N’Ko
Script: Nkoo
Family: African
Type: alphabet
Whitespace: between words
Open Type Tag: nko
Complex Positioning: unknown
Unicode: true
Diacritics: true
Status: Current
Baseline: bottom
Ligatures: unspecified
Direction: rtl
Direction Notes: RTL (right-to-left)
Unicode Chart: PDF
The Nko script was created in 1949 by Soloman Kante to write the Bambara language, one of the Manding languages spoken in Mali, in response to a newspaper article reflecting the colonial misconception that Africans were culturally inferior due to their lack of indigenous writing systems. The word Nko means \\I say\” in all the Manding languages. Kante had travelled widely throughout West Africa
Fonts
- Noto Sans N'Ko — Google Fonts
- Gabaon — Google Fonts
Low-Resolution Screen Fonts
- Noto Sans N'Ko — Google Fonts Even right-to-left strokes maintain legibility at screen sizes
- Gabaon — Google Fonts Specifically designed for N'Ko digital use; clear at 12–14px