Communication Systems in Africa Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering traditional, colonial, and modern communication systems, media ownership, press freedom, and normative press theories in Africa based on Ukonu and Wogu.

Nok Culture

An ancient sub-Saharan African culture existing between 500 BC and 200 AD, recognized for producing the region's earliest known terra cotta sculptures.

Oramedia

Indigenous traditional communication media in Africa, grounded in oral tradition and human auditory channels, used to inform, educate, dialogue, and resolve community conflicts.

Town Crier

A community information officer who uses an attention-directing instrument, such as a metal or wooden gong, to gather an audience before making official public announcements.

Proverbs

Short, witty traditional expressions used to refer indirectly and vividly to situations, ideas, or behaviors to teach moral lessons or offer advice.

Riddles

Traditional verbal expressions composed of a proposition and a standardized answer, designed to entertain and test perception and memory.

Akuko Ifo

Igbo folktales or moonlight leisure stories told about animals, supernatural beings, or human figures to entertain children and impart moral virtues.

Akuko Ala

Igbo narratives of the land that highlight heroic ancestral deeds to establish permanent communal icons and reinforce customary law (omena-ala).

Idiophones

Self-sounding musical instruments made of resonant materials that produce sound from the body of the instrument itself when struck, shaken, or hit (e.g., ekwe, metal gongs, rattles).

Membranophones

Traditional instruments that produce sound through the vibration of a stretched membrane or skin, such as talking drums.

Aerophones

Wind instruments that produce sound through the vibration of a column of air, including flutes (Oja) and animal horns.

Chordophones

Stringed musical instruments that produce sound via the vibration of stretched strings, such as the Zither, musical bow, and lutes.

Symbolography

A traditional communication mode using graphic or cryptic representations written or carved on surfaces, such as the Nsibidi writing system.

Extra-Mundane Communication

A traditional mode of communication between the living and ancestors or supernatural beings through spiritual chants, invocations, libations, prayers, and sacrifices.

Iconographic Communication

A non-verbal communication mode where physical objects or floral materials represent specific social concepts, events, or cultural statuses.

Omu

The young frond of a palm tree in Igbo traditional communication, serving as a non-verbal symbol for peace, sacredness, warning, or property restriction.

Nzu

Native white chalk in Igbo traditional culture, used non-verbally to symbolize peace, welcome, ritual purity, or the birth of a child.

Trado-Modern Communication System

A hybrid communication strategy that systematically integrates traditional indigenous channels with modern mass media to enhance rural mobilization and message impact.

Forum Theatre

An interactive, participatory drama format used in rural development that allows audience members to exchange ideas and act out solutions to social issues.

Berlin Conference (1884-1885)

A conference held in Berlin, Germany, where European colonial powers met to negotiate and partition the African continent into colonial territories.

Apartheid

An institutionalized system of racial segregation and white-minority political domination enforced by the South African government from 1948 until the early 1990s.

Cultural Imperialism

The process by which the media structure, content, and cultural norms of one nation exercise dominant, non-reciprocal influence over another country.

Quantitative News Imbalance

The numerical disparity in international news flow, where the vast majority of global reports originate from Western developed nations compared to developing regions.

Qualitative News Imbalance

The thematic bias in international news coverage, where reports about Third World nations focus disproportionately on negative events like coups, disasters, and conflicts.

Cultural Norms Theory

A media theory postulating that mass media selectively present and emphasize specific themes, leading audiences to pattern their attitudes and behaviors after those portrayals.

Development Communication

The deliberate alignment and utilization of communication strategies and media to support national economic, social, and political development objectives.

Pan-African News Agency (PANA)

A regional news agency established in April 1979 in Addis Ababa by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to promote African integration and counter foreign news dominance.

Authoritarian Theory

A press ideology where mass media operate under strict state regulation, licensing, and censorship to ensure media support government power and policy.

Libertarian Theory

A press ideology asserting that the media should function as an open, unrestricted marketplace of ideas free from government intervention or prior restraint.

Totalitarian Concept

A press model based on complete state and ruling party ownership of mass media facilities to direct and mobilize society in alignment with state objectives.

Social Responsibility Theory

A normative press theory holding that media freedom carries ethical obligations to deliver accurate, balanced, and comprehensive reporting accountable to the public interest.

Democratic-Participant Theory

A press theory advocating for non-bureaucratic, decentralized, and interactive media structures that grant individuals and local groups direct access to public communication.

Digital Divide

The global or domestic gap in access to and effective usage of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) between socio-economic groups and nations.

Communication Globalization

The worldwide exchange and integration of information across national borders, driven by satellite networks, digital publishing, and computer technology.