Wenitte Apiou
Wenitte Apiou is a Burkinabe-American engineer, writer, and futurist. He is best known for his invention of the Goulsse alphabet, a script designed for writing Gur languages of West Africa, as well as his creation of FuturLang, a constructed language. Apiou is also the author of The Merge, a book exploring a speculative future where humans and artificial intelligence merge into a single posthuman entity.
Goulsse Alphabet
[edit]The Goulsse Alphabet was developed in 2022 by Wenitte Apiou and Babaguioue Micareme Akouabou of Burkina Faso.[1] The script was created to write Gur languages, such as Mooré and Kasem, and is also used for the constructed language FuturLang.[2]
The name Goulsse means "writing" in Mooré, a major language of Burkina Faso.[2] It was designed to contribute to linguistic and cultural revitalization, following a tradition in West Africa of creating scripts to support ethnic and linguistic identity.[3]
It has been noted that newly invented scripts, like Goulsse, often play a role in developing a cultural identity, particularly in areas with diverse ethnic groups like Burkina Faso.[4]
The Goulsse Alphabet was born out of a broader effort to create a language learning app for African languages, aiming to preserve and promote linguistic diversity on the continent. This initiative sought to make languages like Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa more accessible to younger generations through modern technology."Hausa language missing as young Africans build app that speaks Igbo, Yoruba, other African languages". Legit.ng. December 16, 2021. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
Design and Features
[edit]The alphabet consists of 30 letters, along with punctuation marks and diacritical dots above some vowels to indicate nasalization.[1] It is written from left to right, without distinguishing between upper and lower case letters. Despite the tonal nature of Gur languages, the Goulsse script does not include tone markings.[5]
Usage
[edit]The Goulsse Alphabet has been taught in Pô, Burkina Faso, and is part of ongoing efforts to close the gap in literacy for minority languages in West Africa.[5]
It aligns with broader linguistic efforts in Burkina Faso, which is home to dozens of distinct languages and dialects.[6]
FuturLang
[edit]FuturLang is a constructed language developed by Wenitte Apiou, designed to facilitate conceptual communication between human and machine languages. It is built with extensibility in mind, allowing the introduction of new concepts as they are discovered. FuturLang incorporates the Goulsse Alphabet for its written form.[2]
The Merge
[edit]In his book The Merge, Apiou envisions a future where humans and artificial intelligence achieve a seamless integration, leading to the emergence of a posthuman entity. The work reflects Apiou's interest in transhumanism and the philosophy of mind, exploring themes such as identity, consciousness, and the evolution of humanity in an increasingly technological world.
Legacy and Cultural Impact
[edit]Wenitte Apiou's work reflects a commitment to innovation and cultural preservation. The Goulsse Alphabet stands as a symbol of African linguistic and ethnic revitalization, while FuturLang and The Merge push the boundaries of communication and speculative thought. Apiou's contributions have sparked interest among linguists, technologists, and futurists alike.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Brookes, Tim (23 August 2022). "The Vanderbilt–Burkina Faso Connection". Endangered Alphabets. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
- ^ a b c Simon Ager, ed. (2023). "Goulsse Alphabet". Omniglot. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
- ^ Unseth, Peter (2011). "Invention of Scripts in West Africa for Ethnic Revitalization". In Fishman, Joshua A.; García, Ofelia (eds.). Handbook of Language and Ethnic Identity: The Success-Failure Continuum in Language and Ethnic Identity Efforts. Vol. 2. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 23–32. ISBN 978-0-19-983799-1.
- ^ "Ogmios Newsletter" (PDF). Foundation for Endangered Languages. Summer 2022. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
- ^ a b Brookes, Tim (November 2022). "Minority Languages in West Africa". MultiLingual. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
- ^ "Burkina Faso Toponymic Factfile" (PDF). Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. 2023. Retrieved 2024-12-14.