July 21st 2023.
Ibrahima and Abdoulaye Barry have made an incredible accomplishment: they are the last hope to save a language. Pulaar, spoken by the Fulani people of West Africa, had no official alphabet until recently. In 1989, the brothers designed a handwritten form of the Pulaar alphabet in order to preserve the culture and native language of their people.
In 2018, the Barry brothers partnered with Microsoft and McCann NY to digitize the Pulaar alphabet, now named ADLam. ADLam stands for “Alkule Dandayɗe Leñol Mulugol”, which translates to “the alphabet that will prevent the culture, the people, from disappearing”. The digital version of ADLam can be accessed on the Microsoft 365 suite, as well as on desktop and mobile platforms.
McCann NY and a group of typeface designers worked to make the alphabet more practical for use among the Fulani community. They updated the letterforms to account for the evolution of the Fulani culture and language, as well as created classroom materials and a book to teach writing. Additionally, a children’s book was designed to teach the alphabet and aspects of Fulani culture.
The project has had a great effect on the Fulani people: the Mali government is working to recognize ADLaM as an official alphabet, and two ADLaM-focused schools will open in Guinea this year. This will allow students to learn completely in their native language for the first time.
The result of this incredible project is available on unlocked.microsoft.com as ADLam Display font. It is an incredible achievement for the Barry brothers and McCann to have preserved the language and culture of the Fulani people, and they are hopeful that with the new ADLam alphabet, the language will be secured for future generations.
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