Manjak or Manjack (french: Mandjak, ; pt, Manjaco) or Njak is a
Bak language
The Bak languages are a group of typologically Atlantic languages of Senegal and Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gin ...
of
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), ...
and
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
. The language is also known as Kanyop.
In 2006, the total number of speakers was estimated at 315,300, including 184,000 in
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), ...
, 105,000 in
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
and 26,300 in
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 ...
.
Dialects
The Manjak dialects below are distinct enough that some might be considered separate languages.
*Bok (Babok, Sarar, Teixeira Pinto, Tsaam)
*Likes-Utsia (Baraa, Kalkus)
*Cur (Churo)
*Lund
*Yu (Pecixe, Siis, Pulhilh)
*Unhate (Binhante, Bissau)
The Manjak dialects listed by Wilson (2007) are
[Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. ''Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification''. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.]
*
Canchungo (''kancuŋuʔ'') – central dialect
*Baboque (''babɔk'') (formerly
Teixeira Pinto) – eastern dialect
*Churo (') – northern dialect
*
Pecixe
Pecixe is an island in Guinea-Bissau. It is a coastal island belonging to the Cacheu Region and the Caió sector. Its area is 167 km2. The island has a population of 3,207 (2009 census); the largest village is Cassaca. (locally called ''pəhlihl''; otherwise ''pəsiis''), on an island to the south
*Calequisse (''kaləkiis''), to the west of
Canchungo
Writing system
The official spelling system for Manjak established by the Senegalese government is regulated by Decree No. 2005-983 of 21 October 2005.
References
Further reading
*
External links
Decree no. 2005-983 of 21 October 2005 relating to the spelling and the separation of words in Manjakúvia the website of the ''Journal officiel''.
Papel languages
Languages of Guinea-Bissau
Languages of Senegal
Languages of the Gambia
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