Sisaala (''Sissala'') is a
Gur language cluster spoken in northern
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 ...
near the town of
Tumu[Edited by M.E.Kropp Dakubu, ''The Languages of Ghana'', Kegan Paul International, 1988.] and in the neighbouring republic of
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳ðž¤ðž¤²ðž¤¢ 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 to ...
. Western Sisaala is intermediate between Sisaali and Tumulung Sisaala.
Paasaal is similar and also called (Southern) Sisaala.
Distribution
Sisaala is spoken by the Sissala. The Sisaala in Ghana live in the
Northern Region, in the
Upper East Region
The Upper East Region is located in north Ghana and is the third smallest of the 16 administrative regions in Ghana. It occupies a total land surface of 8,842 square kilometers or 2.7 per cent of the total land area of Ghana. The Upper East regi ...
and in the
Upper West Region
The Upper West Region of Ghana is located in the north-western corner of Ghana and is bordered by Upper East region to the east, Northern region to the south, and Burkina Faso to the west and north. The Upper West regional capital and largest se ...
.
Burkina Faso’s
Sissili Province is named after the Sissala people.
Dialects
Tumulung Sisaala, which is also known as Eastern Sisaala, is spoken East of
Tumu in the Upper West region and
Builsa
Builsa is a town in the Builsa District of the Upper East Region of Ghana. The capital of Bulsa North District is Sandema, of Bulsa South District Fumbisi; other villages/towns are Wiaga, Fumbisi
Fumbisi is a town in the Builsa South District ...
in the Upper East Region. Its name derives from the city of Tumu, which is the traditional capital of the Sisaala people.
Western Sisaala, which is also known as Lambishi Sisaala, is spoken in
Tumu in the upper west Region and
Gonja in the Northern Region.
Paasaal, which is also known as Pasaale/Southern Sisaala, is spoken between
Lambussie and
Tumu in the Upper West Region.
Burkina Sisaala, which is also known as Sisaali or Northern Sisaala, is spoken in the Burkinabe Provinces of
Sissili and
Ioba.
References
* ''Sisaala–English English–Sisaala Dictionary'' (1975). Ghana Institute of Linguistics, 231 pp. .
estern Sisaala
External links
A grammatical sketch of Isaalo (Western Sisaala)
Languages of Ghana
Gurunsi languages
{{gur-lang-stub