Google is honoring the 71st birthday of Professor Duncan Okoth Okombo in their latest Doodle illustrated by Kenyan artist Joe Impressions. Okombo’s contributions throughout his lifetime, spanning 66 years, have pinned him as the founder of African sign language studies. Professor Okombo’s work was inspired at an early age due to his experience being raised during British colonial rule. Born on a remote Kenyan island in Kaswanga, Okombo witnessed the English language taking precedence over his ethnic identity sweeping his native tongue to near extinction. The violent awakening further propelled the professor to ensure the heart of his indigenous African heritage would never be dimmed. The solution would lie in educating the next generation to ensure the native language would always be preserved. Okombo would pursue a linguistics degree in 1983, publishing Masira ki Ndaki — one of the first novels in a Kenyan language. Advancing his career, he would become a professor of linguistics...