Samo (Sane, San, Sa), also known as Mande Samo, is a
dialect cluster
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 vari ...
of
Niger-Congo languages spoken in
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana t ...
and
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...
.
Varieties
Intelligibility between Samo varieties is low. The following have been coded as separate languages:
*Matya Samo, spoken in
Kossi Province
The Province de la Kossi lies in the western part of Burkina Faso and stretches to the border with Mali. It is in the Boucle du Mouhoun Region. The capital of Kossi is the town of Nouna, which has a mayor and high commissioner. The next largest to ...
,
Sourou Province (
Nouna and
Solenzo areas) and Mali
*Maya Samo, spoken in
Sourou Province,
Yatenga Province, and
Zondoma Province
Zondoma is one of the 45 provinces of Burkina Faso, located in its Nord Region. In 2019 the population was 239,955. Its capital is Gourcy.
Education
In 2011 the province had 191 primary schools and 16 secondary schools.
Healthcare
In 2011 the pr ...
*Southern/Maka Samo, spoken in
Nayala Province
Nayala is one of the 45 provinces of Burkina Faso and is in Boucle du Mouhoun Region.
Its capital is Toma.
Education
In 2011 the province had 133 primary schools and 20 secondary schools.
Healthcare
In 2011 the province had 20 health and socia ...
(Nouna and Solenzo areas);
Sourou Province;
Sanguie Province;
Passore Province[The Seenku Sembla language is also called 'Southern Samo'.]
Demographics
Samo dialect populations and locations:
List of Samo villages organised by department and dialect:
[Berthelette, John (2002). ]
Survey report on the San (Samo) language
'. SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2002-005.
PDF
Sample vocabulary
Sample basic vocabulary of Samo dialects:
Writing System
Notes and references
{{Authority control
Mande languages
Languages of Burkina Faso