"&#62;I was under the impression Africa had no native written languages<p>Are you kidding me? Ethiopia alone has multiple scripts."<p>Ah well, when I was living in the United States people used to ask me if we all used  elephants for transport  in India. I used to answer "Sure, we had this big stable of elephants and I went to school on one, as did all the kids in the neighbourhood. Actually I went to the airport for my trip here on the house elephant .. "<p>(Fwiw, my great grandfather did own an elephant in the early 1900s but it used to haul lumber and take part in temple processions, not so much provide transport from point A to B ... )