| Dendi | |
|---|---|
| Dandawa | |
| Native to | Benin, Niger, Nigeria |
| Region | West Africa |
Native speakers | (440,000 cited 2000-2021) [1] |
| Latin | |
| Official status | |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ddn |
| Glottolog | dend1243 |
 | |
Dendi is a Songhay language used as a trade language across northern Benin (along the Niger River. It forms a dialect cluster with Zarma and Koyraboro Senni but it is heavily influenced by Bariba.
Dendi is mainly spoken in Northern Benin, but also in other parts of Benin, and neighbouring countries. The Dendi people are the main group in the Departments of Alibori, Borgou, Donga, and Atakora.
In Nigeria, the Dendi people are found in Bordering States (Kebbi, Kwara, Niger, and Sokoto), and in other parts of Nigeria. They are usually referred by the Hausa name Dendawa (which is also used for the Songhai people).
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Labio- velar | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lab. | |||||||
| Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ( ŋ ) | ŋʷ | ( ŋ͡m ) | ||
| Plosive | voiceless | ( p ) | t | c | k | k͡p | ||
| voiced | b | d | ɟ | ɡ | ɡ͡b | |||
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | h | ||||
| voiced | z | |||||||
| Rhotic | r | |||||||
| Lateral | l | |||||||
| Approximant | j | w | ||||||
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i iː | u uː | |
| Close-mid | e eː | o oː | |
| Open-mid | ɛ ɛː | ɔ ɔː | |
| Open | a aː |
| Uppercase | A | B | C | D | E | Ɛ | F | G | Gb | H | I | J | K | Kp | L | M | N | NY | Ŋ | Ŋw/Ŋm | O | Ɔ | P | R | S | T | W | Y | Z |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minuscules | a | b | c | d | e | ɛ | f | g | gb | h | i | j | k | kp | l | m | n | ny | ŋ | ŋw/ŋm | o | ɔ | p | r | s | t | w | y | z |
The grave accent, the acute accent and the macron are used on vowels to indicate tones. [6]
The Songhay, Songhai or Ayneha languages are a group of closely related languages/dialects centred on the middle stretches of the Niger River in the West African countries of Mali, Niger, Benin, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. In particular, they are spoken in the cities of Timbuktu, Djenné, Niamey, Gao, Tillaberi, Dosso, Parakou, Kandi, Natitingou, Djougou, Malanville, Gorom-Gorom, In-Gall and Tabelbala. They have been widely used as a lingua franca in that region ever since the era of the Songhai Empire. In Mali, the government has officially adopted the dialect of Gao as the dialect to be used as a medium of primary education.
Zarma is one of the Songhay languages. It is the leading indigenous language of the southwestern lobe of the West African nation of Niger, where the Niger River flows and the capital city, Niamey, is located. Zarma is the second-most common language in the country, after Hausa, which is spoken in south-central Niger. With over 6 million speakers, Zarma is easily the most widely spoken Songhay language.
Fon also known as Dahomean is the language of the Fon people. It belongs to the Gbe group within the larger Atlantic–Congo family. It is primarily spoken in Benin, as well as in Nigeria and Togo by approximately 2.28 million speakers. Like the other Gbe languages, Fon is an isolating language with a SVO basic word order.
Koyra Chiini, or Western Songhay, is a member of the Songhay languages spoken in Mali by about 200,000 people along the Niger River in Timbuktu and upriver from it in the towns of Diré, Tonka, Goundam and Niafunké as well as in the Saharan town of Araouane to its north. In this area, Koyra Chiini is the dominant language and the lingua franca, although minorities speaking Hassaniya Arabic, Tamasheq and Fulfulde are found. Djenné Chiini, the dialect spoken in Djenné, is mutually comprehensible, but has noticeable differences, in particular two extra vowels and syntactic differences related to focalisation.
Fula, also known as Fulani or Fulah, is a Senegambian language spoken by around 36.8 million people as a set of various dialects in a continuum that stretches across some 18 countries in West and Central Africa. Along with other related languages such as Serer and Wolof, it belongs to the Atlantic geographic group within Niger–Congo, and more specifically to the Senegambian branch. Unlike most Niger-Congo languages, Fula does not have tones.
Bozo is a Mande language spoken by the Bozo people of the Inner Niger Delta in Mali. For the purpose of fishing, many Bozo also live in other West African countries where there are rivers and dams, such as Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast. According to the 2000 census, the Bozo people number about 132,100. Bozo is considered a dialect cluster, but there is a quite a bit of diversity. Ethnologue recognises four languages on the basis of requirements for literacy materials. Bozo is part of the northwestern branch of the Mande languages; the closest linguistic relative is Soninke, a major language spoken in the northwestern section of southern Mali, in eastern Senegal, and in southern Mauritania. The Bozo often speak one or more regional languages such as Bambara, Fula, or Western Songhay. The language is tonal, with three lexical tones.
Ewondo or Beti is a Bantu language spoken by the Beti people of Cameroon. The language had 577,700 native speakers in 1982. Ewondo is a trade language. Dialects include Badjia (Bakjo), Bafeuk, Bemvele, Bane, Beti, Enoah, Evouzom, Mbida-Bani, Mvete, Mvog-Niengue, Omvang, Yabekolo (Yebekolo), Yabeka, and Yabekanga. Ewondo speakers live primarily in Cameroon's Centre Region and the northern part of the Océan division in the South Region.
Gun is a language in the Gbe languages group. It is spoken by the Ogu people in Benin, as well as in south-western Nigeria. Gun is part of the Fon dialectal cluster within the Eastern Gbe languages; it is close to other Fon dialects, especially its Agbome and Kpase varieties, as well as to the Mahi and Weme (Ouémé) languages. It is used in some schools in the Ouémé Department of Benin.
Benin is a diverse country linguistically. Of those, French is the official language, and most of the indigenous languages are considered national languages.
Bissa, is a Mande ethnic group of south-central Burkina Faso, northeastern Ghana and the northernmost tip of Togo. Their language, Bissa, is a Mande language that is related to, but not the same as, a cluster of languages in the old Borgu Kingdom area of Northeast Benin and Northwest Nigeria, including Busa, Boko, and Kyenga. An alternate name for the Bissa is Busansi which is used by the Mossi people and Kusasi people or Busanga.
Koyraboro Senni is a member of the Songhay languages of Mali and is spoken by some 400,000 people along the Niger River from the town of Gourma-Rharous, east of Timbuktu, through Bourem, Gao and Ansongo to the Mali–Niger border.
Bariba, also known as Baatonum, is the language of the Bariba people and was the language of the state of Borgu. The native speakers are called Baatombu, Barba, Baruba, Berba and a number of various other names and spellings.
Boko, or Boo, is a Mande language of Benin and Nigeria.
Humburi Senni, or Central Songhay, is a variety of Southern Songhai spoken in the Hombori region, straddling the Burkina–Mali border.
The Lyélé language (Lele) is spoken in the Sanguié Province of Burkina Faso by approximately 130,000 people known as Lyéla, Léla, Gourounsi or Gurunsi. It is spoken in the towns of Réo, Kyon, Tenado, Dassa, Didyr, Godyr, Kordié, Pouni and Zawara. The language is also sometimes known by the wider term Gurunsi.
Abidji is a language of uncertain classification within the Kwa branch of the Niger–Congo family. It is spoken in the Ivory Coast.
Foodo is a Guang language spoken in and around the town of Sèmèrè in the north of Benin. There are approximately 37,000 speakers. A large proportion of the population live beyond the homeland in other parts of Benin, as well as in neighboring Togo, Nigeria, and Ghana. There may be as many as 1,000 living in Ghana.
Lukpa is a Gur language spoken in Benin and Togo. It is spoken by the Yoa-Lokpa people.
Yom, or Pilapila, and formerly Kiliŋa or Kilir, is a Gur language of Benin. It is spoken in the town of Djougou and the surrounding area by the Yoa-Lokpa people. A very closely related dialect called taŋgələm is also spoken by the Taneka people.
Makaa (Maka), or South Makaa, is a Bantu language of Cameroon. It is not intelligible with the other language spoken by the Makaa people, North Makaa.
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