Jola (Joola) or Diola is a
dialect continuum
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varie ...
spoken in
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤠(Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤠...
,
the Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
, and
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘ðž¤ðž¤²ðž¤« 𞤄ðž¤ðž¤§ðž¤¢ðž¥„𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), ...
. It belongs to the
Bak branch of the
Niger–Congo language family.
Name
The name ''Jola'' is an exonym, and may be from the
Mandinka word ''joolaa'' 'one who pays back'.
[Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. ''Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification''. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.] There is no widespread endonym used by all of the Jola speakers.
Languages
The primary branches of Jola proper and to some extent Central Jola are not mutually intelligible. The main varieties are:
*
Bayot
*Jola proper
**
Kwatay (Kuwaataay), spoken along the coast south of the
Casamance River
The Casamance River () flows westward for the most part into the Atlantic Ocean along a path about in length. However, only are navigable. The Casamance is the principal river of the Kolda, Sédhiou, and Ziguinchor Regions in the southern po ...
.
** Karon–Mlomp
***
Karon, spoken along the coast of
Casamance
, settlement_type = Geographical region
, image_skyline = Senegal Casamance.png
, image_caption = Casamance in Senegal
, image_flag = Flag of Casamance.svg
, image_shield =
, motto ...
south of
Diouloulou.
***
Mlomp
Mlomp is a rural community and village in the Ziguinchor Region of Senegal in the Casamance, situated approximately south-west of Ziguinchor.
As of 2000, it had a population of 7,628, rising to around 8,500 in 2006. Most inhabitants are of Diola ...
**Central Jola
***
Jola-Fonyi (Kujamatay), spoken around
Bignona
Bignona is a town with commune status located in the Ziguinchor Region of Senegal (Casamance). It briefly appears in the movie ''Binta and the Great Idea.''
Its population on 2013 was 27,826.
Notable people
*Landing Savané, politician
*Ibrahi ...
. The official standard.
***
Bandial, spoken in a small area south of the
Casamance River
The Casamance River () flows westward for the most part into the Atlantic Ocean along a path about in length. However, only are navigable. The Casamance is the principal river of the Kolda, Sédhiou, and Ziguinchor Regions in the southern po ...
.
***
Gusilay, spoken in the village of
Thionck Essyl
Thionck Essyl (also called Tionk Essil) is a town in Ziguinchor, Senegal, located 65 km north-west of the region capital.
Etymology
The name of the town means "cook remaining crouched."
History
The origins of the town are connected to the ...
.
***
Jola-Felupe (Ediamat), spoken in a handful of villages south of Oussouye in
Oussouye Department
Oussouye Department is one of the departments of Senegal, located in the Ziguinchor Region. It's situated in Basse Casamance, on the right bank of the mouth of the Casamance River.
Administration
Oussouye is its main village, which is also the on ...
. Kerak may be a dialect.
***
(Jola) Kasa, spoken around
Oussouye
Oussouye (or Husuy in JolaWilson, William André Auquier. 2007. ''Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification''. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.) is an urban commune in the Ous ...
.
Bayot
Bayot, spoken around
Ziguinchor
Ziguinchor (; wo, Siggcoor ; ar, زيغينكور) is the capital of the Ziguinchor Region, and the chief town of the Casamance area of Senegal, lying at the mouth of the Casamance River. It has a population of over 230,000 (2007 estimate). I ...
, is grammatically Jola, apart from a non-Jola pronominal system. However, perhaps half its vocabulary is non-Jola and even non-Atlantic. It may therefore be a
language isolate with substantial Jola borrowing (
relexification In linguistics, relexification is a mechanism of language change by which one language changes much or all of its lexicon, including basic vocabulary, with the lexicon of another language, without drastically changing the relexified language's gra ...
). In any case, Bayot is clearly distinct from (other) Jola languages.
Reconstruction
Some Proto-Joola reconstructions of stable lexical roots by Segerer (2016) are:
[Segerer, Guillaume. 2016. ]
The unusually unstable basic vocabulary of the Joola languages
'
Paris, September 1-3, 2016.
References
External links
Kujamaat Jóola Folklore and Language materials
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jola Languages
Bak languages
Languages of Senegal