Baga, or Barka, is a dialect cluster spoken by the

Baga people Baga may refer to: People * Baga (king) (3rd century BC), a king of ancient Mauretania * Ena Baga (1906–2004), English pianist * Kiri Baga (born 1995), American figure skater * Rita Baga, Canadian drag queen * Baga Chipz, stage name of Leo Lor ...

of coastal Guinea. The name derives from the phrase ''bae raka'' 'people of the seaside'. Most Baga are bilingual in the Mande language Susu, the official

regional language * A regional language is a language spoken in a region of a sovereign state, whether it be a small area, a federated state or province or some wider area. Internationally, for the purposes of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Lan ...

. Two ethnically Baga communities, Sobané and Kaloum, are known to have abandoned their (unattested) language altogether in favour of Susu.

Varieties

The varieties as distinct enough to sometimes be considered different languages.W.A.A.Wilson, ''Temne, Landuma and the Baga Languages'' in: ''Sierra Leone Language Review, No. 1, 1962'' published by Fourah Bay College, Freetown. They are: :Baga Koga (Koba) :Baga Manduri (Maduri, Mandari) :Baga Sitemu (Sitem, Sitemú, Stem Baga, Rio Pongo Baga) The extinct Baga Kaloum and Baga Sobané peoples had spoken Koga and Sitemu, respectively.Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices Neighboring Baga Pokur is not closely related.

Geographical distribution

Geographical distribution of Baga varieties, listed from north to south, according to Fields-Black (2008:85):Fields-Black, Edda L. 2008. ''Deep Roots: Rice Farmers in West Africa and the African Diaspora''. (Blacks in the Diaspora.) Bloomington: Indiana University Press. *''Baga Mandori'': coast of Guinea, north of the mouth of the Nunez River *''Baga Sitem'': coast of Guinea, south of the mouth of the Nunez River *''Baga Kakissa'': coast of Guinea, north of the mouth of the Pongo River *''Baga Koba'': coast of Guinea, from south of the mouth of the Pongo River to north of the mouth of the Konkouré River *''Baga Kalum'':

Îles de Los Îles de Los are an island group lying off Conakry in Guinea, on the west coast of Africa. Their name is derived from the Portuguese: ''Ilhas dos Ídolos'', "Islands of the Idols". They are located about off the headland limiting the southern ...

and area surrounding Conakry Geographical distribution and demographics of Baga varieties according to Wilson (2007), citing a 1997 colloquium talk at Lille by Erhard Voeltz:Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. ''Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification''. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. *''Baga Manduri'': spoken at Dobale, and very similar to Citɛm. *''Baga Sitemu'' (properly ''Citɛm''): spoken in a cluster of villages on the Campaces River. This is the only vibrant Baga linguistic variety. *''Baga Sobane'': only two known speakers in an isolated location. *''Baga Marara'': spoken on three islands in the Rio Pongo. It is still being spoken by children. *''Baga Koba'': spoken near Kaporo town only by elderly speakers over age 60. It is reportedly very similar to Baga Kaloum. *''Baga Kaloum'': originally spoken in a quarter of what is now the Conakry area, and in the

. It is close to Temne. Only spoken in a remote area now.

Noun Class Systems

Baga has prefixes for eight noun classes:

Vocabulary

Below is a selection of basic vocabulary in ''Baga Maduri'': * - dog * - dogs * - fish * - pig * - earth, land * - the chief's head * - the cow's head * - eye * - tooth * - teeth * - hang * - hand, arm * - hands, arms * - hair * - drink * - iron * - turn onto front

References

External links