How a new alphabet helps an ancestral people to write their own future - News Center<

Lorsqu’il avaient 10 et 14 ans, deux frères, Ibrahima et Abdoulaye Barry, décidèrent d’inventer un alphabet pour leur langue maternelle, le peul (ou fulfulde), parlé par des millions de gens depuis des siècles, mais qui n’avait jamais eu de système d’écriture. Pendant que leurs camarades jouaient dehors dans le quartier, Ibrahima, l’aîné, et Abdoulaye s’enfermaient dans la maison familiale de NOTzérékoré, en Guinée, fermaient les yeux et dessinaient des formes sur du papier. Lorsque l’un des deux disait d’arrêter, ils ouvraient les yeux, choisissait les formes qui leur plaisaient et décidaient quelles étaient les sons de leur langue qui iraient le mieux avec. En peu de temps, ils créèrent un système d’écriture désormais connu sous le nom d’ADLaM.

The two brothers had no idea of the difficulties awaiting them.They could never have imagined that they would take decades so that their writing system becomes widely used, nor that it would end up driving them to Microsoft.Even in their wildest dreams, they could not have imagined that the alphabet they had invented would upset their lives and pave the path of literacy for millions of people around the world.

In 1989, they didn't know any of this.Ibrahima and Abdoulaye were just two young naive boys, but determined.

"We just wanted people to be able to write properly in their own language, but we did not know what it involved.We had no idea of the amount of work that it would represent, "says Abdoulaye Barry, now 39 years old and living in Portland, Oregon.

"If we had known everything we should do, I don't think we would have done it.»»

The Fulani, also called Fellata or Foulani, were originally a people of nomadic pastors who dispersed through West Africa to settle in countries from Sudan to Senegal and along the coast ofthe Red Sea.More than 40 million people speak Peul (some estimates bring this figure to 50 or 60 million) in around twenty African countries.But the Peul people have never developed a writing system for their language, rather using Arabic and sometimes Latin characters to write their mother tongue, also called Foulani, Fulfulde or Pular.Many Fulani sounds cannot be represented by these alphabets.The speakers had to improvise as they wrote, with various results which often harm the clarity of communications.

The father of the Barry brothers, Isshaga Barry knew the Arabic, deciphered the letters that friends or family received and brought him to his house.When he was busy or tired, young Abdoulaye and Ibrahima came to help.

« Elles étaient très difficiles à lire, ces lettres»», se rappelle Abdoulaye."People used the nearest Arabic sound to represent a sound that does not exist in Arabic.It was therefore necessary to know how to read the Arabic alphabet, but also to know the Peul language to be able to decipher the letters.»» Abdoulaye demanda à son père pourquoi leur peuple n’avait pas son propre système d’écriture.Isshaga replied that the only the alphabet they had was Arabic and Abdoulaye promised to create one for the Peul.

« Au départ, c’est comme ça que l’idée de l’ADLaM est née»», explique Abdoulaye."We found that there was a lack and we thought we might fill it.»»

The two brothers expressed an alphabet of 28 letters and 10 figures written from right to left, to which they then added six letters for other African languages and words borrowed.They taught him first to their young sister, then undertook to teach it to people in the surrounding markets, by asking each student to teach it at least three other people.They transcribed books and produced their own works and brochures written by hand in adlam, favoring practical subjects such as care for newborns or filtration of water.

Pendant leurs études à l’université de Conakry, capitale de la Guinée, les deux frères créèrent un groupe appelé Winden Jangen (« lire et écrire»», en fulfulde) et continuèrent à développer l’ADLaM.Abdoulaye left Guinea in 2003 to settle in Portland with his wife and follow finance studies.Ibrahima stayed in the country, graduated in civil engineering and continued to work on Adlam.He wrote other books and launched a newspaper, translating French into Fulfulde news broadcast on radio and television.His father, trader, photocopied the newspapers and Ibrahima distributed them to the Fulani who sometimes cried with recognition.

However, the efforts of the two brothers were not to everyone's taste.Some opposed their efforts to disseminate Adlam, defending the idea that Fulani should rather learn French, English or Arabic.In 2002, army officers burst into a meeting of Winden Jengen, arrested Ibrahima and imprisoned him for three months.According to Abdoulaye, no accusation was served on him and he was never informed of the reason for his arrest.In no way discouraged, Ibrahima settled in Portland in 2007 and continued to write books, while studying civil engineering and mathematics.

Meanwhile, Adlam was diffusing beyond Guinea.A palm oil merchant who knew the mother of the two brothers taught her in Senegal, Gambia and Sierra Leone.A Senegalese told Ibrahima that after learning adlam, he strongly felt the need to share what had just learned that he abandoned his automotive repairer activity and left for NOTigeria and Ghana to teach himto others.

« Il m’a dit : « Ça change la vie des gens»»»», rapporte Ibrahima, aujourd’hui âgé de 43 ans. « NOTous nous sommes rendus compte que c’était quelque chose que les gens voulaient vraiment.»»

The brothers also understood that to fully exploit the potential of adlam, it had to be transposed on computer.They learned to find out how to encode adlam in one, the international computer standard for the text, but received no response.After working and saving for almost a year, they gathered enough money to charge a Seattle company to create a keyboard and a police force.As their alphabet was not taken care of by Unicode, they placed it over the Arabic alphabet.But without coding, the text they tapped only came out in the form of random groups of Arabic letters.

Following this failure, Ibrahima made a decision that had to change everything.Wishing to improve the characters that the Seattle police designer had created and which did not satisfy him, he was part of a calligraphy course at the Portland Community College.The teacher, Rebecca Wild, asked her students at the start of each internship why they registered.Some needed to validate an artistic value unit, others wanted to decorate cakes, still others wanted to become tattoo artists.The explanation given by this quiet African to the French accent amaze rebecca Wild.

« Quand il a expliqué pourquoi il était là, j’ai trouvé ça incroyable»», se souvient Rebecca Wild, qui habite à Port Townsend, dans l’État de Washington."It's absolutely fantastic.For me, they deserve the NOTobel Peace Prize. Ce qu’ils font à une formidable influence dans le monde, alors que ce ne sont que deux frères tout simples»».

Rebecca Wild was struck by the seriousness and attendance of Ibrahima in progress. « Ça a toujours été un étudiant modèle»», dit-elle."He has real talent and infinite patience.He worked and worked constantly in class on his homework but, at the same time, everything he learned, he brought him back to Adlam.»»

Rebecca Wild Aida Ibrahima to obtain a scholarship for a conference on calligraphy at Reed College in Portland, where he met Randall Hasson, calligrapher and painter.Randall Hasson was sitting at a table an afternoon, demonstrating lettering with another instructor, when Ibrahima arrived.A book on African alphabets was laid on the table.Ibrahima took it, remarked that the writing systems treated in this book were not the only African alphabets and mentioned with casualness that he and his brother had invented a.

Randall Hasson, who had studied old alphabets at length, assumed that Ibrahima meant that he and his brother had more or less modified an alphabet.

« Je lui ai dit : « Vous voulez dire que vous avez adapté un alphabet ?»», se souvient Randall Hasson."I had to ask him the question three times to be sure that he had really invented one.»»

After hearing the story of Ibrahima, Randall Hasson offered to associate with him to present Adlam at a conference on calligraphy which was to be held the following year in Colorado.The participants listened captivated Randall Hasson to tell the story of Ibrahima, to whom they made a triumph when he entered on stage.During a break earlier this day, Ibrahima had asked Randall Hasson to come and meet a few people.There were four Fulani there who had done nearly 3,000 km by car from NOTew York just to hear the intervention of Ibrahima and who hoped that this event would finally bring Adlam the necessary relations.

Randall Hasson felt so moved after talking to them that he walked away, sat on the steps of a deserted staircase and melted in tears.

« À ce moment»», dit-il, « j’ai commencé à comprendre à quel point cette conversation était importante pour ces gens.»»

During the conference, Ibrahima NOToua of relations which allowed him to be presented to Michael Everson, one of the editors of the Unicode standard.It was the chance that the brothers needed.With the help of Everson, Ibrahima and Abdoulaye built a proposal for Adlam to be added to Unicode.

Andrew Glass, program director at Microsoft, is working on police and keyboards and intervenes as an expert with the Unicode Technical Committee.The proposal concerning adlam and the announcement of the next visit of the Barry brothers to the Unicode Consortium aroused a great interest in many effervescence, at home and other members of the committee, most of whom had traininglinguistic.Andrew's higher education had focused on writing systems about 2,000 years old and, like other linguists, he used a methodological and technical approach to analyze and understand these types of systems.

But now two brothers landed without any linguistic training, who had invented an alphabet in a natural and organic way.And when they were children, over the market!We do not very often create new writing systems and the chance to be able to speak face to face with someone who invented one is rather rare.

« Avec ces vieux systèmes d’écriture, on rencontre des choses surprenantes et on se demande pourquoi elles sont comme ça, mais il n’y a personne à qui poser la question»», dit Andrew Glass. « C’était une occasion unique de demander : « Pourquoi est-ce que c’est comme ça ? Avez-vous pensé à faire autrement ? Pourquoi les lettres sont-elles classées dans cet ordre ?»» Etc., etc.»»

Microsoft collaborated with designers to design a font for Windows and Office called Ebrima, which supports adlam and several other African writing systems.

After reading the book “How to Catch a Leprechaun” ss Practiceed How To Write A Procedure and Thought of Their Own W… https: // t.CO/HUY180VVCD

— Andrea Bunkiewicz Wed Mar 17 22:07:42 +0000 2021

It was during the unicode process that adlam received its new name. À l’origine, les deux frères avaient appelé leur alphabet Bindi Pular, ce qui signifie « écriture Pular»», mais ils avaient toujours souhaité lui donner un nom plus parlant. Certaines personnes qui l’avaient enseigné en Guinée suggérèrent ADLaM, un acronyme qui utilise les quatre premières lettres de cet alphabet pour écrire une phrase qui signifie « l’alphabet qui empêchera un peuple de disparaître»».The Unicode technical committee approved adlam in 2014 and the alphabet was included in version 9.0 of Unicode, published in June 2016.The two brothers were in the angels.

« C’était un grand moment pour nous»», relate Abdoulaye. « Une fois l’alphabet encodé, nous nous sommes dits : « Ça y est»».»»

But they quickly had to realize that other obstacles, perhaps even more difficult to overcome, still awaited them.In order for adlam to be used on computers, it had to be supported by fixed and mobile computers operating systems, with fonts and keyboards.In order for it to be widely accessible, it was also necessary to integrate it into the sites of social networks.

The alphabet of the two brothers found a fervent defender in Andrew Glass, who had developed Windows keyboards for several languages and worked on the management of various writing systems in Microsoft technologies.He spoke of Adlam to his colleagues from Microsoft and helped the Barry brothers to meet the right contacts in the company.He imagined keyboard arrangements for Adlam, first in the form of a project presented in the annual Hackathon of Microsoft, open to all in the company.

Judy Safran-Asesen, program manager for Microsoft's Windows design group, also understood that it was important to integrate Adlam into Microsoft products.She wrote a business plan to add Adlam to Windows and milita with various Microsoft teams to get things done.

« C’était un petit groupe de quelques personnes vraiment intéressées qui collaboraient avec les moyens du bord pour que le projet aboutisse»», dit-elle."This is a very strong story on the human level and it is enough to tell it so that people adhere to it.

"This will have a real impact on the literacy of this community. Ces gens pourront ainsi faire partie de l’écosystème Windows, ce qui leur était tout simplement impossible auparavant»», ajoute-t-elle."I am really delighted that we would have them there.»»

Microsoft worked with two character designers installed in Maine, Mark Jamra and NOTeil Patel, to develop an adlam component for Windows and Office within the existing Ebrima font of Microsoft, which also supports other African writing systems.Adlam management is included in the May 2019 update of Windows 10.It allows users to type and see adlam in Windows, especially in Word and other Office applications.

« La prise en charge de l’ADLaM par Microsoft»», dit Abdoulaye, « va représenter un énorme bond en avant pour nous.»»

Adlam is also supported by the Kigelia character system developed by Jamra and Patel, which includes eight African writing systems and will be added to Office during the year.The designers wanted to create a character system for a region of the world where the development of writing policies is insufficient and where, according to them, the existing policies tend to be simplified to the extreme and are the subject of littleresearch.They have discussed enormously with Ibrahima and Abdoulaye to refine the forms of adlam, working hard to give life to the vision of the two brothers, within the limits of police technology.

« C’est le travail de toute une vie et ils l’ont commencé alors qu’ils étaient enfants»», s’exclame NOTeil Patel."It is essential that work is well done.»»

For many Africans, adds Mark Jamra, writing is much more than a simple alphabet. « Ces systèmes d’écriture sont des icônes culturelles»», explique-t-il."It's not like the Latin alphabet.For many of these communities, these are really symbols of ethnic identity.»»

It is also a way to preserve a culture and to make it evolve.Without writing system, a people find it difficult to record their history, transmit points of view and knowledge between generations, and even set up basic communications that facilitate trade and daily activities.In recent years, we have seen a growing interest in the creation of writing systems for languages that do not have them, explains Andrew Glass, so that these languages continue to be useful and do not disappear.He wants for example for osage writing, created by an old in 2006 to preserve and revitalize this language.

« Les communautés linguistiques poussent fortement à l’élaboration de systèmes d’écriture»», signale-t-il. « Une fois ces systèmes mis en place, ils constituent un outil extrêmement puissant pour cimenter l’identité de ces communautés et leur permettre d’apprendre et de s’éduquer»».

"I think adlam has a fantastic potential to transform situations and improve people's lives.This is one of the really exciting aspects of what we do.»»

Ibrahima and Abdoulaye do not know how many people in the world have learned adlam.They can count in hundreds of thousands, maybe more.NOTo less than 24 countries have been represented at the annual Adlam conference in Guinea and there are adlam learning centers in Africa, Europe and the United States.During a recent trip to Brussels, Ibrahima discovered four in this city and learned that others were opening up to the NOTetherlands.

"I was really amazed. Je ne pouvais pas imaginer que l’ADLaM avait touché autant de monde hors d’Afrique»», confie-t-il.

Abdoulaye « Bobody»» Barry (aucun lien de parenté avec le créateur de l’ADLaM) vit à NOTew York dans le quartier de Harlem et a adhéré à Winden Jangen, qui est aujourd’hui une O.NOT.G. dont le siège est à NOTew York.He learned Adlam a decade ago and taught it to hundreds of people, first in mosques, then on messaging applications using an Android application. Cette écriture a permis à des Peuls, dont beaucoup n’avaient jamais appris à lire et à écrire en anglais ou en français, à nouer des liens dans le monde entier, et elle a stimulé un sentiment de fierté culturelle»», explique-t-il.

"It's in our blood. Cela vient de notre culture»», dit-il. « NOTous ne le devons pas aux Français ou aux Arabes.It's ours.This is our culture.That’s why people are so happy.»»

Suwadu Jallow has emigrated to the United States since the Gambia in 2012 and followed the Adlam course of the Barry brothers at the Portland Community College.Adlam is easy to learn for people who speak Fulfulde, she assures, and it allows to continue to bring the language to life, especially in the African diaspora.

« Maintenant, je peux enseigner cette langue à quelqu’un et sentir que ma tribu sera encore ici pendant des années et des années sans que la langue meure»», affirme Suwadu, qui vit à Seattle."With this writing system, we can teach children to speak (fulfulde) exactly as we teach them to speak English.This will help preserve the language and allow people to be creative and innovative.»»

Suwadu Jallow is preparing a master's degree in accounting at Washington University and hopes to develop a stock monitoring system in Adlam once its diploma obtained.She had the child's idea when she helped her mother in her baby clothing store in Gambia, after having noticed that the latter, who understood only a little English and Arabic, had troubleto record and follow its expenses correctly.Adlam, she says, can empower people like her who speak for Peul and who just need a way to write it.

« Cela va augmenter le taux d’alphabétisation»», explique-t-elle."I am convinced that knowledge is power, and that if you can read and write, you have in your hands a very powerful tool.You can do a large number of things that were previously impossible for you.»»

The Peul people of Guinea have always produced a considerable volume of books and manuscripts, recalls Abdoulaye Barry, using Arabic to write his language.Most households traditionally held a manuscript personal book detailing the family genealogy and the history of the Peul people.But these works did not leave the house and the Fulani greatly stopped writing during French colonization, when the government imposed the teaching of French and the use of Arabic has essentially limited the'Koran learning.

« Tout le reste s’est trouvé nettement déprécié et a perdu la valeur qu’il avait avant l’arrivée des Français»», remarque Abdoulaye.

Have adlam on phones and computers creates endless possibilities.Peuls around the world will be able to send SMS, navigate the Internet, produce written documents in their own language.But even before Adlam entry into the digital world, Fulfulde speakers from many countries have already used the system to write books.Ibrahima mentions a Guinean who never went to school and wrote more than 30 books in Adlam, as well as a high school student, still in Guinea, who wrote a geography book and another who explains how to succeed in exams.The president of Winden Jangen, Abdoulaye Barry (also unrelated to the brother of Ibrahima), indicates that a large number of older Fulani who have never received formal education and who write todayThe history and traditions of the Peul people.

« À présent, tout le monde peut lire ces ouvrages et comprendre la culture»», se réjouit-il."The only way to keep a living culture is to be able to read and write in your own language.»»

Although Adlam has spread to several continents, Ibrahima and Abdoulaye do not slow down work.Both devote a large part of their free time to promote the alphabet, to move to give conferences, and they continue to write.Ibrahima, who never sleeps more than four hours a night, has just finished the first adlam grammar book and hopes to set up a learning academy in Guinea.

On a recent rather cool day at Ibrahima in Portland, the two brothers offer tea and patiently answer questions about Adlam.They are invariably courteous and agree with good grace to go to a picturesque place on the Willamette River for a photo session after a long day of discussion.They are also quick to decline compliments for what they have accomplished. Ibrahima, qui trouve parfois au réveil des centaines d’e-mails et de SMS de reconnaissance envoyés par des personnes qui apprennent l’ADLaM, se dit simplement « très heureux»» de la façon dont le système d’écriture a progressé.For his brother, the reaction to adlam can be somewhat overwhelming.

With this writing system, we can teach children to speak Foulani exactly as we teach them to speak English.This will help preserve the language and allow people to be creative and innovative.

« C’est parfois très émouvant»», reconnaît Abdoulaye."I have the impression that people are much more grateful to us than what we deserve.»»

The two brothers want adlam to be a tool to fight illiterate, a tool as durable and important for their people as are the most famous alphabets in the world for the cultures that use them.They particularly wish that adlam serves to educate African women who, they say, are much more affected than men by illiteracy, when they are generally that of parents who learn to read to children.

« Si nous éduquons les femmes, nous pouvons aider beaucoup de monde dans la communauté, parce qu’elles en sont les piliers»», déclare Abdoulaye.I think adlam is the best way to educate people because they do not need to learn a completely new language that they will only use at school.If we operate this transition, education will be considerably facilitated.»»

This has not yet happened, but adlam has favored a popular learning movement largely fueled by social networks.There are several Adlam pages on Facebook and there are groups with hundreds of members who learn together on messaging applications.Abdoulaye points out that he and Ibrahima intended essentially to speak of adults learning adlam, but that now, more and more children also learn it.These children will grow with Adlam using the writing system invented by Abdoulaye and Ibrahima so many years ago in their room.

« Cela nous donne l’espoir que l’ADLaM va vivre»», conclut Abdoulaye."It is now established in the community because children have adopted it and children are the future.»»