Generational stories are more than just entertainment, they hold deep cultural significance, teach values, and reflect the worldviews of the storytellers. In the ongoing effort to honour and share these stories with the world, I'm excited to announce the addition of audio storytelling to the Sub-Saharan Stories platform.
The Heart of Oral Tradition
African folktales are deeply rooted in the oral tradition, where storytelling is an immersive, spoken art. In many African cultures, stories are meant to be heard, not just read. Traditionally, storytellers, or "griots" in some regions, would captivate audiences around a fire, using their voices to weave the narrative, embellishing the tale with rhythm, tone, and emotion. This is a powerful, communal experience — one that goes beyond words on a page.
Bringing these stories to life through audio allows us to more authentically preserve the spirit in which they were originally told. While reading a folktale captures the plot and characters, hearing the story unfolds its full essence. The cadence, pronunciation, pauses, and intonations all add layers of meaning that written text simply cannot replicate. In many ways, audio allows listeners to engage with the stories in the way they were intended.
Preserving Language and Pronunciation
Africa is home to over 2,000 languages, and many African folktales are deeply tied to these native tongues. By presenting the stories in audio format, we are able to preserve not just the words but also the correct pronunciations, accents, and nuances of each language. This is especially crucial in a world where many African languages are at risk of disappearing.
At present our stories will be automatically converted to audio formats using the latest AI tools and give our visitors the option to listen to each story. However we are committed to working with local narrators and voice artists, ensuring that the stories are told by people who understand the cultural and linguistic context. These commitments will give further voice to African storytellers and our audio folktales will serve as a valuable archive, preserving the linguistic heritage of the continent for future generations.
18th October 2024