Kpelle syllabary
Encyclopedia
The Kpelle
syllabary
was invented circa 1935 by Chief Gbili of Sanoyie, Liberia
. It was intended for writing the Kpelle language
, a member of the Mande
group of Niger-Congo languages spoken by about 490,000 people in Liberia and around 300,000 people in Guinea
.http://www.omniglot.com/writing/kpelle.htm
The syllabary consists of 88 graphemes and is written from left to right in horizontal rows. Many of the glyphs have more than one form.
It was used to some extent by speakers of Kpelle in Liberia and Guinea during the 1930s and early 1940s but never achieved popular acceptance.http://www.omniglot.com/writing/kpelle.htm
Today Kpelle is usually written with a version of the Latin alphabet.
Kpelle
The Kpelle people are located primarily in an area of central Liberia extending into Guinea. They speak the Kpelle language, which belongs to the Mande language family....
syllabary
Syllabary
A syllabary is a set of written symbols that represent syllables, which make up words. In a syllabary, there is no systematic similarity between the symbols which represent syllables with the same consonant or vowel...
was invented circa 1935 by Chief Gbili of Sanoyie, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. It was intended for writing the Kpelle language
Kpelle language
The Kpelle language is spoken by the Kpelle people and is part of the Mande family of languages. Guinean Kpelle [gkp] , spoken by half a million people, concentrated primarily, but not exclusively, in the forest regions of Guinea, whose capital, Nzérékoré, is the third largest city in Guinea and...
, a member of the Mande
Mande languages
The Mande languages are spoken in several countries in West Africa by the Mandé people and include Mandinka, Soninke, Bambara, Bissa, Dioula, Kagoro, Bozo, Mende, Susu, Yacouba, Vai, and Ligbi...
group of Niger-Congo languages spoken by about 490,000 people in Liberia and around 300,000 people in Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
.http://www.omniglot.com/writing/kpelle.htm
The syllabary consists of 88 graphemes and is written from left to right in horizontal rows. Many of the glyphs have more than one form.
It was used to some extent by speakers of Kpelle in Liberia and Guinea during the 1930s and early 1940s but never achieved popular acceptance.http://www.omniglot.com/writing/kpelle.htm
Today Kpelle is usually written with a version of the Latin alphabet.
External links
- http://www.omniglot.com/writing/kpelle.htm