What might you learn if you discovered a hidden language?

For his whole life, Fallou Ngom believed his father was illiterate. It was only after he died that Professor Ngom returned to Senegal and found unusual writing samples among his belongings. Through his research, he found that the notes were written in Ajami, a modified form of Arabic used to write many African languages. But Fallou had no idea that many people of his father’s generation were using it to communicate, record debts, and write poems, prayers and stories. He says that for decades people were recorded as being illiterate if they didn’t write in French. And many people of Ngom’s generation had no idea their parents were using Ajami all along. So, what has he found out about his father and his country in the years since he started studying Ajami?

Host: Alan Kasujja Guest: Fallou Ngom, Professor of Anthropology, Boston University