N’Ko digit two

On Keyman N’Ko 1.0 for desktop, press the physical 2 key. It produces ߂.

N’Ko is a right-to-left script for Manding languages of West Africa. Kanté created it in 1949 after earlier Arabic- and Latin-writing approaches did not represent Manding tones well enough; tones are pitch patterns that can distinguish words.

N’Ko supported literacy in Manding languages, cultural pride, and the recording of local history and specialist knowledge. In the same region, Ajami is the practice of writing local languages in Arabic script; it is a separate script tradition, not another name for N’Ko.

What does ߂ mean?

It means “two.” This is the cardinal form, used for a quantity.

Add the N’Ko ordinal mark ߲ to form ߂߲, meaning “second”: an ordinal names a position rather than an amount.

Why do N’Ko numbers run right to left?

N’Ko numbers follow the script’s right-to-left direction.

In a multi-digit number, the digit with the greatest place value appears at the right, though the text stores it first. Arabic and Hebrew writing also runs right to left, but their numerals normally run left to right. This changes the digits’ order on the line, not the value of ߂.