TedTest

From the Ted Talk by Saki Mafundikwa: Ingenuity and elegance in ancient African alphabets

Unscramble the Blue Letters

I moevd back home 15 years ago after a 20-year stay in the United States, and Africa called me back. And I founded my country's first graphic design and new media college. And I called it the Zimbabwe ituttinse of Vigital Arts. The idea, the dream, was really for a sort of Bauhaus sort of sohcol where new ideas were interrogated and investigated, the creation of a new visual language based on the African creative htaierge. We offer a two-year diploma to ttnaeeld students who have successfully ctmpeloed their high school education. And typography's a very important part of the curriculum and we encourage our students to look inward for influence. Here's a poster designed by one of the students under the theme "Education is a right." Some logos designed by my students. Africa has had a long tradition of wnrtiig, but this is not such a well-known fact, and I wrote the book "Afrikan Alphabets" to address that. The different types of writing in Africa, first was proto-writing, as illustrated by Nsibidi, which is the writing system of a secret society of the ejghaam people in suheortn Nigeria. So it's a special-interest writing system. The Akan of polepe of Ghana and [Cote d'Ivoire] developed Adinkra symbols some 400 years ago, and these are pebrvros, historical sayings, objects, animals, plants, and my favorite Adinkra styesm is the first one at the top on the left. It's called Sankofa. It mnaes, "Return and get it." Learn from the past. This pictograph by the jowke people of algona tells the story of the ceaitron of the world. At the top is God, at the bottom is man, mankind, and on the left is the sun, on the right is the moon. All the pthas lead to and from God. These secret societies of the Yoruba, Kongo and Palo religions in Nigeria, Congo and Angola respectively, developed this intricate writing system which is alive and well today in the New wolrd in Cuba, Brazil and Trinidad and Haiti. In the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the Ituri society, the men pound out a ctloh out of a siacpel tree, and the women, who are also the praise singers, paint interweaving patterns that are the same in structure as the polyphonic structures that they use in their singing — a sort of a musical scroe, if you may. In South Africa, Ndebele women use these symbols and other geometric patterns to paint their hmeos in bright colors, and the Zulu wmoen use the symbols in the beads that they weave into baerctels and necklaces. Ethiopia has had the longest tradition of writing, with the Ethiopic srcipt that was developed in the fourth century A.D. and is used to write ahiamrc, which is skpoen by over 24 million people. King Ibrahim Njoya of the Bamum Kingdom of Cameroon developed Shü-mom at the age of 25. Shü-mom is a writing system. It's a syllabary. It's not exactly an aeblahpt. And here we see three stages of development that it went through in 30 years. The Vai people of Liberia had a long tradition of literacy before their first ctanoct with Europeans in the 1800s. It's a syllabary and reads from left to right. Next door, in Sierra Leone, the Mende also developed a syllabary, but theirs redas from right to left. Africa has had a long ttadroiin of design, a well-defined dgesin ssniiltbeiy, but the porelbm in Africa has been that, especially today, designers in Africa struggle with all forms of design because they are more apt to look outward for influence and inspiration. The creative spirit in Africa, the creative tradition, is as potent as it has always been, if only designers could look within. This Ethiopic cross illustrates what Dr. Ron Eglash has established: that Africa has a lot to contribute to computing and mathematics through their intuitive grasp of fractals. anicfras of antiquity created civilization, and their monuments, which still stand today, are a true testimony of their greatness. Most probably, one of humanity's greatest achievements is the invention of the alphabet, and that has been attributed to Mesopotamia with their invention of cuneiform in 1600 BC, followed by hieroglyphics in Egypt, and that story has been cast in stone as historical fact. That is, until 1998, when one Yale professor John Coleman drnleal discovered these inscriptions in the Thebes deesrt on the liostnmee cliffs in western eygpt, and these have been dated at between 1800 and 1900 B.C., centuries before mopotiamesa. Called Wadi el-Hol because of the place that they were desoeicvrd, these inpirisontcs — research is still going on, a few of them have been deciphered, but there is consensus among scholars that this is really humanity's first alphabet. Over here, you see a paleographic chart that sowhs what has been deciphered so far, starting with the letter A, "ālep," at the top, and "bêt," in the middle, and so forth. It is time that students of design in afirca read the works of titans like Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegal's Cheikh Anta Diop, whose seminal work on Egypt is vindicated by this dscrvioey. The last word goes to the great Jamaican leader Marcus Mosiah Garvey and the Akan people of Ghana with their Adinkra symbol Sankofa, which encourages us to go to the past so as to inform our present and bilud on a future for us and our children. It is also time that dnisrgees in Africa stop looking outside. They've been looking outward for a long time, yet what they were looking for has been right there within grasp, right within them. Thank you very much. (Applause)

Open Cloze

I _____ back home 15 years ago after a 20-year stay in the United States, and Africa called me back. And I founded my country's first graphic design and new media college. And I called it the Zimbabwe _________ of Vigital Arts. The idea, the dream, was really for a sort of Bauhaus sort of ______ where new ideas were interrogated and investigated, the creation of a new visual language based on the African creative ________. We offer a two-year diploma to ________ students who have successfully _________ their high school education. And typography's a very important part of the curriculum and we encourage our students to look inward for influence. Here's a poster designed by one of the students under the theme "Education is a right." Some logos designed by my students. Africa has had a long tradition of _______, but this is not such a well-known fact, and I wrote the book "Afrikan Alphabets" to address that. The different types of writing in Africa, first was proto-writing, as illustrated by Nsibidi, which is the writing system of a secret society of the _______ people in ________ Nigeria. So it's a special-interest writing system. The Akan of ______ of Ghana and [Cote d'Ivoire] developed Adinkra symbols some 400 years ago, and these are ________, historical sayings, objects, animals, plants, and my favorite Adinkra ______ is the first one at the top on the left. It's called Sankofa. It _____, "Return and get it." Learn from the past. This pictograph by the _____ people of ______ tells the story of the ________ of the world. At the top is God, at the bottom is man, mankind, and on the left is the sun, on the right is the moon. All the _____ lead to and from God. These secret societies of the Yoruba, Kongo and Palo religions in Nigeria, Congo and Angola respectively, developed this intricate writing system which is alive and well today in the New _____ in Cuba, Brazil and Trinidad and Haiti. In the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the Ituri society, the men pound out a _____ out of a _______ tree, and the women, who are also the praise singers, paint interweaving patterns that are the same in structure as the polyphonic structures that they use in their singing — a sort of a musical _____, if you may. In South Africa, Ndebele women use these symbols and other geometric patterns to paint their _____ in bright colors, and the Zulu _____ use the symbols in the beads that they weave into _________ and necklaces. Ethiopia has had the longest tradition of writing, with the Ethiopic ______ that was developed in the fourth century A.D. and is used to write _______, which is ______ by over 24 million people. King Ibrahim Njoya of the Bamum Kingdom of Cameroon developed Shü-mom at the age of 25. Shü-mom is a writing system. It's a syllabary. It's not exactly an ________. And here we see three stages of development that it went through in 30 years. The Vai people of Liberia had a long tradition of literacy before their first _______ with Europeans in the 1800s. It's a syllabary and reads from left to right. Next door, in Sierra Leone, the Mende also developed a syllabary, but theirs _____ from right to left. Africa has had a long _________ of design, a well-defined ______ ___________, but the _______ in Africa has been that, especially today, designers in Africa struggle with all forms of design because they are more apt to look outward for influence and inspiration. The creative spirit in Africa, the creative tradition, is as potent as it has always been, if only designers could look within. This Ethiopic cross illustrates what Dr. Ron Eglash has established: that Africa has a lot to contribute to computing and mathematics through their intuitive grasp of fractals. ________ of antiquity created civilization, and their monuments, which still stand today, are a true testimony of their greatness. Most probably, one of humanity's greatest achievements is the invention of the alphabet, and that has been attributed to Mesopotamia with their invention of cuneiform in 1600 BC, followed by hieroglyphics in Egypt, and that story has been cast in stone as historical fact. That is, until 1998, when one Yale professor John Coleman _______ discovered these inscriptions in the Thebes ______ on the _________ cliffs in western _____, and these have been dated at between 1800 and 1900 B.C., centuries before ___________. Called Wadi el-Hol because of the place that they were __________, these ____________ — research is still going on, a few of them have been deciphered, but there is consensus among scholars that this is really humanity's first alphabet. Over here, you see a paleographic chart that _____ what has been deciphered so far, starting with the letter A, "ālep," at the top, and "bêt," in the middle, and so forth. It is time that students of design in ______ read the works of titans like Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegal's Cheikh Anta Diop, whose seminal work on Egypt is vindicated by this _________. The last word goes to the great Jamaican leader Marcus Mosiah Garvey and the Akan people of Ghana with their Adinkra symbol Sankofa, which encourages us to go to the past so as to inform our present and _____ on a future for us and our children. It is also time that _________ in Africa stop looking outside. They've been looking outward for a long time, yet what they were looking for has been right there within grasp, right within them. Thank you very much. (Applause)

Solution

reads
people
africa
mesopotamia
score
designers
spoken
institute
desert
special
amharic
problem
women
proverbs
contact
shows
bracelets
inscriptions
cloth
sensibility
moved
jokwe
writing
build
alphabet
world
discovered
design
egypt
ejagham
completed
heritage
southern
limestone
creation
school
system
discovery
tradition
script
paths
angola
talented
africans
means
darnell
homes

Original Text

I moved back home 15 years ago after a 20-year stay in the United States, and Africa called me back. And I founded my country's first graphic design and new media college. And I called it the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts. The idea, the dream, was really for a sort of Bauhaus sort of school where new ideas were interrogated and investigated, the creation of a new visual language based on the African creative heritage. We offer a two-year diploma to talented students who have successfully completed their high school education. And typography's a very important part of the curriculum and we encourage our students to look inward for influence. Here's a poster designed by one of the students under the theme "Education is a right." Some logos designed by my students. Africa has had a long tradition of writing, but this is not such a well-known fact, and I wrote the book "Afrikan Alphabets" to address that. The different types of writing in Africa, first was proto-writing, as illustrated by Nsibidi, which is the writing system of a secret society of the Ejagham people in southern Nigeria. So it's a special-interest writing system. The Akan of people of Ghana and [Cote d'Ivoire] developed Adinkra symbols some 400 years ago, and these are proverbs, historical sayings, objects, animals, plants, and my favorite Adinkra system is the first one at the top on the left. It's called Sankofa. It means, "Return and get it." Learn from the past. This pictograph by the Jokwe people of Angola tells the story of the creation of the world. At the top is God, at the bottom is man, mankind, and on the left is the sun, on the right is the moon. All the paths lead to and from God. These secret societies of the Yoruba, Kongo and Palo religions in Nigeria, Congo and Angola respectively, developed this intricate writing system which is alive and well today in the New World in Cuba, Brazil and Trinidad and Haiti. In the rainforests of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the Ituri society, the men pound out a cloth out of a special tree, and the women, who are also the praise singers, paint interweaving patterns that are the same in structure as the polyphonic structures that they use in their singing — a sort of a musical score, if you may. In South Africa, Ndebele women use these symbols and other geometric patterns to paint their homes in bright colors, and the Zulu women use the symbols in the beads that they weave into bracelets and necklaces. Ethiopia has had the longest tradition of writing, with the Ethiopic script that was developed in the fourth century A.D. and is used to write Amharic, which is spoken by over 24 million people. King Ibrahim Njoya of the Bamum Kingdom of Cameroon developed Shü-mom at the age of 25. Shü-mom is a writing system. It's a syllabary. It's not exactly an alphabet. And here we see three stages of development that it went through in 30 years. The Vai people of Liberia had a long tradition of literacy before their first contact with Europeans in the 1800s. It's a syllabary and reads from left to right. Next door, in Sierra Leone, the Mende also developed a syllabary, but theirs reads from right to left. Africa has had a long tradition of design, a well-defined design sensibility, but the problem in Africa has been that, especially today, designers in Africa struggle with all forms of design because they are more apt to look outward for influence and inspiration. The creative spirit in Africa, the creative tradition, is as potent as it has always been, if only designers could look within. This Ethiopic cross illustrates what Dr. Ron Eglash has established: that Africa has a lot to contribute to computing and mathematics through their intuitive grasp of fractals. Africans of antiquity created civilization, and their monuments, which still stand today, are a true testimony of their greatness. Most probably, one of humanity's greatest achievements is the invention of the alphabet, and that has been attributed to Mesopotamia with their invention of cuneiform in 1600 BC, followed by hieroglyphics in Egypt, and that story has been cast in stone as historical fact. That is, until 1998, when one Yale professor John Coleman Darnell discovered these inscriptions in the Thebes desert on the limestone cliffs in western Egypt, and these have been dated at between 1800 and 1900 B.C., centuries before Mesopotamia. Called Wadi el-Hol because of the place that they were discovered, these inscriptions — research is still going on, a few of them have been deciphered, but there is consensus among scholars that this is really humanity's first alphabet. Over here, you see a paleographic chart that shows what has been deciphered so far, starting with the letter A, "ālep," at the top, and "bêt," in the middle, and so forth. It is time that students of design in Africa read the works of titans like Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegal's Cheikh Anta Diop, whose seminal work on Egypt is vindicated by this discovery. The last word goes to the great Jamaican leader Marcus Mosiah Garvey and the Akan people of Ghana with their Adinkra symbol Sankofa, which encourages us to go to the past so as to inform our present and build on a future for us and our children. It is also time that designers in Africa stop looking outside. They've been looking outward for a long time, yet what they were looking for has been right there within grasp, right within them. Thank you very much. (Applause)

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations

ngrams of length 2

collocation	frequency
writing system	4
long tradition	3
cheikh anta	2

Important Words

achievements
address
adinkra
africa
african
africans
age
akan
alive
alphabet
amharic
angola
animals
anta
antiquity
applause
apt
arts
attributed
bamum
based
bauhaus
bc
beads
book
bottom
bracelets
brazil
bright
build
called
cameroon
cast
centuries
century
chart
cheikh
children
civilization
cliffs
cloth
coleman
college
colors
completed
computing
congo
consensus
contact
contribute
cote
created
creation
creative
cross
cuba
cuneiform
curriculum
darnell
dated
deciphered
democratic
desert
design
designed
designers
developed
development
diop
diploma
discovered
discovery
door
dr
dream
education
eglash
egypt
ejagham
encourage
encourages
ethiopia
ethiopic
europeans
fact
favorite
forms
founded
fourth
fractals
future
garvey
geometric
ghana
god
graphic
grasp
great
greatest
greatness
haiti
heritage
hieroglyphics
high
historical
home
homes
ibrahim
idea
ideas
illustrated
illustrates
important
influence
inform
inscriptions
inspiration
institute
interrogated
interweaving
intricate
intuitive
invention
investigated
ituri
jamaican
john
jokwe
king
kingdom
kongo
language
lead
leader
learn
left
leone
letter
liberia
limestone
literacy
logos
long
longest
lot
man
mankind
marcus
mathematics
means
media
men
mende
mesopotamia
middle
million
monuments
moon
mosiah
moved
musical
ndebele
necklaces
nigeria
njoya
nsibidi
objects
offer
outward
paint
paleographic
palo
part
paths
patterns
people
pictograph
place
plants
polyphonic
poster
potent
pound
praise
present
problem
professor
proverbs
rainforests
read
reads
religions
republic
research
ron
sankofa
sayings
scholars
school
score
script
secret
seminal
sensibility
shows
sierra
singers
singing
societies
society
sort
south
southern
special
spirit
spoken
stages
stand
starting
states
stay
stone
stop
story
structure
structures
struggle
students
successfully
sun
syllabary
symbol
symbols
system
talented
tells
testimony
thebes
theme
time
titans
today
top
tradition
tree
trinidad
true
types
united
vai
vigital
vindicated
visual
wadi
weave
western
women
word
work
works
world
write
writing
wrote
yale
years
yoruba
zimbabwe
zulu