View source for African Reference Alphabet

{{Short description|Defunct orthographic guideline for Africa}}
{{distinguish|Africa Alphabet}}

The '''African Reference Alphabet''' is a largely defunct continent-wide guideline for the creation of [[Latin alphabets]] for African languages. Two variants of the initial proposal (one in English and a second in French) were made at a 1978 [[UNESCO]]-organized conference held in [[Niamey]], Niger. They were based on the results of several earlier conferences on the harmonization of established Latin alphabets of individual languages. The 1978 conference recommended the use of single letters for speech sounds rather than of [[Digraph (orthography)|letter sequences]] or of letters with [[diacritic]]s. A substantial overhaul was proposed in 1982 but was rejected in a follow-up conference held in Niamey in 1984. Since then, continent-wide harmonization has been largely abandoned, because regional needs, practices and thus preferences differ greatly across Africa.<ref>Karan & Roberts (2020: 925) Orthography standardization. In Dimmendaal & Vossen (eds.) ''The Oxford Handbook of African Languages''.</ref>

Through the individual languages that were its basis, the African Reference Alphabet inherits from the [[Africa Alphabet]], and like the latter uses a number of [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]] letters. The Niamey conference built on the work of a previous UNESCO-organized meeting, on harmonizing the transcriptions of African languages, that was held in [[Bamako]], Mali, in 1966.

==1978 proposals==
Separate versions of the conference's report were produced in English and French. Different images of the alphabet were used in the two versions, and there are a number of differences between the two.

The English version was a set of 57 letters, given in both upper-case and lower-case forms.  Eight of these are formed from common Latin letters with the addition of an [[macron below|underline mark]]. Some (the uppercase letters alpha, eth ([[Image:Latin capital letter african Eth.svg|x12px]]), esh, and both lower- and upper-case [[File:Latin capital letter Z with tophook.svg|20px]], [[File:Latin small letter Z with tophook.svg|20px]]) cannot be accurately represented in [[Unicode]] (as of version 15, 2023). Others do not correspond to the upper- and lower-case identities in Unicode, or (e.g. Ʒ) require [[character variant]]s in the font.<ref name=Niamey1978>{{cite web |publisher=www.bisharat.net |title=Presentation of the "African Reference Alphabet" (in 4 images) from the Niamey 1978 meeting|url=http://www.bisharat.net/Documents/Niamey78annex.htm |access-date=2013-05-10 |language=en}}</ref>

This version also listed eight diacritical marks ([[acute accent]] (´), [[grave accent]] (`), [[circumflex]] (ˆ), [[caron]] (ˇ), [[Macron (diacritic)|macron]] (¯), [[tilde]] (˜), [[Diaeresis (diacritic)|trema]]  (¨), and a [[Overdot|superscript dot]] (˙) and nine punctuation marks (? ! ( ) « » , ; .).

The letters presented in the Annex 1 of the 1978 Niamey meeting report are slightly different from the ones presented on page 34 (page 32 in the French version)  which omitted the hooktop-z but included two apostrophe-like letters (for ʔ and ʕ). Five of the letters were written with a subscript dot instead of a subscript dash as in the English version (ḍ ḥ ṣ ṭ and ẓ). The French and English sets are otherwise identical.

[[File:African reference alphabet as presented 1978 on the Niamey meeting.png|thumb|upright=1.6|African Reference Alphabet, as presented on the 1978 Niamey conference Annex 1 (printed English version)<ref name=Niamey1978 /><ref name="Unesco1981a">{{cite work|title=African languages: proceedings of the meeting of experts on the transcription and harmonization of African languages, Niamey (Niger), 17-21 July 1978|publisher=Unesco|year=1981|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000060064}}</ref>]]
[[File:African reference alphabet as presented 1978 on the Niamey meeting (French).png|thumb|upright=1.6|African Reference Alphabet, as presented on the 1978 Niamey conference (handwritten French version)<ref name=Niamey1978 /><ref name="Unesco1981b">{{cite work|title=Langues africaines : documents de la réunion d’experts sur la transcription et l’harmonisation des langues africaines, Niamey (Niger), 17-21 juillet 1978|publisher=Unesco|year=1981|url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000060064_fre}}</ref>]]
[[File:African reference alphabet as presented 1978 on the Niamey meeting (English).png|thumb|upright=1.6|African Reference Alphabet, as presented on the 1978 Niamey conference (handwritten English version)<ref name=Niamey1978 /><ref name="Unesco1981b"/>]]

{|class="wikitable Unicode"
|+English variant of 1978 proposal<ref name=Niamey1978/>
| '''lowercase''' || a || ɑ ||  b || ɓ || c || c̠ || d || ḍ || ɖ || ɗ || ð
|- style="border-bottom: solid"
| '''uppercase''' || [[A]] || [[Ɑ]] ||  [[B]] || [[Ɓ]] || [[C]] || C̠ || [[D]] || Ḍ || [[Ɖ]] || [[Ɗ]] ||[[Ꝺ]]
|-
| '''lowercase''' || e || ɛ || ǝ || f|| ƒ || ɡ || ɣ || h || ḥ || i || ɪ
|- style="border-bottom: solid"
| '''uppercase''' || [[E]] || [[Ɛ]] || [[Ǝ]] || [[F]] || [[Ƒ|Ғ]] || [[G]] || [[Latin gamma|Ɣ]] || [[H]] || Ḥ || [[I]] || [[Ɪ]]
|-
| '''lowercase''' || j || k || ƙ || l || m || n || ŋ || o || ɔ || p || q
|- style="border-bottom: solid"
| '''uppercase''' || [[J]] || [[K]] || [[Ƙ]] || [[L]] || [[M]] || [[N]] || [[Eng (letter)|Ŋ]] || [[O]] || [[Ɔ]] || [[P]] || [[Q]]
|-
| '''lowercase''' || q̠ || r || ɍ || s || s̠ || ʃ || t || ṭ || ƭ || ʈ || ө || u
|- style="border-bottom: solid"
| '''uppercase''' || Q̠ || [[R]] || [[Ɍ]] || [[S]] || S̠ || [[Esh (letter)|Ʃ]] || [[T]] || Ṭ || [[Ƭ|<span style="{{mirrorH}}">Ƭ</span>]] || [[Ʈ|Ŧ]] || {{not a typo|[[Latin theta|ϴ]]}}
| [[U]]
|-
| '''lowercase''' || ᴜ || v || ʋ || w || x || x̠ || y || ƴ || z || ẓ || [[file:Latin small letter Z with tophook.svg|16x16px]] || ʒ
|- style="border-bottom: solid"
| '''uppercase''' || [[Ʊ]] || [[V]] || [[Ʋ]] || [[W]] || [[X]] || X̠ || [[Y]] || [[Ƴ]] || [[Z]] || Ẓ || | [[file:Latin capital letter Z with tophook.svg|18x18px]] || [[Ʒ|<span style="{{mirrorH}}">Ʃ</span>]]
|}

Notes:

* [[Latin alpha|Ɑ/ɑ]] is "Latin alpha" ([[File:Latin uppercase alpha.svg|x15px]][[File:Latin lowercase alpha.svg|x15px]]) not "Latin script a" ([[File:Latin uppercase script a.svg|x15px]][[File:Latin lowercase script a.svg|x15px]]). In Unicode, Latin alpha and {{nowrap|script a}} are not considered as separate characters.
* The upper case I, the counterpart of the lower case i, does not have crossbars ([[File:I without crossbars.svg|x15px]]) while the upper case counterpart of the lower case ɪ has them ([[File:I with crossbars.svg|x15px]]).
* The letter "Z with tophook" ([[Image:LATIN SMALL LETTER Z WITH TOPHOOK.svg|20px]]) is not included in [[Unicode]].
*c̠, q̠, x̠ represent [[click consonant]]s (ǀ, ǃ, ǁ respectively), but the line under is optional, and usually not used.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Niamey 1978 report|url=http://www.bisharat.net/Documents/Niamey78en.htm|access-date=2021-08-18|website=www.bisharat.net}}</ref>
*The pharyngeal ḥ and pharyngealized ḍ, ṣ, ṭ, ẓ are presented with lines below as h̠ and d̠, s̱, t̠, z̠ in the Annex 1 but with dots in the other parts of the 1978 Niamey meeting report (both in the French and English versions) These represent Arabic-style [[emphatic consonant]]s.
*c, j represent either palatal stops or postalveolar affricates. ɖ, ʈ are the retroflex stops, as in the IPA.
*ƒ, ʋ represent bilabial fricatives.
*ө is a dental fricative, not a vowel.
*Although digraphs using h are normally used to represent aspirated consonants, in languages in which those are absent, the digraphs can be used instead of ʒ, ʃ, ө, ɣ...<ref name=":0" />
*Digraphs with m or n are used for prenasalized consonants, with w and y for labialized and palatalized consonants; kp and gb are used for labial-velar stops; hl and dl are used for lateral fricatives.<ref name=":0" />
*ɓ, ɗ are used for implosives, and ƭ, ƙ for either ejectives or voiceless implosives. ƴ is used for [ʔʲ].
*Nasalization is either written with a nasal consonant following the vowel, or with a tilde. Tone is indicated using the acute accent, grave accent, caron, macron, and circumflex. Diaeresis is used for centralized vowels, and vowel length is indicated by doubling the vowel.
*Segmentation should be done according to each language's own phonology and morphology.

==Rejected 1982 proposal==
[[File:Linearized tilde.svg|thumb|upright=0.5|Linearized tilde]]
A proposed revision of the alphabet was made in 1982 by Michael Mann and David Dalby, who had attended the Niamey conference. It has 60 letters. Digraphs are retained only for vowel length and geminate consonants, and even there they suggest replacements. A key feature of this proposal is that, like the French proposal of 1978, it consists of only lower-case letters, making it [[unicase]]. It did not meet with acceptance at the follow-up Niamey meeting in 1984.<ref>P. Baker (1997: 115) Developing ways of writing vernaculars, in Tabouret-Keller et al. (eds.) ''Vernacular Literacy''. Clarendon and Oxford Press.</ref>

[[File:African reference alphabet from 1982 according to Mann and Dalby 1987 (2).png|thumb|upright=1.6|African Reference Alphabet (revised version 1982) as proposed by Michael Mann and David Dalby<ref name=Mann&Dalby>Michael Mann & David Dalby 1987 [2017] ''A Thesaurus of African Languages: A Classified and Annotated Inventory of the Spoken Languages of Africa With an Appendix on Their Written Representation.'' London, {{ISBN|0-905450-24-8}}, p. 207</ref>]]

{|class="wikitable Unicode"
|+Mann & Dalby's revised African Reference Alphabet<ref name=Mann&Dalby/>
| [[a]] || [[ɑ]] || [[ʌ]] || [[b]] || [[ɓ]] || [[c]] || [[ꞇ]] || [[ç]] || [[d]] || [[ɗ]] || [[ɖ]] || [[ꝺ]] || [[e]] || [[ɛ]] || [[ǝ]]
|-
| [[f]] || [[ƒ]] || [[g]] || [[ɠ]] || [[ɣ]] || [[h]] || [[ɦ]] || [[i]] || [[ɩ]] || [[j]] || [[ɟ]] || [[k]] || [[ƙ]] || [[l]] || [[Lambda (Latin letter)|λ]]
|-
| [[m]] || [[File:Latin letter Linearized tilde (Mann-Dalby form).svg|8x8px]]|| [[n]] || [[ŋ]] || [[ɲ]] || [[o]] || [[ɔ]] || [[p]] || [[ƥ]] || [[q]] || [[r]] || [[ɽ]] || [[s]] || [[ʃ]] || [[t]]
|-
| [[ƭ]] || [[ʈ]] || [[Latin theta|θ]] || [[u]] || [[Latin omega|ω]] || [[v]] || [[ʋ]] || [[w]] || [[x]] || [[y]] || [[ƴ]] || [[z]] || [[ʒ]] || [[ƹ]] || [[Glottal stop (letter)|ʔ]]
|}

The 32nd letter "[[File:Latin letter Linearized tilde (Mann-Dalby form).svg|8px]]" is called ''linearized [[tilde]]''.<ref>Mann, Michael; Dalby, David: ''A Thesaurus of African Languages'', London 1987, {{ISBN|0-905450-24-8}}, p. 210</ref> It is not specifically supported in Unicode (as of version 15, 2023), but can be represented by {{angbr IPA|[[wikt:ɴ|ɴ]]}} or {{angbr IPA|[[wikt:∿|∿]]}}. {{angbr IPA|&thinsp;ƒ&thinsp;}} and {{angbr IPA|&thinsp;ʃ&thinsp;}} are written without ascenders (thus esh is a mirror of {{angbr IPA|ʅ&thinsp;}}; {{angbr IPA|ƴ}} is written with a right-hooking tail, like the retroflex letters in the IPA; and {{angbr IPA|ɩ}} has a top hook to the left, like a squashed {{angbr IPA|ʅ&thinsp;}}. {{angbr IPA|ꞇ}}, inspired by the shape of Insular t, is meant to complete the series ejective letters with hook {{angbr IPA|ƥ, ƭ, ꞇ, ƙ}}, in practice {{angbr IPA|[[ƈ]]}} is used instead.

Because no language has all the consonants, the consonant letters are used for more than one potential value. They can be reassigned when there are conflicts. For instance, ɦ may be a voiceless pharyngeal, a voiced glottal fricative, or even (in the Khoekhoe table) an alveolar nasal click to avoid the digraph ɖɴ.

{|class="wikitable Unicode"
|+Consonant chart (1982)<ref name=Mann&Dalby/>
|- align=center
! !!bilabial||labio-<br>dental||labio-<br>velar||dental||alveolar||lateral||post-<br>alveolar/<br>retroflex||alveo-<br>palatal||palatal||velar||uvular||pharyn-<br>geal||glottal
|- align=center
!nasal
|m|| ||ɴ|| colspan="2" |n|| ||ɴ||colspan=2|ɲ||ŋ||colspan=3| 
|- align=center
!plosive
|p b|| ||ƥ ɓ||colspan=2|t d|| ||ʈ ɖ|| ||c j||k g||q|| ||ʔ
|- align=center
!implosive
|ɓ|| || || ||ɗ|| || || ||ƴ||ɠ||colspan=3| 
|- align=center
!ejective/<br>aspirate
|ƥ||colspan=2| ||colspan=2|ƭ||colspan=3| ||ꞇ||ƙ||colspan=3| 
|- align=center
!tenuis click
|ω||colspan=2| ||ʈ||ɖ||λ||colspan=2| ||ç||colspan=4| 
|- align=center
![[delayed aspiration]] click<!--in the Nama chart-->
|ωω||colspan=2| ||ʈʈ, λ{{sic}}||ɖɖ, ɽ||λλ, q||colspan=2| ||çç, ɟ||colspan=4| 
|- align=center
!glottalized click<!--in the Nama chart-->
|ωʔ||colspan=2| ||ʈʔ, ƭ||ɖʔ, ɗ||λʔ, ɣ||colspan=2| ||çʔ, ƴ||colspan=4| 
|- align=center
!aspirated click<!--in the Nama chart-->
|ωh||colspan=2| ||ʈh, θ||ɖh, ꝺ||λh, ƹ||colspan=2| ||çh, ꞇ||colspan=4| 
|- align=center
!nasal click<!--in the Nama chart-->
|ωɴ||colspan=2| ||ʈɴ, ɴ||ɖɴ, ɦ||λɴ, ŋ||colspan=2| ||çɴ, ɲ||colspan=4| 
|- align=center
!affricate
|colspan=7| ||c j||colspan=5| 
|- align=center
!fricative
|ƒ ʋ||f v|| ||θ ꝺ||s z||θ ꝺ|| ||ʃ ʒ||ç ɟ||colspan=2|x ɣ||ɦ ƹ||h ɦ
|- align=center
!trill/flap
|colspan=4| ||r|| ||ɽ||colspan=3| ||ɽ||colspan=2| 
|- align=center
!approximant
| ||ʋ||w||colspan=2| ||l||λ|| ||y||colspan=4| 
|}

Where {{angbr IPA|ƥ ɓ}} are needed for both values, {{angbr IPA|ƙ ɠ}} might be chosen for the labiovelar plosives. 

Where dentals contrast with alveolars, {{angbr IPA|ƭ ɗ ɴ}} might be chosen for the dentals.

Where there are aspirated plosives but not voiced, the [[pinyin]] solution might be chosen of using voiced letters (e.g. b) for [[tenuis consonant|tenuis]] and the voiceless letter (e.g. p) for the aspirate. 

Additional affricates should be written with unused letters, or with digraphs in ''y'' or ''w'' where there is morphophonemic justification. 

Where {{Angbr IPA|θ ꝺ}} are needed for both values, the lateral fricatives might be written {{angbr IPA|λ ɽ}}. 

Where velar and uvular fricatives contrast, {{angbr IPA|ɦ ɽ}} might be chosen for the uvulars. 

Where {{angbr IPA|ʋ}} is needed for both values, {{angbr IPA|ω}} might be chosen for the approximant.

The [[click letter]]s are combined with ɴ (before or after) for nasal clicks, followed by g for voiced, and followed by h for aspirated.

{|class="wikitable Unicode"
|+Vowel chart (1982)<ref name=Mann&Dalby/>
|- align=center
! !!front||central||back
|- align=center
!close
|i||ɩ||u
|- align=center
!close-mid
|e||ω||o
|- align=center
!open-mid
|ɛ||ə||ɔ
|- align=center
!open
|a||ʌ||ɑ
|}

Remaining diacritics should be replaced by linearized equivalents. For the tone diacritics are proposed baseline-aligned {{angbr|´ ` ⌟ ⌝}} (not supported by Unicode).

==See also==
*[[Africa Alphabet]]
*[[Dinka alphabet]]
*[[ISO 6438]]
*[[Pan-Nigerian alphabet]]
*[[Lepsius Standard Alphabet]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Mann |first1=Michael |last2=Dalby |first2=David |year=1987 |title=A thesaurus of African languages: A classified and annotated inventory of the spoken languages of Africa with an appendix on their written representation |location=London |publisher=Hans Zell Publishers |isbn=0-905450-24-8}}

==External links==
*''[http://www.bisharat.net/Documents/Niamey78en.htm African Languages: Proceedings of the meeting of experts on the transcription and harmonization of African languages, Niamey (Niger), 17–21 July 1978]'', Paris: UNESCO, 1981
*http://scripts.sil.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=nrsi&item_id=IntlNiameyKybd
*http://www.bisharat.net/Documents/Niamey78annex.htm

[[Category:Latin alphabets]]
[[Category:Writing systems of Africa]]
[[Category:Latin-script letters]]
[[Category:Writing systems introduced in 1978]]
[[Category:Phonetic alphabets]]