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Linguistics is an important aspect but it's not the end all of everything. Languages change and can spread far beyond the area it originated in. Civilizations that conquer other civilizations usually influence their culture and language on the people they conquered. The Bantu languages originated out of Central and Southern Regions of Africa and would later spread the other parts of Africa which is sort of similar to the spread of Indo-European languages throughout most of Europe.
I think you may want to listen to Dr. Christopher Ehret a world renowned linguist, focusing on African language groups and linguistic changes over time etc.
I think you may want to listen to Dr. Christopher Ehret a world renowned linguist, focusing on African language groups and linguistic changes over time etc.
Just a suggestion, if you are going to offer more than an hour of video in support of your argument, please summarize the gist of it in a line or two, for those of us who can read ten times faster than we can listen. At least, indicate which poster's position is supported by the video.
Dr Ehret's remarks aside (I don't know yet what he said), invading or conquering cultures do not typically make much of an impression on the languages of the conquered, although they are much more likely to do so if the conquerors bring a written language with them. Nobody in modern Africa speaks English or French everyday, except as a connecting language for communications among people who have different mother tongues. Nobody in Hungary speaks Russian, nor for that matter, a language related to any of their neighboring countries, which have occupied them for the past thousand years. Nor English in Puerto Rico, nor Spanish in Paraguay. Mauritius was a British colony for 150 years, at the end of which, there wasn't a single newspaper or radio station using English. Languages are extremely difficult to displace, even by conquering invaders. The Romans and Arabs succeeded, but only because they could impose a written language on their subjects, instead of memorization of official jargon. Tiny nations like Latvia have refused to abandon their language through a thousand years of foreign occupation, and cling to it today by less than 2-million speakers, who never in their history formed an autonomous nation until the last century.
And that is why the Bantu linguistic group is treated as a single cultural arena, distinct from those that surround it using non-Bantu languages in Namibia, Ethiopia or Morocco, regardless of how dark they may visually appear. Since the Bantu-speaking people are just about the darkest of all humans, it should not be surprising that Bantu-speaking Africa is called "Black Africa".
Just a suggestion, if you are going to offer more than an hour of video in support of your argument, please summarize the gist of it in a line or two, for those of us who can read ten times faster than we can listen. At least, indicate which poster's position is supported by the video.
Dr Ehret's remarks aside (I don't know yet what he said), invading or conquering cultures do not typically make much of an impression on the languages of the conquered, although they are much more likely to do so if the conquerors bring a written language with them. Nobody in modern Africa speaks English or French everyday, except as a connecting language for communications among people who have different mother tongues. Nobody in Hungary speaks Russian, nor for that matter, a language related to any of their neighboring countries, which have occupied them for the past thousand years. Nor English in Puerto Rico, nor Spanish in Paraguay. Mauritius was a British colony for 150 years, at the end of which, there wasn't a single newspaper or radio station using English. Languages are extremely difficult to displace, even by conquering invaders. The Romans and Arabs succeeded, but only because they could impose a written language on their subjects, instead of memorization of official jargon. Tiny nations like Latvia have refused to abandon their language through a thousand years of foreign occupation, and cling to it today by less than 2-million speakers, who never in their history formed an autonomous nation until the last century.
And that is why the Bantu linguistic group is treated as a single cultural arena, distinct from those that surround it using non-Bantu languages in Namibia, Ethiopia or Morocco, regardless of how dark they may visually appear. Since the Bantu-speaking people are just about the darkest of all humans, it should not be surprising that Bantu-speaking Africa is called "Black Africa".
I quoted the person and at the end I said "This isn't to discredit what you said about, but to provide further insight into what you said." if a person doesn't have time or doesn't feel like listening to the videos, well that isn't really my concern.
Now, as to your part about people in Modern day African not speaking English or french every day, you have no clue what your talking about. My family is from Sierra Leone, people speak the language EVERY day all the time. The same is true all over Africa. I don't get some of you people. You have never lived in a place or have no close connection to a place, yet you pretend to know so much about it, is sorta weird/comical.
As for that bantu babble, its also comical and stupid all rolled up into one. Again, i am going to assume you have never been to Africa and probably don't even know any so called Bantus. But im sure you will google so pictures and try to pass them off as being representative of the continent. You people *rolls eyes*
I figured this could turn into a "bash Black people" or "Blacks are inferior" kind of discussion. The OP wanted to show that African people could be and have been more than many people want to believe. And some people have managed to try and keep it that way. However, I am seeing those who have a "Blacks are inferior and can't do anything" mentality.
One thing many Blacks are looking for is a sense of themselves. Whenever you have people telling you "your people did nothing" or "your people can't do anything because you're descended from inferior people". This does nothing but make a person feel like "I'm nothing" or "I must be inferior". And alot of people would say such things to put Black people down and make them feel like they're nothing.
I figured this could turn into a "bash Black people" or "Blacks are inferior" kind of discussion. The OP wanted to show that African people could be and have been more than many people want to believe. And some people have managed to try and keep it that way. However, I am seeing those who have a "Blacks are inferior and can't do anything" mentality.
One thing many Blacks are looking for is a sense of themselves. Whenever you have people telling you "your people did nothing" or "your people can't do anything because you're descended from inferior people". This does nothing but make a person feel like "I'm nothing" or "I must be inferior". And alot of people would say such things to put Black people down and make them feel like they're nothing.
I think more people of African decent need to educate themselves on their history instead of looking for acknowledgment from others. I personally could careless what someone who knows nothing about history and has never been to the continent has to say about the place. What I do hate to see though, is African and those of African decent buying into these fairy-tales. So if I can provide credible information to combat the non sense I will. But people also need to take their education into their own hands and start doing the reading for themselves.
I think more people of African decent need to educate themselves on their history instead of looking for acknowledgment from others. I personally could careless what someone who knows nothing about history and has never been to the continent has to say about the place. What I do hate to see though, is African and those of African decent buying into these fairy-tales. So if I can provide credible information to combat the non sense I will. But people also need to take their education into their own hands and start doing the reading for themselves.
Well, it would help it other persons did not regard African people as "savage" or "inferior". It is important for Black people to research their own history.
What "fairy tales" are you talking about?
There is something else to consider. If persons who are of African descent shouldn't be worried about what other persons think of them, why do so many worry about what others think of them?
I find it really annoying how threads intended to promote positive discussions on pre-colonial African history, and that are meant to inform people, always turn into debates on race and inferiority. While I disagree with a lot of the prejudiced and somewhat racist posts here in this thread, instead of arguing lets get this thread back on topic.
So here is a description of the number system used by the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria, before European, Muslim or outside contact. The Yoruba used a fairly complex system for counting and numerals:
Quote:
In her book, Africa Counts, Claudia Zaslavsky describes the Yoruba number system as a complex system based on 20 (vigesimal) that uses subtraction to express numbers. For example,
35 = (2 x 20) - 5; 47 = (3 x 20) - 10 - 3; 51 = (3 x 20) - 10 + 1;
55 = (3 x 20) - 5; 67 = (4 x 20) - 10 - 3; 73 = (4 x 20) - 10 + 3;
86 = (5 x 20) - 10 - 4; 117 = (6 x 20) - 3
According to the Yoruba system, the numbers from 1 to 10 have unique names. The numbers 11, 12, 13, and 14 are written additively (i.e., 11 = 10 + 1, 12 = 10 + 2, 13 = 10 + 3, 14 = 10 + 4). But the numbers from 15 through 19 are written using subtraction from 20. The numbers 21, 22, 23, and 24 are also written additively. The numbers 25 -29 are written as subtractions from 30. Each number after 30 is written as a multiple of 20 plus or minus tens and units.
This pattern is repeated for numbers up to 200. After 200, the system becomes irregular. The number 20 and its multiples are considered special to the Yoruba. Here are some of their Yoruba names.
Well, it would help it other persons did not regard African people as "savage" or "inferior". It is important for Black people to research their own history.
What "fairy tales" are you talking about?
There is something else to consider. If persons who are of African descent shouldn't be worried about what other persons think of them, why do so many worry about what others think of them?
One thing I was talking about in the first place. In order for one to have decent self-esteem, one must have a sense of one's self. Being told "you can't do anything", "you're inferior" or "your people have nothing to offer" would make a person's self esteem suffer badly. All the more reason to be educated about one's history.
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