Afaka syllabary
E652454
The Afaka syllabary is an indigenous writing system developed in the early 20th century for the Ndyuka language of Suriname, notable as one of the few known scripts created by a Maroon community in the Americas.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
constructed script
ⓘ
writing system ⓘ |
| associatedReligion | Afro-Surinamese spiritual traditions ⓘ |
| associatedWith | Afaka Atumisi NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| basedOn | syllabic representation of Ndyuka ⓘ |
| continent | South America ⓘ |
| country | Suriname NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| creator | Afáka Atumisi NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| documentationLanguage |
Dutch
ⓘ
English ⓘ |
| ethnicGroup | Ndyuka Maroons NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| geographicDistribution | eastern Suriname ⓘ |
| graphemeType | syllabograms ⓘ |
| hasPhonologicalBasis | Ndyuka phonology NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasTransliterationTo | Latin script NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasUnicodeStatus | not yet encoded in Unicode ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance | evidence of independent literacy development among Maroons in the Americas ⓘ |
| inception |
circa 1910
ⓘ
early 20th century ⓘ |
| language | Ndyuka language NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableCharacteristic |
one of the few known scripts created by a Maroon community in the Americas
ⓘ
only known indigenous script for an English-based creole in the Americas ⓘ |
| numberOfSigns | approximately 56 ⓘ |
| preservationEffort |
archived in Surinamese and Dutch institutions
ⓘ
documented by linguists ⓘ |
| region | Marowijne District NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedField |
anthropological linguistics
ⓘ
creole linguistics ⓘ writing systems studies ⓘ |
| scriptCommunitySize | small number of literate users ⓘ |
| scriptDirection | left-to-right ⓘ |
| scriptFamily | independent invention ⓘ |
| scriptUsagePeriod |
20th century
ⓘ
21st century ⓘ |
| status | endangered ⓘ |
| usedFor | writing the Ndyuka language ⓘ |
| usedIn |
personal letters
ⓘ
religious texts ⓘ short notes ⓘ |
| userCommunity | Ndyuka people NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| writingMedium |
notebooks
ⓘ
paper ⓘ |
| writingSystemCategory | minority script ⓘ |
| writingSystemContext | Maroon communities of Suriname ⓘ |
| writingSystemScope | phonographic ⓘ |
| writingSystemType | syllabary ⓘ |
| writingSystemUsage | limited ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.