How to use Tropy to analyze Ajami manuscripts

Working through Ajami manuscripts can be slow-going. Here is a standard workflow using Tropy that can make it a little easier.

Working through Ajami manuscripts can be slow-going. One important tool in our workflow is the open-source software Tropy from the same people behind everyone’s favorite reference management software Zotero.

I recently uploaded two technical notes that explain our workflow for 1) annotating instances of Ajami in manuscripts and 2) extracting one’s typesetting, transliteration, interpretation and translation of any instances of Ajami.

Using this workflow, one can easily spit out all instances of Ajami into a range of convenient formats that ourselves and other researchers can then explore in whatever way best suits their own research interests into African languages, orthography, scripts, historical sources etc.

I’ve added both documents to our general “Tools and Resources” page as well. Let us know if they’re helpful or something isn’t clear!


Author: Coleman Donaldson

Postdoc at the University of Hamburg interested in speech and literacy practices in Francophone and Manding-speaking West Africa.

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