Maninka is the name of several closely related languages and dialects of the southeastern
MandingThe Manding languages are a fairly mutually intelligible group of dialects or languages in West Africa, belonging to the Mande languages. Their best-known members are Bambara , Mandinka , Maninka , and Dioula The Manding languages are a fairly mutually intelligible group of dialects or languages...
subgroup of the
MandeThe Mande languages are spoken in several countries in West Africa by the Mandé people and include Mandinka, Soninke, Bambara, Bissa, Dioula, Kagoro, Bozo, Mende, Susu, Yacouba, Vai, and Ligbi...
branch of the
Niger-Congo languagesThe Niger-Congo languages constitute one of the world's major language families, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. They may constitute the world's largest language family in terms of distinct languages, although this question...
. It is the mother tongue of the
MalinkéThe Malinké or Maninka are a part of Mandé in Africa.Approximately 15,000,000 Malinké are scattered throughout West Africa, including:*Guinea - 3.8 million*Mali - 3.1 million*Ivory Coast - 3.0 million*Senegal - 2.0 million*Gambia - 900,000...
people and is spoken by 3,300,000 speakers in
GuineaGuinea, officially Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa formerly known as French Guinea . The country's current population is estimated at 10,211,437 ....
and
MaliMali, officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked nation in Western Africa. Mali is the seventh largest country in Africa, bordering Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west...
, where the closely related
BambaraBambara, also known as Bamanankan in the language itself , is a language spoken in Mali by as many as six million people . The differences between Bambara and Dioula are minimal. Dioula is a language spoken or understood by a lesser number of people in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, and The Gambia...
is a national language, and also in
LiberiaLiberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2008 Census, the nation is home to 3,476,608 people and covers ....
,
SenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. Senegal is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south, and it also encircles The Gambia on its three sides,...
,
Sierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the north, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has a population estimated at 6.4 million...
and
Côte d'Ivoire' , formerly named, and often referred to as the Ivory Coast, officially the ', is a country in West Africa. The government officially discourages the use of the name Ivory Coast in English, preferring the French name to be used in all languages.With an area of 322,462 km
2 Côte...
, where it has no official status. The
EthnologueEthnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, primarily to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language.The Ethnologue contains statistics for 7,358 languages...
lists the following varieties, but notes that the distinctions between them are largely uncertain:
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Maninka is the name of several closely related languages and dialects of the southeastern
MandingThe Manding languages are a fairly mutually intelligible group of dialects or languages in West Africa, belonging to the Mande languages. Their best-known members are Bambara , Mandinka , Maninka , and Dioula The Manding languages are a fairly mutually intelligible group of dialects or languages...
subgroup of the
MandeThe Mande languages are spoken in several countries in West Africa by the Mandé people and include Mandinka, Soninke, Bambara, Bissa, Dioula, Kagoro, Bozo, Mende, Susu, Yacouba, Vai, and Ligbi...
branch of the
Niger-Congo languagesThe Niger-Congo languages constitute one of the world's major language families, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. They may constitute the world's largest language family in terms of distinct languages, although this question...
. It is the mother tongue of the
MalinkéThe Malinké or Maninka are a part of Mandé in Africa.Approximately 15,000,000 Malinké are scattered throughout West Africa, including:*Guinea - 3.8 million*Mali - 3.1 million*Ivory Coast - 3.0 million*Senegal - 2.0 million*Gambia - 900,000...
people and is spoken by 3,300,000 speakers in
GuineaGuinea, officially Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa formerly known as French Guinea . The country's current population is estimated at 10,211,437 ....
and
MaliMali, officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked nation in Western Africa. Mali is the seventh largest country in Africa, bordering Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west...
, where the closely related
BambaraBambara, also known as Bamanankan in the language itself , is a language spoken in Mali by as many as six million people . The differences between Bambara and Dioula are minimal. Dioula is a language spoken or understood by a lesser number of people in Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, and The Gambia...
is a national language, and also in
LiberiaLiberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the west coast of Africa, bordered by Sierra Leone, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2008 Census, the nation is home to 3,476,608 people and covers ....
,
SenegalSenegal , officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. Senegal is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south, and it also encircles The Gambia on its three sides,...
,
Sierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea in the north, Liberia in the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean in the southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has a population estimated at 6.4 million...
and
Côte d'Ivoire' , formerly named, and often referred to as the Ivory Coast, officially the ', is a country in West Africa. The government officially discourages the use of the name Ivory Coast in English, preferring the French name to be used in all languages.With an area of 322,462 km
2 Côte...
, where it has no official status. The
EthnologueEthnologue: Languages of the World is a web and print publication of SIL International , a Christian linguistic service organization, which studies lesser-known languages, primarily to provide the speakers with Bibles in their native language.The Ethnologue contains statistics for 7,358 languages...
lists the following varieties, but notes that the distinctions between them are largely uncertain:
- Eastern Maninkakan, also called Malinke or Maninka, spoken by 1,890,000 speakers in Guinea and c.200,000 in Liberia and Sierra Leone;
- Maninka, Konyanka, spoken by 128,000 speakers in Guinea;
- Maninka, Sankaran, also called Faranah, spoken in Guinea;
- Forest Maninka, a part of the Maninka-Mori group together with Wojenaka, Worodougou, Koro, Koyaga, and Mahou, spoken by 15,000 speakers in Côte d'Ivoire
' , formerly named, and often referred to as the Ivory Coast, officially the ', is a country in West Africa. The government officially discourages the use of the name Ivory Coast in English, preferring the French name to be used in all languages.With an area of 322,462 km
2 Côte...
.
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