The Matcha Method

Photo: Craig Protzel

All the effort we put in was mainly to achieve one thing: Craig referencing us in his future classes, while introducing the 5th/6th/7th, etc. Annual Semaphore Competition. This, however, by no means implies our unwillingness to accept material prizes if we will be amongst the winners.


When first approaching the Semaphore challenge, we were keen to seek out a solution that was either bewildering in every means possible, or acted as a loophole around the problem (i.e. getting the message to the other person with a moving object or specimen).

By loophole, we spent the earlier days discussing the ideas of getting an object to cross the distance of the Arts Center, seeking out everything from frisbees to bow and arrows, and at one point, creating the world’s best paper airplane. With all of these methods, the risk to damage the light fixture on the ceiling was too high, or the ceiling itself was too low to allow for an object to be thrown upwards with enough room to fall back down to the partner. There were further seldom objects outside of expensive bow and arrows that could cover the distance.

(The subject of animals was thoroughly studied, however the central issue of bringing a live animal into the arts center seemed a bit too extreme, especially in being mindful of people’s allergies.

The campus cats also just didn’t comply to our training methods. Unfortunately).

They can’t be tamed. 🙁

Our next game plan was to create a semaphore system so bewildering and seemingly sporadic that encryption was virtually impossible. The objective was to maintain visual and audio elements so that if either vision or hearing was compromised in a situation, there was a means to still transmit the message.

We spent a few hours sifting through materials in the fabrics room, the EDS lab, and the IM lab, eventually gathering a box of objects (known as the Super Secret Box) that either produced noise or could be thrown off of a balcony without causing casualties. Once we had achieved a list of the most random possible visual and audio things we could incorporate, we looked to defining the semaphore transmission. All the objects thrown were a part of our design meant to distract and confuse potential observers, that would be uncertain what is and what is not part of our code.

Photo: Craig Protzel

The initial idea was to divide the alphabet into a number of categories. We thought that drum beats would indicate the category, and then a series of identical movements would signifie the letter’s position in the said category, i.e. every letter in the first position, irrespective of the category would be a clap. So one drum beat, and a clap would indicate the first letter from the first category (1.1). Two drum beats and a clap would call for the letter from the second category in the first position (2.1). Eventually we settled for 4 categories, each invoked by throwing an object into a specific direction. Throwing an object up = 1st category, throwing the object down = second category, throwing the object towards majilis = 3rd category, and throwing the object toward the window = 4th category. The position of the letter in each category would be indicated by the number of drumbeats.

Initial code
Updated code

We used the English alphabetical order to place letters into category, in groups of first 6s and then the last category in a group of 8 letters, as we assumed that “X”, “Y”, “Z” were least used. However, we changed this as we thought that this would be easy to decode, so instead we opted for a system that placed some of the most commonly used letters of the English Alphabet in the first places of each category. This helped us make sure that it is the easier to decipher for the receiver and code for the sender.

To denote the space, we again opted for something random – brushing teeth. Having no connection whatsoever with anything else, we thought this to be the perfect indicator. For numbers, we used the whistling balloon, its sound introduced a number. To represent the number itself we used the Roman numerals up to IX. While we tried to think through most things, our matching outfits were not a part of our encoding, but rather a happy coincidence.

We also put in a place a system for checking the message in case something went wrong. We indicated the beginning and the ending of our communication through a musical sequence played on the drum sticks. If any of the words at the end were to not make sense, the receiver would not play the musical sequence, but rather use drum beats to indicate what word was not caught properly. In case the last word was missing, the receiver would beat once, if the second to last, then twice, etc. Catching this, the sender would replay the miscommunicated word.  

Rehearsing

Rehearsing was soooo exciting. We used our newly created system to communicate loudly inappropriate messages in public places. Provided that we have not been expelled, so far, we believe that it can be concluded that our encoding is pretty safe.

Photo: Craig Protzel

Final Execution

Not practicing throwing objects over the balcony proved to be the greatest risk going into the Tuesday competition. Though we were able to transmit messages to each other in record times of 4:30 in rehearsal, actually throwing objects ended up taking the full 6 minutes in the final competition. Even picking up the toothbrush after every word took up precious seconds versus just the act of brushing teeth. I was further aware of the reaction being distracting when I was throwing random objects off of the ledge, but it still ended up catching me off guard and I was much less smooth in identifying a letter.

The stress of the competition and knowing what was at stake – being in the Semaphore Hall of Fame – made it definitely harder to decode. Hani and Raitis set the bar pretty high and it was nerve-wracking to go after them. We also wanted to make the most out of it, as we knew how much effort we put into preparing for this day. By the end of the time, I realised that not everything was making sense, so I tried to use the above mentioned system to check the 1st word, RABZ, unfortunately we did not have enough time to do that.

Reflections

From watching the other groups, I noted that it was far more convenient for the transmitter to have a more memorizable system so that there was no hesitation to transmit multiple letters after one another from the signal of the receiver. Choosing the bewildering method meant having an extensive sequence for transmitting a single letter: checking the category, throwing an object in the appropriate direction, checking the letter for its count, and knocking the appropriate number of times.

On the receiving side, a few times I was not sure whether the object was thrown upwards or not, I believe that this is something that can be fixed with more practice and does not represent a huge design problem. During our “performance, however, I noticed another limitation – objects falling on the floor produced a sound. As I was only watching the sender while they were throwing objects, this lead to me not being always sure how many drum beats were actually played and whether the sound produced by the falling object was just a noise or something I should consider while decoding.

Our plans to confuse the troll and use dramatic visual and audible effects for the semaphore to work in longer distances were ultimately successful. Our shortcomings in transmitting the message quickly and without any error proved to be the sacrifices when using the irregular method. It is worth saying that throwing KitKats was probably one of the better ideas, because it was the most efficient way to distract people from actually paying attention to the code.


If the procedure were to be modified, I would consider adding more categories so that the alphabet could be broken down into categories of 4-5 letters, therefore would be easier to memorize without having to continually refer to the sheet. The new categories could include dropping from both hands, throwing an object backwards, or simply raising an object over one’s head.

Photo: Craig Protzel

Phoney Dabby – The Hani-Raitis Semaphore System

With our entry in the semaphore competition, we tried to solve the global issue of young people not communicating with each other in person. We hypothesized that one reason why nobody has managed to solve this is that adults are trying to press their means of communication upon the kids. Meaning, adults want kids to talk using words. However, we believe that utilizing the technique dabbing is the way to proceed.  

Our semaphore system did not start out with the arbitrary idea of dabbing, but it was more of a natural progression of ideas. We first wanted an intuitive framework upon which we can build our final system. We had conversations about avoiding one-to-one correspondence between a code and the letter it represents, whether we want to sacrifice creativity for efficiency, and the significance of mental associations to make things easier. From the start, we did not want our code to rely on a piece of paper for deciphering, but rather on the receiver’s visual/mental intuition. Our first few ideas involved utilizing a mirror/light combination, acting out scenarios corresponding to each letter, and using the four corners of the sender box to signify a different ‘mode’ of sending. All of these did not meet our criteria so we scrapped them.

We ended up using an already-established character grouping system, the old phone keypad. It was perfect for our purposes, as it allows both the sender and the receiver to have a mental map of the system they’re using without a piece of paper to guide them. We then moved on to the challenge of physically representing this code. We had many ideas that would utilize objects, but ultimately we decided that our system would become too obvious. Instead, we decided to use our bodies. We went through many iterations before settling on dabbing, not only because it’s a fad but because it, like the phone keypad, represents a popular concept that is recognizable and was once cool (but now really isn’t), suitable for the receiver’s ease of mental recognition.

We settled on a simple system: the arms represent the screen, and the head represents the presser (like the thumbs when texting). When Raitis (the sender) wants to represent a certain block, say abc2, he would lower his arms so his head (the presser) is at the top of the “screen”, then nod his head a certain number of times to indicate a specific character, like 3 nods for ‘c’. The dabs were used for the side blocks, as they clearly marked the side meant by the sender to the receiver. One difficulty presented by this system was the fact that it was mirrored for Hani (the receiver), who had to mentally flip the side of Raitis’s head. For spaces, a simple space bar movement with the arms was used, and for 0, the “Wakanda forever” move was used in the spirit of fads. For repeats, Raitis would raise his arm before repeating the move.

The last part of our system is a skipping movement, used for when the character indicated is obvious and can be guessed by the receiver by context. For example, for the word “perfect”, the sender could spell out “perfec” and do the skipping movement for the last character, which the receiver would then guess to be a ‘t’.

Our system, while tricky to master initially, was fast and efficient after some practice (3 minutes for 40 characters). We realized that it relied heavily on the sender and receiver and was prone to some error, so practice was a must. In addition, we could easily employ error correction in the case of sending wrong characters, as most errors were a result of the receiver (Hani) failing to mirror the message, and simply mirroring the wrong character again would fix it. Unfortunately, there wasn’t any time given to error correction after sending the message in the competition, and we were slower and less accurate than we anticipated. However, we still believe that this attempt at visual/mental association offers a promising basis for semaphore communication, as it is quick to grasp, obscure enough to hide, and only requires arms.

The Gjorgji-Yero Semaphore Transmission System

We decided to keep it simple, because the simpler the concept is, the easier the practical work will be. We used four different cylindrical sticks for alphanumeric characters and a black metallic stick to signalize space.

As it can be seen in the visual representation above, different colors symbolize different groups of characters. The moves (that is, signs) for every alphanumeric character were randomly chosen to make it easier for both the transmitter and receiver to remember them. The same moves were repeated for different sticks; one sequence of moves was repeated for vowels and numbers, and another one for first six consonants. Then, a combination of the two sticks was used for the last nine consonants.

In the first sequence for numbers and vowels, random moves were chosen for the characters; however, it was important to remember the flow of the sequence. For example, holding the pink stick with your right hand, it signalizes E, and holding the yellow sticker in the same position signalizes the number 2 (both signalize the second member of the sequence, except for 0 in numbers which is considered a separate member).  In the second sequence, same technique was applied. For example, pointing out at your left shoulder with the blue-colored stick signalizes B and holding the black sticker in the same position signalizes K. The moves and their signals are shown below.

It is important to note that we agreed Gjorgji to be the transmitter and Yero the receiver, so Gjorgji signalized each character for documentation, such that during the competition, it would be easier for Yero to be more familiar with the move Gjorgji makes.

For the last nine consonants of the alphabet, a combination of two sticks was applied to signalize each character; these were black and blue-colored stick. Except for Q, R and Z which were random moves, for S,T,V,W,X,Y we decided to actually show each character visually. Out of these, only W and X were shown in its original position, whereas the other ones facing the ground (that is, being inverted). A visual representation is shown below.

The system was easy to be remembered such that the sentence can be easier transmitted when one has to combine the different moves. However, during the competition, we realized that some character can be incorrectly signalized – such as R and Y, when Gjorgji transmitted R as Y putting the blue-colored stick a bit up than it was supposed to be – and we did not think of a way to signalize a repetition of a word or a character when the receiver is not sure which character is actually being transmitted. For future improvements in the system, we should think of implementing this improvement for full system functionality.

Lateefa & Ali’s Semaphore System

For our Semaphore System we decided to develop a system based on colors that corresponded to letters. At first it was just an idea we came up with and kept as a placeholder in case we thought of a different system, but we decided to stick with it in the end.

Our first job was to lay out all the characters we were going to use; we referred to Google to give us the most used letters of the English alphabet, so we would assign primary colors to them that would make them faster to distinguish. As we laid out our letters we began to realize that there aren’t enough bright/visible colors to actually cover 37* characters.Our next step was to cut down the amount of colors we could use, we did some math and figured out we could cut our colors down to 10 instead of the original 37*; that was one step towards efficiency.

We relied on color combinations and gestures to manage all the characters. For example, If the color Red was pointing upwards then the sender was indicating the letter ‘A’, if the sender held the stick horizontally showing the colors Red and Blue then that would indicate the letter ‘L’ and finally if the sender were to shake the stick slightly that would indicate the number associated with the two colors, ‘5’.

We matched the color combinations with the sticks, meaning that every stick covered 4 character’s total, two letters on each side plus the one combination letter and finally the number.We initially were going to have 10 sticks but cut it down again to 5 by sticking our colored pages on each side instead of one making us have less sticks to rummage through.

To cut our performance time down we also had sticky notes next to each stick that indicated what both sides had so the sender would not have to scramble to find a letter.As for the receiver they just had to indicate a thumbs up once they’ve decoded the letter, so the sender can move on to the next one.

Some of the problems we faced were the following:

-The printer was completely unreliable with color accuracy, so a couple colors turned out to look slightly similar that you couldn’t discern them immediately.

– We made the mistake of practicing the night before and realizing that the Art’s Center shut off all the lights upstairs, so we could not tell any colors apart. Meaning that our system would be unreliable during night time.

– One more possible problem would be the possibility of either participants being color blind and simply rendering the system useless (Unless it was redesigned to accommodate that.)

Color Code
Sender
Set Up

Phoney colour system – Keith & Flavia

Process:

After the tours around the costume shop and the IM Lab, we decided that we wanted to design a creative system that used props and symbols for signaling. However, before jumping to the props we wanted to create a semaphore system that would be easy to decode, adaptable for 38 characters, and intuitive to the eye. We decided to start with vowels and numbers, thinking that we would be able to adapt either of the two approaches. For vowels, we quickly mapped out the vowel order into our fingers (this is explained further in methodology) and then realized there wasn’t much we could further expand on with that system. We therefore moved into numbers, and realized that we could easily map out the numbers from the phone keypad into leveled fist-pump symbols (further explained in methodology). Since we wanted to create a clear division between letters, we chose the blank space to be represented with a clap above the head. This turned out to be the only visual and auditory signal, which was a clear differentiator from the rest of the symbols.  

However, we still faced the problem of adaptation. We needed to cover all the consonants, but we couldn’t decide on how to do it. However, we also realized we hadn’t used props yet, so we started thinking about how props could help us adapt either the vowel or the number model. Given that the number model was easier to visualize and differentiate at a distance, we decided to map the consonants accordingly. We created a hierarchy system, where we divided the consonants between vowels in separate groups, creating a total of 5 groups, two groups of three consonants and three groups of five consonants. Using a hierarchy system proved to be more intuitive once the number system is understood, and the use of colors made the letters easy to track.

We then went to the IM lab in order to cut out the flags from cardboard paper. While we were there, Keith became fixated on a stick. However, Flavia couldn’t really think of a use for it and didn’t want to make an overly complicated system just for the sake of using a stick. Therefore, she told Keith “Find it a useful purpose, and we can use it”. Keith then came up with the amazing idea of having a feedback flag, where Flavia (the sender) would be able to see if her message was making sense.

When we tested our system out with random sentences, we realized we could also create symbols from recurring words for the purpose of time saving. After implementing this section to our semaphore and practicing it several times, we decided we were content with our semaphore and decided to wrap it up there.

Methodology & Design:

Our entire semaphore system was inspired by the phone digit system in the telephone. Expectedly, the numbers were easy to follow with each number located in their respective positions: (1-3) above the head, (4-6) chest level, (7-9) waist level, and 0 below the waist. Next, we decided to take out all the vowels in the alphabet (a,e,i,o,u) and symbolize them with hand signals for 1 to 5. As vowels were the most common letters in the alphabet, we wanted to make its signals as easy and efficient as possible. We also divided up the consonants into separate groups between the vowels, which were classified by the colours – orange, purple, blue, green, and red. For example, between a and e, there are the letters b,c,d – these were represented by the orange flag. And, between e and i, there are the letters f,g,h – these were represented by the purple flag. Once again, within each consonant group, we followed the phone digit system. We chose to follow the phone digit system because it was easier to visualize from a distance as compared to indicating numbers just with the fingers on one’s hand. Finally, we created different body signals for commonly recurrent words such as “and”, “the”, and “for”, and other aspects like “space” or separation of repeated letters.

A unique element of our semaphore system is our ability to introduce a feedback system by the receiver. The receiver would carry a red-green flag stick to indicate the understanding of each letter and word. For example, each time the receiver decodes a letter, he/she would indicate confirmation by raising the green flag, and vise versa with the red flag if the receiver was unable to decode the message. This is also supported by a repeated check after the completion of each word. Lastly, if the receiver places the red-green flag stick horizontally, it would indicate to the sender that the receiver has guessed what the word is, and to save time, the sender should move on to the next word.   

With all this in mind, we headed to the IM lab to construct our signals. We chose the required colours, and used cardboard papers to construct the flags. We also found a wooden stick in the lab that helped create the feedback signal for the receiver. In addition, we created two cheatsheet – one for the receiver, and one for the sender. Having said that, our system is well-structured with the organization easy to follow, hence making it easy to memorize if needed.

Output:

Keith’s Perspective (Receiver):

The day before the Semaphore competition, we practised our system using random tweets in the Internet. In a calm environment with no time pressure, we were able to complete a 40-character tweet in about 3 minutes. However, I believe, on the day of the competition, the pressure of getting the message absolutely correct within a set time frame caused us to be prone to errors. For instance, I personally found it rather difficult to read some signals especially the hand signal between “i” and “o”. Given how small Flavia’s hands are, it was quite a challenge to differentiate two fingers from three in that distance. I also misread the colour orange and red flags, resulting me in writing down “aboid” instead of “avoid”. On the day of the event, I think one thing that really saved us was our feedback system. Without it, there would have been no way for me (as the receiver) to indicate that the message was not clearly received.

Flavia’s Perspective (Sender):

During the competition, I realized that I had to take into account many factors when performing my signaling. I had to make sure I was making a mirrored sign from the cheat sheet so Keith could understand it, grab the correct color, and make the correct sign. With the time constraint, I messed up some of these actions. However, thanks to the feedback flag, I was able to correct my symbols and get the message through to Keith. One thing that I found complicated when correcting my symbols was that at some points I wasn’t able to traceback what word was it that Keith was not understanding. Therefore, in order to make sure, I went back one word and started spelling it out. Given that our feedback flag had a “I guess the word” signal, Keith was able to indicate that that word had already been spelled out correctly, so I jumped to the following word. Thanks to the instant feedback, I was able to correct my symbols right and write out the full message right on the six minutes.

Ideas for Analysis Paper #1

(posted quite late…)

1: The telephone in Canada

Alexander Graham Bell's first telephone

Although there is some debate over who was the original inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell successfully patented his device in 1876 and sent his first message a few days later. Shortly afterwards, the first long-distance call was made from Brantford, Ontario to Paris, Ontario, marking the advent of a new era of communication. The Bell Canada Corporation was established, and the telephone industry began to grow rapidly across the nation. At first, telephones were mostly used by businesses, but it became adopted quickly by the wealthy upper-class.

Sources: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexander-Graham-Bell
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/ED6E1F1F52661AE5360C9A5B696B909E/S146722270001497Xa.pdf/peoples_telephone_the_politics_of_telephony_in_the_united_states_and_canada_18761926.pdf

2: Early Canadian newspapers

Halifax Gazette

The newspaper emerged in Canada after the first printing presses were brought to the (then) colonies in the 18th century. 

Sources: https://nmc-mic.ca/about-newspapers/the-evolution-of-newspapers/#first

https://nmc-mic.ca/about-newspapers/the-evolution-of-newspapers/#first

Beating the “Tama” and using “N’Ko”

Communication technologies from West Africa

Analysis Paper 1 Ideas

(… posted way after the 9pm deadline…)

Looking to find the methods of communication that prevailed two centuries ago in the part of the world where I come from , my leads naturally led me the language of instruments. Finding written alphabets or anything of the sort would have been rare and a surprise to me because orality was and still is to a certain extent, a major medium of knowledge and information transfer across generations.

A Soussou Griot with his kora, Guinea, West Africa

In traditional West Africa, the griots are the custodians of oral tradition and through a family pass down heritage chain, have been trained since their earliest childhood to be destined to that role and have developed a massive memory for legends, stories, genealogies of a whole clan, stories that could have happened centuries before they were even born. Their handling of the spoken word is special and the precision and detail in their stories beyond understanding. Griots, who can be found from the Sahelian areas of Northern Senegal to the tropical zones of the Gulf of Guinea, fulfilled many important functions (from singing praises, to being spokespersons, diplomats, musicians, translators all the way to officiating marriages, namings and funerals). The importance of griots in the Senegalese society and West African communities in general, has considerably reduced nowadays; nevertheless I still employ the present tense when talking about them because to this day I see griots in every marriage, naming or traditional ceremony I attend. Géwël is how we call them in Senegal and I shall delve much more on this when writing my analysis paper because of how relevant orality was to communication in Africa [1][2].

THE TAMA

The West African Tama
Massamba Diop, Master Tama Drummer
Hidden Voice of Black Panther 

The “Tama”, as it is known in most Senegalese local languages, is a tiny bell shaped drum, also literally called as the armpit drum since it is placed there when being played. The types of drums used for different communication purposes are numerous and preponderant across many African societies and I’ll talk more about them in due time; but the Tama has the specificity of offering so much control to its drummer, allowing itself to be squeezed and loosened at will, varying its pitch like a human voice. If you’ve paid attention enough while watching the cinematic sensation of this year “Black Panther” set in the imaginary African kingdom of Wakanda, you’d have realized that the entire score of the movie has a dormant unusual and drummy background sound that hits spikes and lows all throughout. That is the sound of the Tama. Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson spent weeks in Senegal recording sounds and accompanying Fula singer Baaba Maal -who did the opening vocals of the movie – on tour while delving into the language that these instruments could speak. Like he puts it, the Tama does what no other percussion instrument does, it breathes [3]. Its sound can travel 5 to 11 kms from village to village depending on the time of the day and weather conditions, thus allowing information to be relayed at speeds faster and more efficient than any transportation system or technology of the time (~150 km/h), legitimately giving it some technological edge.

In many 20th century West African classics like Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, Ahmadou Kourouma’s En Attendant le vote des bêtes sauvages or Hampâté Bâ’s Memoirs, all of which are books I have read, the proportion given to the importance of drums cannot be underestimated. In Things Fall Apart, the name of the drums is never translated in English but written as it is in Ibo as if each was to be given its own identity and they are talked about as living beings. The other important thing is that the drums are beaten with an incurved wooden stick that mimics the shape of a cane. From originally being a communication tool, the Tama has nowadays transitioned to become a folkloric and artistic symbol being used in wrestling contests (mbapatt in wolof), in sabaar (dance congregations), traditional marriages…most happy celebrations. It is also, along with other drums, the lead instrument in modern Senegalese music, which makes the latter recognizable anywhere as a genre called Mbalax – rhythm -.

My analysis paper will really try and research how people in villages understood the language of the talking drum, how and where they were able to learn it, and how that knowledge or that ability to decrypt traveling sounds has been lost throughout the years. My great great grandfather probably could although he must have been illiterate; I have the sense that the introduction of western-style education throughout colonization took away those semaphoric autochtonous capabilities as African kids gradually received schooling and were put away from traditional initiation.

The N’Ko Script

Image result for n'ko
“N’Ko” written in N’Ko Script

Connecting the scattered descendants of the Mande

N’ko Alphabet

The N’Ko Script is a type of alphabet and writing system that was developed around the mid-twentieth century by Souleymane Kante, a Guinean writer who invented it since there was no indigenous African writing system for his language, Manding. Speakers of Manding/ Mande are spread all over Western Africa and the artificial borders created by colonialism ended up separating people from the same ethnic groups. These borders ended up affecting how the language suffered distortions and twists depending on whether the country was Francophone or Anglophone. Those distortions are phonetically visible in how the same family names vary across countries (e.g. Dramé in Senegal vs Drammeh in Gambia) or how French is meshed with Manding in Guinea whereas in Liberia it is with English. Possibly the most known Manding character in the West is Kunta Kinte, the fictional character in Alex Haley’s Roots. The maternal side of my own family is Manding and that is why I found this personally relevant.

The introduction of the alphabet sparked a movement to promote N’Ko literacy amongst the Manding speakers of West Africa and thus through a common alphabet, strengthen a common identity. The Script has notable similarities to the Arabic script and that may be no stranger to the fact that most Mandings (+90%) are practicing Muslims and they were one of the early adopters of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is directionally written from right-to-left, has diacritical marking and its letters connected at the base. It was added to the Unicode in 2006. 

Paths of research for the N’Ko Language would be to see where the inspiration lied in the creation of the characters that make up the alphabet, look deeper into the factors that brought about its existence (orality vs writing) and the potential it has to unite Manding people across West Africa as a communication tool.

– Y.N.

Resources

[1] Communication in Africa and its Influence – Orality And Performance, JRank Article,  Link

[2] L’oralité en Afrique, an article by Mor Dieye , Link 

[3] ‘Black Panther’ Composer Infuses Score With Trove of African Sounds, A Variety Article by Jon Burlingame. Link

[4] Les moyens de communication traditionnels en zone rurale dans l’espace culturel koongo: cas du département du Pool, A thesis by Jean Claude Moussoki , Link 

[5] Traditional systems of communication in Modern African Development, 1987, Africa Media Review Vol. 1, No. 2, 1987. By Des Wilson. Link

[6] ** Mande identity through literacy, the N’ko writing system as an agent of cultural nationalism. Oyler, Dianne White (1994)  Toronto: African Studies Association.

[7] ** The History of N’ko and its Role in Mande Transnational Identity: Words as Weapons. Oyler, Dianne White (November 2005).  Africana Homestead Legacy Publishers. 

First paper ideas

Moldovan Language (as told by the Soviets)

It is commonly agreed that Romanian is a Roman language and throughout the history it made sense that its written form has to be based on the Latin alphabet. It is pretty easy to argue that in Moldova we speak Romanian, due to the shared history, and the fact that in the XIXth century this was the official narrative. However when in 1940, Moldova became a part of the Soviet Union the officials tried to change this narrative to impact ideas of identity in the country. Instead of Romanian in Latin script, Moldovan in Cyrillic became the official language for administrative communication and education. While the two languages are virtually the same, in Moldova we just pronounce everything softer, the idea promoted by the politician in Moscow was that the Romanian for Moldova is nothing but an imposed imperialistic language. Proof for that, many argued, was the fact that Cyrillic alphabet better mirrored the sounds of the spoken language. Spoiler alert: it did not.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, we have reverted to the Latin based alphabet. However, pro-Russian politicians still try to promote the narrative of a non-existing Moldovan language in Cyrillic script. 

Bibliography:  https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-languages-are-spoken-in-moldova.html

Marshrutka

Marshrutkas are privately /publicly owned buses that travel between cities. While we did not invent inter-urban transportation, we are extensively using it as a mean of communication that long ago expanded beyond Moldovan borders. It all started in the XXth century, when we actually got a system of inter-urban transportation, with open borders within the Soviet Union, many choose to study/work in the  countries or bigger cities. This meant that at age 17 many young people left their villages to pursue degrees in different locations. Many of the students were not working and bank transfers were not yet available. To cheat the system and help their kids, parents often reached out to the drivers of this buses. For a small fee, they were happy to transport: money, food, clothing that was to be collected by the receiver at a designated bus station.

Today, bank transfers are commonly used, but this system did not become obsolete, rather expanded in magnitude. Moldovans living abroad often use this to send parcels to their loved ones for lower prices (around 1-2 USD for 1 kg).

Gjorgji’s Ideas for Analysis Paper #1

The Cyrillic Alphabet as the start of a new era in education and communication

What else could I choose, if not the Cyrillic alphabet as a communication technology that was created by the two Slavs from Macedonia – St. Cyril and Methodius?  The Cyrillic was in first place invented to translate the Holy Scriptures for the Slavic people (mainly from Greek language) to make the Bible more accessible. Since they were both Monarchs, they spent quite a bit of time teaching students (younger Monarchs) who were mainly from Ohrid, the city with 365 churches and the origin of education in Macedonia. The Cyrillic alphabet was later modified by St. Clement and Naum of Ohrid, their two best students. This modification led to the implementation of the alphabet into education, that is, to teach people how to read and write. It was massively spread around Ohrid, leading to the introduction of the use of letter as a written type of communication between people from different places.

I have studied a lot about Macedonian language and the origin and development of Cyrillic alphabet in primary and high school, and find this idea very interesting for my first assignment. It would let me analyze the stage of progression and use in written and spoken language, as the main medium of communication. Also, by analyzing the Cyrillic alphabet, I can do more research on the positive and negative consequences it had on the people, their interest in learning the written language, and in its use for educational purpose.

Bibliography:

https://www.nytimes.com/1985/08/10/opinion/l-cyril-and-methodius-neither-greeks-nor-bulgarians-but-slavs-182081.html
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/in-pictures-ohrid-home-of-cyrillic-05-23-2018
http://learnrussian.rt.com/alphabet/the-history-of-the-cyrillic-alphabet/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Slavic-languages#ref604061


Printing press in Macedonia

Prior to 1835, printing press did not exist in Macedonia. Books ready to print were sent to Vienna, Belgrade and Russia, implying high costs and risks. The first printing office was open in Thessaloniki, sometime between 1835 and 1838 by Teodosij Sinaitski. The office was burnt in 1842, and only five books were fully printed there.

Interestingly enough, the second printing office was open in 1848 in the village of Vatasa which belongs to the city I come from – Kavadarci. It was called Vatasa Printing Office, opened by Daskal Kamce. There is not much evidence for this office, however the first Macedonian Reader was printed there. It is believed that many other books were printed in these two offices, however, due to political tension and unacceptance of the Macedonian language by other Slav countries at the time, a large amount of material for and printed in these two offices was completely burnt.

After these two offices, the third printing office was opened in Thessaloniki in 1852. These three offices mark the beginning of the printing press in Macedonia, aiming at promoting books written and printed in Macedonian language for massive use in educating people.

Bibliography:

http://makedonskijazik.mk/2010/03/%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5-%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%87%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B8.html

Analysis Paper #1 Ideas

Kollavarsham (Malayalam Calendar)

Originating in 825AD, Kollavarsham (the Malayalam calendar) is a solar and sidereal Hindu calendar used in Kerala, India. Even to this day, it has a huge significance in the daily lives Keralites in India – several festivals, events, and temple ceremonies follow this calendar. Similar to the Gregorian calendar, Kollavarsham follows 12 months a year, and 7 days a week. However, one of the several things that make the Kollavarsham unique is the 27 Nakshatras (following Hindu astrology). In many ways, since its origins, the calendar has ingrained itself as a major form of communication in the livelihoods of its people. For instance, agriculture (which makes up a huge part of Keralite culture) derives its monsoon names from the calendar – the northeast monsoon (thulavarsham) means “rain in the month of thulam.”

https://www.kerala.me/language/malayalam-calendar

http://kollavarsham.tumblr.com/

Kathakali Dance:

Kathakali is a classical dance form originating from Kerala, India. While the development of this art form is unclear, it emerged in popular culture sometime during the 16th and 17th centuries. More than just being a dance, Kathakali is an art of storytelling. It combines several artistic elements – dance, drama, music, costumes, and makeup – to convey the story. According to the Kerala Kalamandalam, “the 24 hand-gestures the Kathakali actor has, developed a language comprising of more than 600 words.” This is supported by the large variety of different rhythms, tempos, facial expressions, and body movements. Most of the stories this particular art form conveys are epics from Hindu literature (Mahabharata, Ramayana, and Puranas).

https://www.culturalindia.net/indian-dance/classical/kathakali.html

https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/travelnews/story/66990/the-art-of-kathakali

http://www.kalamandalam.org/ontraditionalarts.asp#1

https://www.culturalindia.net/indian-dance/classical/kathakali.html