Sophia,
Thank you for your intellectual perspective.
We will continue the discussions because this is a very important topic.
Essa.
Sophia Ba <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Greetings Everyone
Essa Sey well said, let me add to the discourse that Amharic is another
African language with its own alphabet, which does use 26 letter based latin
one. As for arabic to describe someone who is lierate in Arabic as
illiterate is ignorant and arrogant. There are many arab speakers in the
world. In fact each language that can be spoken and written opens up a
worldview.
Another point for those who are illiterate in the true since of the word,
art is a language which cross all barriers, and to out-reach into the
community, to discuss public health issues, development issues etc art is a
good medium to use i.e performing and visual arts are good mediums to use.
The illieracy problem is Africa's begest impediment for its progress, this
has happen as a delibrate policy of neo-colonialism rooted in willie lynch
1712, How to make a slave. What frightened the slave master more than
anything was that his African Slave learnt to read and write. Why? Because
he could no longer be fooled. Literacy is at the heart of nation building
the Ancient African Egyptians new this when they invented writing, and
Aethiopia which means in greek "the land of the blacks" , was the continent
were the ancient Greeks came to study, the Greek philosopher Homer in 450
BC cited " was it not the lands in Africa south of Egypt that the gods of
Greece flew once a year to feast with the older gods of inland Africa."
(p20 D.Basildon 1990.)
Peace
Sophia Ba.
----- Original Message -----
From: "ESSA BOKARR SEY"
To:
Sent: Saturday, December 20, 2003 4:31 PM
Subject: Re: THOSE WHO PRESUMABLY MISSED THE 26 LETTERS-AILING
'PAPER-POLITICS'
> In The Gambia and in other places in modern day Africa there is a major
challenge when it comes to politics and our streets,schools and other
related institutions and so on.For many so-called 'paper-politicians' being
illiterate means one isn't able to convince or be convinced
politically.This is indeed part of the challenges for all those who claim
to play a part in politics back home.Another problem is the feeling driven
by "stereotyping" or "tagging",many analysts or critics are suffering from
the above abstract drugs.
>
> The art of communication or any other skill that leads one to becoming a
shrewd politician cannot be done in stagnant positions or being obsessed on
prejudice or personal interpretations that we receieve from private
calls,mails,gossippings or the god father syndrome ie when Mr X says so
about him or her then it is obvioulsy true.In politics that is
false.Politics should be production-oriented and not
portfolio-oriented.Having been passing class room exams is not the least the
smae as having succeeded in applying a method and achieved results.Classes
recall pass methods and or sometime associate present happenings with
hypothesis thus come up with recommendations.These recommendations do either
fail or succeed.
>
> WHO IS AN ILLITERATE AND WHO IS NOT? COMBINING THE ROLES OF THE
'LETTEREDS' AND THE 'UNLETTEREDS' THE BEST BET OR NOT?
>
> The above questions are a challenge to many particularly those of us
from communities that have what researchers call high illietracy rate.The
current statistics in The Gambia say that we have 70% or even more! Ok if
that is the case let's ask ourselves these questions:Who is illletrate and
who is not? Should illiterates not talk and be talked to when national
development poses a challenge? The art of communication from time
immermorial to date has never discriminated people because they are not
lettered.
>
> When we revisit the archives it is obvious that it was not long ago that
degrees,certificates and other measurements-paper-wise started affecting our
lives per se.Who can tell me what Galeleo's degree was? Did Einstein achieve
a doctorate degree? I am a friend to one of his grand daughters and she said
that grand father was a school drop out some time in history! True or false
he is a genius that the world can neverr forget.
>
> Bill Gates was obvioulsy a school drop out!Are we not using the internet
now?!
>
> What was Sundiata Keita's degree? What was Latdior's degree? Didn't
Sekou Toure give sanctuary to Dr Nkruma when he was ejected from power?
>
> Alphabets are not western and only western not at all.History has
reserved the teachings we inherited from strong civilisations.The following
do come to our minds in that regard ie;
>
> Egypt-Hyroglyphics,the inheritence of pythagoras theorem(see Cheikh
Anta's Egyptology and other findings from renowned scholars)
>
> Arabic-(see the Egyptian museum and the one in Bagdad)
>
> Israel-Hebrew
>
> China-Chinese alphabet(based on sounds and not signs)
>
> All these civilisations have literaru scholars who wrote volumes and
volumes of texts and are well known within the arena of both social and
phycal sciences.
>
> Let say the ancient Egyptian's hyroglyphics were being used and history
has thought us mathematics existed there well before the 26 letters(the
English Alphabet came to existence).Where those Egyptians illietrates? Not
at all! Well...i wonder if they were not going to be branded or tagged so,if
they were to meet some of us in Lancarster Street or somewhere in Mombasa?!
>
> If one visits the Madrid museum in Spain the first thing that greets any
tourist are the paintings of Goya(a well known spanish painter).Goya and
others might not have been that lettered but they expressed their feeling
and understanding of societal matters through those images.Well back in form
one we remember when Adu Boahen and other Ghanain historians thought us that
images were used for communication and not alphabets.Infact it was the
ancient society that studied,expanded it's mind and then produced what we
use today to describe everything.Evolution brought us all these
alphabets.Modern day intellectuals did not also hesitate to swim through
'arrogance' thus called those who left these alphabets for us
here:Prehistoric men and women who did not know how to live.There are two
different notions for some of us.Certain serious historians use words like
prehistoric to study time and development.There are others who use that to
show how modern we are and how retarded our fore
> fathers were! Development through time is not the same as being
stagnant and premitive.
>
> Has anyone witnessed where modern intellectuals were able to come up
with a new alphabet? I have not seen that yet! We are using the left overs
and at the same time attempting to ridicule that.
>
> The role of illiterates in our society is far more important than we
think.
>
> Let's take Gambia as an example,many of our scholars who studied arabic
are considered illiterates?! That is absolute nonsense.We are missing a lot
when it comes to what these people can do to help us develop society.Not all
those used the arabic to study were products of islamic madrassas.There are
some that i know who used arabic to study agriculture,botany and so
forth.People like Momodou Lamin Yaffa are bright examples.Yaffa has proven
to be one of the most successful shcolars after having completed his
educationla career and he speaks fluent arabic.Yaffa later on studied french
and served as interpreter at the then ministry of external affairs.Some
people call arabic scholars back home "ustazz"that is also false.In arabic
there is a big differenc between the word "ustazz" and "mu'alimm".Ustazz is
higher in context because it means professor.But back home "ustazz" is
termed as someone who is just half-baked form the "da'rah".These scholars
can help us carve an pproach that can
> merge statute lwas with customary ones and work with the statusquo
through a lot of other cultural and traditional values.The role of the
curriculum development in this confusion that has been caused by wrong
analysis? To be treated next....
>
> When will we think of creating our own symbols and alphabets instead of
ridicluing people because they were not able to repeat ABCDE....
>
> To be continued...
>
> Indian-Hindu,urdu etc etc
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Think before you sink!
> "Pessimists see difficulty in every opportunity and optimists see an
opportunity in every challenge"
> "Suits cannot be made without scissors and niddles,so decent minds
disagree to agree"
>
> ---------------------------------
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Think before you sink!
"Pessimists see difficulty in every opportunity and optimists see an opportunity in every challenge"
"Suits cannot be made without scissors and niddles,so decent minds disagree to agree"
---------------------------------
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