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African languages

(Encyclopedia)African languages, geographic rather than linguistic classification of languages spoken on the African continent. Historically the term refers to the languages of sub-Saharan Africa, which do not belo...

Acheampong, Ignatius Kutu

(Encyclopedia)Acheampong, Ignatius Kutu ko͞oˈto͞o ächāˈämpông [key], 1931–79, government official in Ghana, b. Kumasi. He taught before joining (1959) the army, where he advanced to colonel. In 1972, foll...

Nkrumah, Kwame

(Encyclopedia)Nkrumah, Kwame kwäˈmā nkro͞oˈmä [key], 1909–72, African political leader, prime minister ...

Gaborone

(Encyclopedia)Gaborone gäbərōˈnē [key], city (1992 est. pop. 140,000), capital of Botswana. It is located on the country's major railroad line and has a small international airport. The city is the country's a...

Mauritania

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Mauritania môrĭtāˈnēə [key], officially Islamic Republic of Mauritania, republic (2015 est. pop. 4,182,000), 397,953 sq mi (1,030,700 sq km), NW Africa. It borders on the Atlantic Ocean i...

Laurence, Margaret

(Encyclopedia)Laurence, Margaret (Jean Margaret Laurence), 1926–87, Canadian novelist, b. Manitoba. She lived in Somaliland, Ghana, and England and many of her early works had an African setting. Laurence was par...

Kufuor, John Kofi Agyekum

(Encyclopedia)Kufuor, John Kofi Agyekum, 1938–, Ghanaian political leader. A lawyer educated at Lincoln's Inn, London, and Oxford, he served in Ghana's parliament (1969–72, 1979–81) between periods of militar...

Du Chaillu, Paul Belloni

(Encyclopedia)Du Chaillu, Paul Belloni pōl bĕlōnēˈ dü shāyüˈ [key], c.1831–1903, French-American explorer in Africa. Born probably in Paris, he spent his youth on the west coast of Africa, where his fath...

Mutharika, Bingu wa

(Encyclopedia)Mutharika, Bingu wa bēngˈgo͞o wä mo͞otäˈrēkä [key], 1934–2012, Malawian economist and political leader, b. Nyasaland (now Malawi) as Brightson Webster Ryson Thom; he africanized his name du...

Takoradi

(Encyclopedia)Takoradi: see Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana. ...