the human voice. ...
Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ...
This is a concise version of the International Phonetic Alphabet for English sounds. ...
The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ...
The word Nko written in the Nko alphabet. ...
Writing systems of the world today. ...
Soulemayne Kante or Solomana Kante (1922) is an African writer and inventor of the NKo writing system for the Mande languages of West Africa. ...
Mandé is the name of an ethnic group or nation, as well as a group of languages which are spoken in several countries in West Africa, including Mandinka, Soninke, Bambara, Dioula, Kagoro, Bozo, Mendé, Yacouba, and Vai. ...
Western Africa (UN subregion) Maghreb West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. ...
A literary language is a register of a language that is used in writing, and which often differs in lexicon and syntax from the language used in speech. ...
Kankan is a town on the River Milo in eastern Guinea. ...
Maninka is a Niger-Congo; Mande language spoken by 3,300,000 (including all varieties) in Guinea and Mali where it is the official langauge and also in Liberia, Senegal, and Sierra Leone where it has no official status. ...
April 14 is the 104th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (105th in leap years). ...
April 14 is the 104th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (105th in leap years). ...
1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ...
The script has a few similarities to the Arabic alphabet, notably its direction (right-to-left) and the connected letters. It obligatorily marks both tone and vowels. The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing Arabic and various other languages, together with various closely related scripts that typically differ in the presence or absence of a few letters. ...
The introduction of the alphabet led to a movement promoting literacy in the N'Ko alphabet among Mande speakers in both Anglophone and Francophone West Africa. N'Ko literacy was instrumental in shaping the Maninka cultural identity in Guinea, and has also strengthened the Mande identity in other parts of West Africa (Oyler 1994).
As of 2005, it is principally used in Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire (respectively by Maninka and Dyula-speakers), with an active user community in Mali (by Bambara-speakers). Publications include a translation of the Qur'an, a variety of textbooks on subjects such as physics and geography, poetic and philosophical works, descriptions of traditional medicine, a dictionary, and several local newspapers. The literary language used is intended as a koine blending elements of the principal Manding languages (which are mutually intelligible), but has a particularly strong Maninka flavour. 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Maninka is a Niger-Congo; Mande language spoken by 3,300,000 (including all varieties) in Guinea and Mali where it is the official langauge and also in Liberia, Senegal, and Sierra Leone where it has no official status. ...
Bambara, also known as Bamanankan in the language itself, is a language spoken in Mali by as many six million people. ...
Bambara, also known as Bamanankan in the language itself, is a language spoken in Mali by as many as six million people (including second language users). ...
The QurÄn [1] (Arabic: ‎ , literally the recitation; also called The Noble Quran; also transliterated as Quran, Koran, and Al-Quran), is the central religious text of Islam. ...
The first few hydrogen atom electron orbitals shown as cross-sections with color-coded probability density. ...
The literal meaning of the Greek word koine (κοινή) is common. It is used in several senses: Koiné Greek (Κοινή Ἑλληνική), a Greek dialect that developed from the Attic dialect (of Athens) and became the spoken language of Greece at the time of the Empire of Alexander the Great. ...
Mande (or Manding) is the name of a group of languages which are spoken in several countries in West Africa, including Mandinka and Bambara. ...
The Latin script with several extended characters (phonetic additions) is used for all Manding languages to one degree or another for historical reasons and because of its adoption for "official" transcriptions of the languages by various governments (perhaps as they felt it was advantageous to continue to use something similar to the alphabet of French and English). In some cases, such as with Bambara in Mali, promotion of literacy using this orthography has led to a fair degree of literacy in it. Arabic transcription is commonly used for Mandinka in Gambia and Senegal. Mande (or Manding) is the name of a group of languages which are spoken in several countries in West Africa, including Mandinka and Bambara. ...
Bambara, also known as Bamanankan in the language itself, is a language spoken in Mali by as many as six million people (including second language users). ...
The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing Arabic and various other languages, together with various closely related scripts that typically differ in the presence or absence of a few letters. ...
The Mandinka language is a Mandé language spoken by some 1. ...
Letters
Vowels Image File history File links NKo_Aw. ...
Image File history File links NKo_O.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter O Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_Uh. ...
Image File history File links NKo_Eh. ...
Image File history File links NKo_E.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter E Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_A.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter A Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_Ah. ...
Consonants | ra | da | cha | ja | ta | pa | ba |
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 | | ma | la | ka | fa | gba | sa | rra |
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 | | n' | | ya | wa | ha | na | nya |
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 | Image File history File links NKo_R.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter R Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_D.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter D Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_Ch. ...
Image File history File links NKo_J.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter J Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_T.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter T Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_P.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter P Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_B.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter B Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_M.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter M Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_L.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter L Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_K.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter K Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_F.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter F Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_Gb. ...
Image File history File links NKo_S.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter S Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_Rr. ...
Image File history File links NKo_Ng. ...
Image File history File links NKo_Y.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter Y Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_W.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter W Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_H.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter H Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_N.svg‎ NKo alphabet - letter N Personal work File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): NKo ...
Image File history File links NKo_Ny. ...
N'ko and computers With increasing access to information technology, ways to use N'ko on computers was a challenge. From the 1990s on, there were efforts to develop fonts and even web content by adapting other software and fonts. A pre-Windows word processor called "Koma Kuda" was developed by Prof. Baba Mamadi Diané from the University of Cairo.[citation needed] However the lack of intercompatibility inherent in such solutions was a block to further development.
UNESCO's Programme Initiative B@bel supported the preparation of a proposal to encode N'Ko in Unicode. In 2004, the proposal, presented by three professors of N'Ko (Baba Mamadi Diané, Mamady Doumbouya, and Karamo Kaba Jammeh) working with Michael Everson was approved for ballotting by the ISO working group WG2. In 2006 N'Ko was approved for Unicode 5.0. UNESCO logo UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is a specialized agency of the United Nations established in 1945. ...
Because of technical limitations, some web browsers may not display some special characters in this article. ...
Michael Everson Michael Everson (born January 9, 1963) is a self-styled expert in the writing systems of the world. ...
The literary language N'Ko is evolving as a standard language of several Manding or N'Ko languages. It is a literary language based on a "compromise dialect" which Mandens from different sub-groups use to talk to each other. They switch from their own dialect to a conventional dialect known as N'Ko. [2]. N'Ko is also known as Kangbe - the clear language. Mande (or Manding) is the name of a group of languages which are spoken in several countries in West Africa, including Mandinka and Bambara. ...
A literary language is a register of a language that is used in writing, and which often differs in lexicon and syntax from the language used in speech. ...
For example, the word for 'name' in Bamanan is toko and in Maninka it is toh. In written communications each will write it as tô in N’Ko, and yet read and pronounce it differently.
References - Dalby, David (1969) 'Further indigenous scripts of West Africa: Mandin, Wolof and Fula alphabets and Yoruba 'Holy' writing', African Language Studies, 10, pp. 161–181.
- Everson, Michael, Mamady Doumbouya, Mamadi Baba Diané, & Karamo Jammeh. 2004. Proposal to add the N’Ko script to the BMP of the UCS
- Oyler, Dianne White (1994) Mande identity through literacy, the N'ko writing system as an agent of cultural nationalism. Toronto : African Studies Association.
- Oyler, Dianne White (1997) 'The N'ko alphabet as a vehicle of indigenist historiography', History in Africa, 24, pp. 239–256.
- Singler, John Victor (1996) 'Scripts of West Africa', in Daniels, Peter T., & Bright, William (eds) The World's Writing Systems, New York, NY: Oxford University Press, Inc. pp. 593–598.
- Vydrine, Valentin F. (2001) 'Souleymane Kanté, un philosophe-innovateur traditionnaliste maninka vu à travers ses écrits en nko', Mande Studies, 3, pp. 99–131.
- Wyrod, Christopher (2003) 'The Light on the Horizon: N'ko Literacy and Formal Schooling in Guinea', MA Thesis, George Washington University. link to text
- B@bel and Script Encoding Initiative Supporting Linguistic Diversity in Cyberspace 12-11-2004 (UNESCO)
This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...
Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, the Gambia, and Mauritania, and it is the native language of the ethnic group of the Wolof people. ...
The Fula language is a language of West Africa, spoken by the Fula people from Senegal to Cameroon and Sudan. ...
Yoruba (native name ede Yorùbá, the Yoruba language) is a dialect continuum of West Africa with over 22 million speakers. ...
Michael Everson Michael Everson (born January 9, 1963) is a self-styled expert in the writing systems of the world. ...
External links
See also - commons:Category:N'Ko letters
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