What African language offers the most literature, art, and culture? I know there are MANY languages spoken in Africa but what language is the best to learn as a gateway into others?
What are some great African works of literature and how have they affected our world?
Genuinely interested. I know Latin and Spanish if it is any help on recommendation.
(Posted this on Veeky Forums but I think it's out of their reach)
None, African societies were not literate and have no literary tradition.
They do now. Also, the post wasn't limited to literature
There are plenty of North African works of art, people who post these types of threads need to specify which part of Africa they're talking about. As for OPs case, I'm assuming he wants to know about Sub Saharan Africans, I'm sure there is but I couldn't tell to be honest
Arabic is not an African language.
It's pretty obvious that OP was talking about sub saharan africa.
>I'm sure there is but I couldn't tell to be honest
Because there are none. There are some oral traditions in Mali and that's about it.
But they were Kings and shit
>browsing this shit board front page
>usual bait and pol echo-chambering
>an almost interesting thread almost happens
>this is then the first post of the thread
>close tab
WE
Quit crying and prove me wrong then, faggot. I'm eagerly waiting for the Zulu equivalent of "War and Peace".
Ignorant here. Do modern African writers write more in English/French/Yuro language or in their native languages?
What about Lingala?
They don't write.
Yes let me engage in fueling your retarded and sad world view because you were bullied as a child
I read and reread your post trying to find an argument but couldn't find any.
That's a hard question to answer. African lit is rather obscure even on the continent.Check out Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Thomas Mofolo, Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ousmane Sembende, and Ben Okri. I can only provide these authors,but I can't point to specific works. In regards to the language, I'd say look into Yoruba. I believe it meets the criteria in terms of art and culture.
Please don't ruin my thread guys :(
English, but Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o moved from English to gikuyu, his native East African tongue.
Also forgot to mention Ola Rotimi, a playwright. He wrote "The God's are not to blame," an African take on Oedipus Rex.
Are you referring to sub-saharan?
Since you already speak English, French..
Hello!!!
Ethiopic languages such as Ge'ez (the Abyssinian analogue to Latin or Koine Greek) is a good starter in terms of Classics. The Kebra Nagast is a good example.
Wait, are you a real African on Veeky Forums?
I'm so sorry....
Thanks a ton. Does Ge'ez act as a "gateway" so to speak for other african languages?
Probs not I'm beta Israeli and don't even bother learning ge'ez
>I'm beta
there is no such "gateway language" - the languages of africa fall into many different families and there is very little you could say that applies to all of them. swahili as the largest bantu language could be a gateway to other bantu languages but it is actually quite anomalous in being a trade language with strong arabic influence.
ge'ez is a semitic language so it could help you get into other semitic languages like arabic, hebrew or aramaic but especially modern ethiopic languages like tigre, tigrinya and amharic.
those are two different things - most african languages do have large oral literatures, they're just not as easily accessible for outsiders as printed books are. besides, quite a few actually had writing in precolonial times, mostly in arabic script and in the regions that were in cultural contact with arabs, but then there are also things like tuareg tifinagh.
'''WE'''
>close tab
Why the fuck are you still here then, reddit?
>African language
>literature, art, and culture
Thats rich user
It just means Second Israel for the Jewish Diaspora in Ethiopia you illiterate swine
Swahili is one of the more broadly spoken languages and had a literary tradition.
the mali culture is interesting
Yes they were, are you aware of the library of timbuktu?
cool blog where do I subscribe xd
False, many African societies were literate. Mali, Songhai, Kilwa, Warsangali, Ajuran, and every Ethiopian state had their own alphabets and pretty developed literary traditions.
Since the 19th century, illiterate African societies like the Igbo and Yoruba developed their own alphabets under European influence. Nigeria produced two classics in the later 20th century which you might have heard of, Death and the King's Horseman and the more famous Things Fall Apart. These two literary works are widely beloved in Nigeria and in literary circles elsewhere for their illustration of Nigerian society. You should read them.
European. It reaches a far wider audience.