Afronik N'ko font is a display font supporting only the N'ko alphabet used to write Manding languages of West Africa.
Souleymane Kanté created the N’Ko (ߒߞߏ - N'Ko) alphabet in 1949 to suit the sounds of the Mande languages — including Mandika, Dyula, Bambara and related languages.Neither the Latin nor the Arabic characters have enough breadth to encompass the nuances of African speech. Both writing systems lack symbols for some of the phonology, in particular the subtle but distinct tonalities. When transcribed with the foreign scripts, which have no adequate way of marking precise vowel tones, the meanings of words can become confused.
N’Ko is written from right to left, with letters strung along a base line to form words, much in the manner of Arabic. This is because Souleymane Kanté surveyed illiterate villagers, asking them to draw characters on the ground in whatever order seemed natural to them. This exercise showed him the script would be easier to distribute if written from right to left.
The name of the alphabet, N’Ko, is a word common to all Mande languages, meaning “I say”. Quranic students often start their recitations with the word N’Ko. This was also a reference to a historic speech that Sundiata Keita, Mali’s Emperor, delivered to his army in 1236, when he said: “I am speaking to you, valiant men, to all those who say N’Ko, and those who don’t.”
Today, many publications in the N’ko script exist, covering a huge variety of subjects from astrology, physics, religion, geography and philosophical works. Several newspapers in Guinea and the Ivory Coast use this writing system as well. Used mainly by Maninka and Dyula speakers in Guinea and Ivory Coast respectively, N’ko has managed to reach out to Bambara speakers in Mali as well. In fact, its influence is so strong, there has been documented use of N’ko for religious publications in the Yoruba and Fon languages of Benin and southwest Nigeria. More diacritics were added to account for the different sounds of Yoruba and Fon compared to the Manding languages.
N’ko has been classed as among the most successful of the West African scripts. From its use in the literary language (intended as a common language, binding elements of the principal Manding languages) to its use in computers and smartphones, N’ko has certainly come a long way in gaining influence and popularity among the Manding communities and beyond.