Sisaala language

Last updated
Sisaala
Sissala
Region Ghana, Burkina Faso
Native speakers
(180,000 cited 1991–2003) [1]
Niger–Congo?
Language codes
ISO 639-3 Variously:
ssl   Western Sisaala
sil   Tumulung Sisaala
sld   Sisaali
sig    Paasaal
Glottolog sisa1248

Sisaala (Sissala) is a Gur language cluster spoken in northern Ghana near the town of Tumu [2] and in the neighbouring republic of Burkina Faso. Western Sisaala is intermediate between Sisaali and Tumulung Sisaala.

Contents

Paasaal is similar and also called (Southern) Sisaala.

Distribution

Sisaala language
Map showing the area Sisaala is spoken.

Sisaala is spoken by the Sissala. The Sisaala in Ghana live in the Northern Region, in the Upper East Region and in the Upper West Region.

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 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.

Related Research Articles

Most languages of Europe belong to the Indo-European language family. Out of a total European population of 744 million as of 2018, some 94% are native speakers of an Indo-European language. Within Indo-European, the three largest phyla in Europe are Romance, Germanic, and Slavic; they have more than 200 million speakers each and together account for close to 90% of Europeans. Smaller phyla of Indo-European found in Europe include Hellenic, Baltic, Albanian, Celtic, and Armenian ; Indo-Aryan, though a large subfamily of Indo-European, has a relatively small number of speakers in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gur languages</span> Branch of the Niger–Congo languages

The Gur languages, also known as Central Gur or Mabia, belong to the Niger–Congo languages. They are spoken in the Sahelian and savanna regions of West Africa, namely: in most areas of Burkina Faso, and in south-central Mali, northeastern Ivory Coast, the northern halves of Ghana and Togo, northwestern Benin, and southwestern Niger. A few Gur languages are spoken in Nigeria. Additionally, a single Gur language, Baatonum, is spoken in Benin and in the extreme northwest of Nigeria. Three other single Gur languages, the Tusya, Vyemo and Tiefo languages, are spoken in Burkina Faso. Another unclassified Gur language, Miyobe, is spoken in Benin and Togo. In addition, Kulango, Loma and Lorhon, are spoken in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. Additionally, a few Mossi speakers are in Senegal, and speakers of the Dagaare language are also found in Cameroon. The Samu languages of Burkina Faso are Gur languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dagaaba people</span> Ethnic group in West Africa

The Dagaaba people are an ethnic group located north of the convergence of Ghana, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire. They speak the Dagaare language, a Gur language made up of the related Northern Dagaare dialects, Southern Dagaare dialects and a number of sub dialects. In northern dialects, both the language and the people are referred to as Dagara. They are related to the Birifor people and the Dagaare Diola. The language is collectively known as Dagaare, and historically some non-natives have taken this as the name of the people. One historian, describing the former usage of "Dagarti" to refer to this community by colonials, writes: "The name 'Dagarti' appears to have been coined by the first Europeans to visit the region, from the vernacular root dagaa. Correctly 'Dagari' is the name of the language, 'Dagaaba' or 'Dagara' that of the people, and 'Dagaw' or 'Dagawie' that of the land."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper West Region</span> Region of Ghana

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 settlement is Wa. The Upper West was created by the then Head of State, Flight-Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings in 1983 under the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) military regime. The area was carved out of the former Upper Region, which is now the Upper East Region. For about thirty-five years, it remained the youngest region of Ghana until 2018 when six more regions were created by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government; hence increasing the total number of administrative regions in the country to sixteen.

The Grũsi or Gurunsi languages, also known as the East Mabia languages, are a group of Gur languages, comprising about 20 languages spoken by the Gurunsi peoples. The Grũsi languages are spoken in northern Ghana, adjacent areas of Burkina Faso and Togo. The largest language in the Grusi group is Kabiye, a language spoken by approximately 1.2 million people throughout central Togo.

Bozo is a Mande language spoken by the Bozo people of the Inner Niger Delta in Mali. For Fishing, many Bozo are also found in other West African countries where there are Rivers and Dams, such as Nigeria, Burkina Faso and the 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.

Tumu is a small town and is the capital of Sissala East district, a district in the Upper West Region of north Ghana, adjacent to the border with Burkina Faso. Tumu is connected by road to the town of Navrongo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Ghana</span> Languages of a geographic region

Ghana is a multilingual country in which about eighty languages are spoken. Of these, English, which was inherited from the colonial era, is the official language and lingua franca. Of the languages indigenous to Ghana, Akan is the most widely spoken in the south. Dagbani is most widely spoken in the north.

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 or Busanga which is used by the Mossi people.

Koromfé is a Gur language spoken in a U-shaped area around the town of Djibo, in the north of Burkina Faso and southeastern Mali, bordering Dogon Country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sissala East Municipal District</span> Municipal District in Upper West, Ghana

Sissala East Municipal District is one of the eleven districts in Upper West Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Sissala District in 1988; until the western part of the district was later split off to create Sissala West District in July 2004; thus the remaining part has been renamed as Sissala East District, which it was later elevated to municipal district assembly status on 15 March 2018 to become Sissala East Municipal District. The municipality is located in the northeast/eastern part of Upper West Region and has Tumu as its capital town.

Busa, or Bisã, is the Mande language of the former Borgu Emirate in northwestern Nigeria and northern Benin. It is called Busanci in Hausa, and has also been called Zugweya.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bissa language</span> Mande language spoken in West Africa

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samo language (Burkina)</span> Niger-Congo languages spoken in Burkina Faso and Mali

Samo, also known as Mande Samo, is a dialect cluster of Niger-Congo languages spoken in Burkina Faso and Mali.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sissala West (Ghana parliament constituency)</span> Constituency in Ghana

Sissala West is one of the constituencies represented in the Parliament of Ghana. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Sissala West is located in the Sissala West district of the Upper West Region of Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sissala East (Ghana parliament constituency)</span> Constituency in Ghana

Sissala East is one of the constituencies represented in the Parliament of Ghana. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. Sissala East is located in the Sissala East Municipal of the Upper West Region of Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kasena language</span> Gur language spoken in West Africa

Kasena or Kassena is the language of the Kassena ethnic group and is a Gur language spoken in the Upper East Region of northern Ghana and in Burkina Faso.

Tusya, 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.

Moba or Moba–Bimoba is a major language of the Moba people of Togo and Ghana. However, in Ghana only 60% of ethnic Bimoba speak the language. There are also about 2,000 Moba speakers in Burkina Faso. It has two dialects. The language cluster is also known as Moba–Bimoba.

The Mampruli language is a Gur language spoken in northern Ghana, Northern Togo, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Mali by the Mamprusi people. It is partially mutually intelligible with Dagbani. The Mamprusi language is spoken in a broad belt across the northern parts of the Northern Region of Ghana, stretching west to east from Yizeesi to Nakpanduri and centred on the towns of Gambaga, Nalerigu and Walewale.

References

  1. Western Sisaala at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Tumulung Sisaala at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Sisaali at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Paasaal at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Edited by M.E.Kropp Dakubu, The Languages of Ghana, Kegan Paul International, 1988.