Mande languagesThe Mande languages are a family of languages spoken in several countries in West Africa by the Mandé peoples. They include Maninka (Malinke), Mandinka, Soninke, Bambara, Kpelle, Jula (Dioula), Bozo, Mende, Susu, and Vai.
EthnologueEthnologue: Languages of the World (stylized as Ethnoloɠue) is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensive catalogue of languages. It was first issued in 1951 and is now published by SIL Global, an American evangelicalChristian non-profit organization.
Burkina FasoBurkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,878 sq mi). In 2024, the country had an estimated population of approximately 23,286,000. Its citizens are known as Burkinabes, and its capital and largest city is Ouagadougou.
Bobo peopleThe Bobo (sometimes called Bobo Fing) are a Mande ethnic group living primarily in Burkina Faso, with some living north in Mali. Bobo is also a shortened name of the second-largest city in Burkina Faso, Bobo-Dioulasso.
Samo language (Burkina)Samo (Sane, San, Sa), also known as Mande Samo, is a dialect cluster of Mande languages spoken in Burkina Faso and Mali.
MaliMali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the eighth-largest country in Africa and the 23rd largest country in the world, with an area of 1,240,192 square kilometres (478,841 sq mi). It is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east by Niger, to the northwest by Mauritania, to the south by Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, and to the west by Guinea and Senegal.
Bomu languageThe Bo language of West Africa, Bomu (Boomu), also identified as Western Bobo Wule, is a Gur language of Burkina Faso and Mali. Bomu is spoken by two groups of Bwa people, the Red Bobo, Bobo Wule (also spelled Bobo Oule), and the White Bobo, Bobo Gbe, also known as Kyan (also spelled Kian, Tian, Tyan, Can, Chan) or Tyanse.Bwa languagesThe Bwa languages (Bwamu, Bomu) are a branch of the Gur languages spoken by over half a million Bwa people of Burkina Faso and Mali. The Bwa people, and their languages, are one of several called Bobo in Bambara. The Bwa are distinguished as the Bobo Wule/Oule "Red Bobo". The Bwa languages are not mutually intelligible; Ethnologue calculates that the intelligibility of the Ouarkoye and Cwi is 30%, though other varieties are closer.Tusya languageTusya, also spelled Tusiã, Tusian, Toussian and also known as Wín, is a language of Burkina Faso that is of uncertain affiliation within Niger-Congo. It may be a Gur language.
Languages of AfricaThe number of languages natively spoken in Africa is variously estimated (depending on the delineation of language vs. dialect) at between 1,250 and 2,100, and by some counts at over 3,000. Nigeria alone has over 500 languages (according to SIL Ethnologue), one of the greatest concentrations of linguistic diversity in the world.
Bobo-DioulassoBobo-Dioulasso (Dyula: Bɔbɔjulaso N'Ko script: ߓߐ߬ߓߐߖߎ߬ߟߊ߬ߛߏ߫, Mossi: Sɩa) (often colloquially called Bobo) is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 1,129,000 (as of 2023); it is the second-largest city in the country, after Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The name means "home of the Bobo-Dioula". The local Bobo-speaking population (related to the Mande) refers to the city simply as Sia.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.