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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.
The Wala or Waala live in Upper West Region of Ghana. They are a predominantly Muslim people who are the founders of the city of Wa and the Kingdom of Wala. They speak the Wali language, which belongs to the Gur group. There are 84,800 speakers of the language as of 2013. Their neighbors are the Birifor, Dagaaba, and Vagla peoples.
Sisaala (Sissala) is a Gur language cluster spoken in northern Ghana near the town of Tumu and in the neighbouring republic of Burkina Faso. Western Sisaala is intermediate between Sisaali and Tumulung Sisaala.
The Oti–Volta languages form a subgroup of the Gur languages, comprising about 30 languages of northern Ghana, Benin, and Burkina Faso spoken by twelve million people. The most populous language is Mooré, the national language of Burkina Faso, spoken by over 55% of Burkina Faso’s 20 million population and an additional 1 million in neighboring countries such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, Niger, and Mali.
The Kulango or Kulango–Lorhon languages are spoken principally in Ivory Coast. They were once classified as part of an expanded Gur (Voltaic) family and are now part of the Savannas proposal.
Lobi is a Gur language of Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Ghana.
Kulango is a Niger–Congo language spoken in Ivory Coast and across the border in Ghana. It is one of the Kulango languages, and it may be classified as a Gur language. There are two principal varieties distinct enough to be considered separate languages: the Kulango of Bondoukou (Bonduku), also known as Goutougo locally, and that of Bouna (Buna). Ethnologue reports that Bouna-dialect speakers understand Bondoukou, but not the reverse. Bouna, in addition, has the subdialects Sekwa and Nabanj. In Ghana, the principal towns in which the language is spoken are Badu and Seikwa, both in the Tain District, and Buni in the Jaman North district, all in the Bono region of Ghana. In addition, there are smaller towns and villages closer to Wenchi in the Bono region and Techiman in the Bono East region where this language is spoken. Among these are Asubingya (Asubinja) and Nkonsia. The Koulango are matrilineal like the Akans and possess similar cultural practices.
Lama is a Gur language spoken by the Lamba people in Togo, Benin, and by a few in Ghana.
Deg is a Gur (Gurunsi) language of Ghana, with also 1,100 speakers in Ivory Coast.
Paasaal, or Pasaale Sisaala is a Gur language of Ghana, with a thousand speakers in Ivory Coast. The two dialects, Gilbagala and Pasaali, are part of a dialect continuum that continues on into Sisaala.
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.
Deloo, or Ntrubo, is a Gur language of Ghana and Togo.
The Koma language, Konni, is a Gur language of Ghana. Yikpabongo is the main village of the Konni people. Another village is Nangurima.
Kamara is a Gur language of Ghana.
Kantosi, also known as Yare (Yarsi), is a Gur language of Ghana.
Hanga is a Gur language of Ghana. The people of Hanga are found in the Savannah Region of Ghana
Chala (Cala) is a Gur language of Ghana.
Vagla is a Gurunsi (Gur) language of Ghana with about 14,000 speakers. It is spoken in a number of communities around the western area of Northern Region, Ghana. Such communities includes: Bole, Sawla, Tuna, Soma, Gentilpe, and Nakwabi. 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.
Chakali (tʃàkálɪ́ɪ́) is a Gur language of Ghana, spoken by almost 3,500 individuals in several villages in the Wa East District of the Upper West Region. More specifically, Chakali is spoken by inhabitants of the Tiisa, Sogla, Tousa, Motigu, Ducie, Katua and Gurumbele villages. The majority of Chakali speakers also speak Wali or Bulengi. Some believe that the language of Chakali is soon to be extinct, with Wali and Bulengi becoming the only languages that will be spoken in those villages.
References
- ↑ Wali at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
- ↑ Faruk, Saeed A. (2020). Zanne fo kɔkɔre (dagaare / waale) (in wlx). Taufique and Brothers Secretarial Service.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ↑ Wali language (Gur) at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
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