Vagla language

Last updated
Vagla
Region Ghana
Native speakers
14,000 (2003) [1]
(may include speakers of Siti)
Niger–Congo?
Language codes
ISO 639-3 vag
Glottolog vagl1239   Vagla

Vagla is a Gurunsi (Gur) language of Ghana with about 14,000 speakers. It is spoken in a number of communities around the west of Northern Region of Ghana. Such communities includes:Bole (originally called "Bell /b33l/),Sawla,Tuna,Soma,Gentilpe,Nakwabi and a few more. The people who speak this language are known as Vaglas, one of the indigenous tribes around that part of the Northern Region, which were brought under the Gonja local administration system "Gonjaland" by British Colonial Rulers under their Centralised System of Governance.

Related Research Articles

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."

Tamale, Ghana Major City in Northern Region, Ghana

Tamale, officially called Tamale Metropolitan Area is the capital city of the Northern Region of Ghana. Tamale is Ghana's third-largest city and an emerging investment hotspot in West Africa. It has a projected population of 950,124 according to the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly Official Website. It is the fastest-growing city in West Africa. The city is located 600 km (370 mi) north of Accra. Most residents of Tamale are Muslims and Dagombas by tribe, as reflected by the multitude of mosques in Tamale, most notably the Central Mosque, Afa Ajura Mosque, Afa Basha mosque and The Ahmadiyyah Muslim mission Mosque.

Culture of Ghana Culture of an area

Ghana is a country of 28.21 million people and many native groups, such as:

The Dagombas are a Gur ethnic group of northern Ghana, numbering more than 2.3 million people. They inhabit the Northern Region of Ghana in the sparse savanna region below the sahelian belt, known as the Sudan. They speak the Dagbani language which belongs to the Mole-Dagbani sub-group of the Gur languages. There are around 1 to 2 million speakers of Dagbani. The Dagomba are historically related to the Mossi people. The Mohi/Mossi now have their homeland in central present-day Burkina Faso. The homeland of the Dagomba is called Dagbon and covers about 20,000 km2 in area.

Islam in Ghana Religion in Ghana

Islam was the first Abrahamic monotheistic religion to arrive in Ghana. Today, it is the second most widely professed religion in the country behind Christianity. Its presence in Ghana dates back to the 10th century. According to the Ghana Statistical Service's Population and Housing census (2021), the population of Muslims in Ghana is about 19.9%.

Dagbani, also known as Dagbanli and Dagbanle, is a Gur language spoken in Ghana. Its native speakers are estimated around 3,160,000. It is a compulsory subject in primary and junior high school in the Dagbon Kingdom, which covers the eastern part of the region. Dagbani is the most widely spoken language in northern Ghana, especially among acephalous tribes overseen by the King of Dagbon, the Ya-Na.

Northern Region (Ghana) Region of Ghana

The Northern Region is one of the sixteen regions of Ghana. It is located in the north of the country and was the largest of the sixteen regions, covering an area of 70,384 square kilometres or 31 percent of Ghana's area until December 2018 when the Savannah Region and North East Region were created from it. The Northern Region is divided into 14 districts. The region's capital is Tamale.

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.

Languages of Ghana 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, precisely in the south. Followed by Dagbanli, the most widely spoken language in Northern Ghana.

Water supply and sanitation in Ghana Drinking water supply and sanitation in Ghana

The drinking water supply and sanitation sector in Ghana faces a number of challenges, including very limited access to sanitation, intermittent supply, high water losses, low water pressure, and pollution. Since 1994, the sector has been gradually reformed through the creation of an autonomous regulatory agency, introduction of private sector participation, decentralization of the rural supply to 138 districts and increased community participation in the management of rural water systems.

Builsa South (Ghana parliament constituency) Constituency in Ghana

Builsa South 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. Builsa South is located in the Builsa district of the Upper East Region of Ghana.

The Chakosi are an Akan people who trace their origin to an area in the Ivory Coast in a place they call Anou or Ano. Thus, they refer to themselves and their language as Anufo "people of Anu". They inhabit three countries: Ghana, Benin and Togo. As of 2003 they had a combined population of 137,600. Orale narrations had it that they were in Ghana and Togo not later than 18th century and they were warriors in nature and fought a couple of battles including the ones they helped the Gonja people and the Mamprusi in building the Mamprusi Kingdom. They have names like Amoin, Akisie (Agishie), Kouasi, Adjoah, Amlan (Amanna) Ouwe, Yao, Koffi, Afoueh, N'gisah all depicting names of the days Mueneh (Sunday), Cishe (Monday), Djore (Tuesday), Mana (Wednesday), Ohue (Thursday), Ya (Friday) and Fue (Saturday) Kwa Chakosi speak the Akan dialect Chakosi language.

Sawla is a small town and is the capital of Sawla-Tuna-Kalba district, a district in the Savannah Region of north Ghana. Founded by Thunder Lizard in the 1800s. Though there are currently many ethnic groups in the community there initially were only the Vaglas with Gbenara being their leader. Ndewura Jakpa after conquering many lands moved to the Vagla lands.

Deg is a Gur (Gurunsi) language of Ghana, with also 1,100 speakers in Ivory Coast.Vagla is a related language.

Mamprusi is a Gur language spoken in northern Ghana 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. In Mamprusi, one speaker is a Ŋmampuriga, many (plural) are Ŋmampurisi and the land of the Mamprusi is Ŋmampurigu.

Tony Naden is a British lexicographer who specializes on Western Oti-Volta subgroup of Gur languages. He has compiled dictionaries in the following languages: Dagbanli, Mampelle, Mõõré, Nabt, Talene, KaMara and Yarsi.

The Adele people are an ethnic group and tribe of the Ghanaian-Togo border area indigenous to the Jasikan, Nkwanta South and Nkwanta North Districts of the Volta Region centered around the towns of Dadiasi and Dutukpene in Ghana and the Sotouboua Prefecture of the Centrale Region centered around the towns of Assouma Kedeme and Tiefouma in Togo. The Adele people are agricultural, primarily farming yams, cassava, plantain, beans, and rice.

Savannah Region Region of Ghana

The Savannah Region is one of the newest regions of Ghana and yet the largest region in the country. The creation of the Region follows presentation of a petition by the Gonja Traditional Council, led by the Yagbonwura Tumtumba Boresa Jakpa I. Upon receiving favourable responses from all stakeholders in the Northern Region, the Brobbey Commission, a referendum was conducted on the 27th December 2018. The result was a resounding yes of 99.7%. The President of the Republic of Ghana signed and presented the Constitutional Instrument (CI) 115 to the Yagbonwura in the Jubilee House, Accra on 12 February 2019. The launch was well attended by sons and daughters of Gonjaland including all current and past Mps, MDCEs and all appointees with Gonjaland descent. Damongo was declared the capital of the new Savannah Region. It is located in the north of the country. The Savannah Region is divided into 7 districts; Bole, Central Gonja, North Gonja, East Gonja, Sawla/Tuna/Kalba, West Gonja, North East Gonja and 7 Constituencies; Bole/Bamboi, Damongo, Daboya/Mankarigu, Salaga North, Salaga South, Sawla/Tuna/Kalba and Yapei/Kusawgu. The capital of Bole district is Bole; East Gonja municipal is Salaga; West Gonja district is Damango; Sawla Tuna Kalba district is Salwa; Central Gonja is Buipe; North Gonja is Daboya; and North East Gonja is Kpalbe

North East Region, Ghana Region of Ghana

The North East Region is one of the sixteen regions of Ghana. It is located in the north of the country and was created in December 2018 after a referendum was voted upon to break it off of the Northern region. The region's capital is Nalerigu.

Vagla may be,

References

  1. Vagla at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)