Nko Unicode Block

The NKo Unicode block is a collection of characters specifically designated for the NKo script, which is primarily used to write the Manding languages, including Mandinka, Bambara, and Dyula. These languages are spoken across several West African countries, such as Mali, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, and Burkina Faso. The script was devised by Souleymane Kanté in 1949 as part of an effort to unify these languages under a singular writing system and promote literacy and cultural identity. The NKo script is written from right to left and includes a set of characters to express vowels, consonants, and tonal variations, enabling it to accurately capture the phonetic nuances of the Manding languages.

The Unicode block for NKo, which ranges from U+07C0 to U+07FF, encompasses a variety of characters including letters, numerals, and punctuation marks. This integration into the Unicode Standard facilitates the digital representation and processing of text written in the NKo script across different platforms and devices, thereby supporting linguistic and technological inclusion. The availability of NKo in Unicode is pivotal for the preservation and dissemination of Manding language literature and for educational resources, enabling native speakers to engage with their language in digital formats, from word processing and online communication to mobile technology. Furthermore, the inclusion of the NKo block in Unicode contributes to global linguistic diversity by ensuring that this historically significant writing system is accessible and usable in the modern digital era.

View a range of fonts that support the Nko block.

Below you will find all the characters that are in the Nko unicode block. Currently there are 62 characters in this block.