Language
The official language of Liberia is English. There are also more than 762 indigenous languages, all of which have their own unique alphabets. Most of the these languages are made up of different combination of clicks and throat noises. Among the most widely studied Liberian languages in schools and universities are Kpelle and Bassa languages and to a lesser extent, Vai. Loma and Mende also have their own unique alphabets but are studied less. Both languages are noted for their unique alphabets and phonetics that are not based on the Latin alphabet, or any European language but emerged from visions of each language's inventor. Bassa alphabet was popularized by Dr. Thomas Narvin Lewis in the early 20th century, after attending studies in the U.S at Syracuse University. He modeled it after he came into contact with former slaves of Bassa origin in Brazil and the West Indies who were still using the alphabet. Vai is another well known ancient script from Liberia, but distinct from the Bassa alphabet.
Among the listed alphabets, Bassa Vah is compared to include Armenian, Coptic (used by Egyptian Coptic and Coptic Church), Avestan used in Ancient Persia to write sacred hymns of Zoroastrianism, Georgian language in Republic of Georgia, Mongolian, Meroitic alphabet of ancient Sudan and parts of Nile Valley, and many other ancient scripts, Greek-based and Cyrillic alphabets. Some Vah letters resemble certain letters from Ge'ez alphabet of Ethiopia used to write Amharic, the national language, N'ko alphabet in Guinea, and Armenian alphabet. The syllabary of Vai also been compared to Hiragana and Katakana scripts also syllabary for Japanese language. However many linguists hold that Bassa and Vai alphabets are unique in their own right for being African languages with alphabets alongside Ge'ez, N'ko, and Tifinagh (used to write Berber languages) that are neither influenced by Latin or Western writing system.
Read more about this topic: Culture Of Liberia
Famous quotes containing the word language:
“It is impossible to dissociate language from science or science from language, because every natural science always involves three things: the sequence of phenomena on which the science is based; the abstract concepts which call these phenomena to mind; and the words in which the concepts are expressed. To call forth a concept, a word is needed; to portray a phenomenon, a concept is needed. All three mirror one and the same reality.”
—Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794)
“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink.”
—George Orwell (1903–1950)
“It’s not that we want the political jobs themselves ... but they seem to be the only language the men understand. We don’t really want these $200 a year jobs. But the average man doesn’t understand working for a cause.”
—Jennie Carolyn Van Ness (b. c. 1890–?)