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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:African writing in the new world
Author:Hau, Kathleen
Year:1978
Periodical:Bulletin de l'Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire, Série B: Sciences humaines
Volume:40
Issue:1
Pages:28-48
Language:English
Geographic terms:America
West Africa
Subject:writing systems
Abstract:This is the sixth and the concluding article of a series published in Bull. IFAN since 1959. The author discusses both the religious and the secular origin of the syllabaries in West African regions. They were used both for religious as well as commercial and administrative purposes. African slaves in Brazil preserved these writings in South America. The author has studied some remarkable rock-inscriptions of Brazil which consisted of about 60 signs. These signs show a mixture of letters from some South Semitic scripts. The different syllabaries were doubtless put together to express African languages. Hence the author concludes that, not only do the Negroes have writing systems, but they have survived slavery. Slavery has doubtless destroyed many African writing systems and those which remain are in fragments. Notes, fig., app., sum. (English, French).
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