Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Bambara, also known as Bamana (N'Ko script: ߓߡߊߣߊ߲) or Bamanankan (N'Ko script: ߓߡߊߣߊ߲ߞߊ߲; Arabic script: بَمَنَنكَن), is a lingua franca and national language of Mali spoken by perhaps 14 million people, natively by 4.2 million Bambara people and about 10 million second-language users. [1]
Grave of Solomana Kanté. The French at the bottom reads “Inventor of the N'Ko alphabet”. Kanté created N’Ko in response to erroneous beliefs that no indigenous African writing system existed, as well as to provide a better way to write Manding languages, which had for centuries been written predominantly in Ajami script, which was not perfectly suited to the tones unique to Mandé and ...
N'Ko [a] (ߒߞߏ) is a standardized unified koiné form of several Manding languages written in the N'Ko alphabet.It is used in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and some other West African countries, primarily, but not exclusively, in written form, whereas in speech the different varieties of Manding are used: Maninka, Bambara, Dyula and others.
Other languages include Senufo in the Sikasso region (south), Fula (Fula: Fulfulde; French: Peul) as a widespread trade language in the Mopti region and beyond, the Songhay languages along the Niger, the Dogon languages of Pays Dogon or “Dogon country” in central Mali, Tamasheq in the eastern part of Mali's Sahara and Arabic in its western ...
It is one of the Manding languages and is most closely related to Bambara, being mutually intelligible with Bambara as well as Malinke. It is a trade language in West Africa and is spoken by millions of people, either as a first or second language. Similar to the other Mande languages, it uses tones.
Writing systems are used to record human language, and may be classified according to certain common features. The usual name of the script is given first; the name of the languages in which the script is written follows (in brackets), particularly in the case where the language name differs from the script name. Other informative or qualifying ...
Pages in category "Languages of the Gambia" ... Balanta languages; Bambara language; C. ... Wolof language; Wolofal alphabet;
The NKo alphabet, developed in 1949 by Solomana Kante, is designed to write Manding using a common literary standard comprehensible to speakers of all these varieties. It is gaining popularity. [5] A lesser-known alphabet for Bambara was developed in the early 20th century but is not used. [6]