The Soninke language (Soninke: ''Sooninkanxanne''), also known as Serakhulle or Azer is a
Mande language
The Mande languages are spoken in several countries in West Africa by the Mandé peoples and include Maninka, Mandinka, Soninke, Bambara, Kpelle, Dioula, Bozo, Mende, Susu, and Vai. There are "60 to 75 languages spoken by 30 to 40 millio ...
spoken by the
Soninke people of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
. The language has an estimated 2.1 million speakers, primarily located in
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. Mal ...
, and also (in order of numerical importance of the communities) in
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
,
Ivory Coast,
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 ...
,
Mauritania,
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 ), ...
,
Guinea and
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
. It enjoys the status of a
national language in Mali, Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania.
The language is relatively homogeneous, with only slight phonological, lexical, and grammatical variations.
Linguistically, its nearest relatives is the
Bozo language , which is centered on the
Inner Niger Delta
The Inner Niger Delta, also known as the Macina or Masina, is the inland delta of the Niger River. It is an area of fluvial wetlands, lakes and floodplains in the semi-arid Sahel area of central Mali, just south of the Sahara desert.
Location ...
.
It is possible that the language of the
Imraguen people
The Imraguen, or Imeraguen (Berber: Imragen), are an ethnic group or tribe of Mauritania and Western Sahara. They were estimated at around 5,000 individuals in the 1970s. Most members of the group live in fishing villages in the Banc d'Arguin Natio ...
and/or the
Nemadi dialect are dialects of, or closely related to, Soninke.
Phonology
Consonants
Vowels
Long vowels are written double: ''aa'', ''ee'', ''ii'', ''oo'', ''uu''.
References
External links
PanAfriL10n page on SoninkeCollection of documents in SoninkeDecree No. 2005-991 of 21 October 2005 relating to the spelling and the separation of words in Soninke
via the website of the Senegalese ''Journal officiel''
Languages of Mali
Languages of the Gambia
Languages of Mauritania
Languages of Senegal
Languages of Ivory Coast
Languages of Ghana
Languages of Guinea
Languages of Guinea-Bissau
Languages of Burkina Faso
Mande languages
{{Mande-lang-stub