| Intro | Guinean writer |
| Was |
Translator Writer |
| From | Guinea |
| Type | Literature |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 1922, Kankan, Guinea |
| Death |
23 November 1987, Conakry, Guinea (aged 65 years) |
Solomana Kanté (also written as Souleymane Kanté or Sulemaana Kantè; N’Ko: ߛߎ߬ߟߋ߬ߡߊ߬ߣߊ߬ ߞߊ߲ߕߍ߫, 1922 – November 23, 1987) was a Guinean writer and educator, best known as the inventor of the N’Ko alphabet for the Manding languages of Africa. The phrase “N’Ko” means “I say” in all Manding languages.
Kanté created N’Ko in 1949 after five years of experimentation with various writing systems. He acted in response to what he felt were beliefs that Africans were a “cultureless people”, as the continent of Africa is diverse, and since there was, prior to this time, no indigenous African writing system for his language. The script first came into use in Kankan, Guinea as a Maninka alphabet and was disseminated from there into other Manding-speaking parts of West Africa.
Sources
- Conrad, David C. (2001). “Reconstructing Oral Tradition: Souleymane Kanté’s Approach to Writing Mande History”. Mande Studies 3, 147–200.
- Kaba, Diaka Laye (1992). “Souleymane Kanté: l’inventeur de l’alphabet N’ko”. L’Educateur: Trimestriel Pédagogique des Enseignants de Guinée 11–12, 33
- Kanté, Bourama (1996). “Souvenir de Kanté Souleymane”. Somoya Sila: Journal Culturel de l’Association ICRA-N’KO 19.
- Kanté, Souleymane (1961). “Alphabet de la langue N’ko: ‘N’ko sebesun’.” In Méthode pratique d’écriture N’ko. Kankan, reprinted by Mamady Keita (1995), Siguiri.
- Vydrine, Valentin, ed. (2001). “Lettres de Souleymane Kanté et Maurice Houis”. Mande Studies 3, 133–146.