Konabéré
Niger-Congo
Konabéré (also Bobo Konabéré, Sambla) is a Western Mande language spoken by the Konabéré people around Bobo-Dioulasso in southwestern Burkina Faso. Note: this Konabéré is distinct from "Bobo Madaré" (bwq), the larger Bobo-Madaré language of the same general region; the two Bobo-named languages are NOT closely related despite both being termed "Bobo" by the dominant Manding (bm Bambara) speakers. Konabéré is in the Bobo-Konabéré branch of Western Mande, while Bobo Madaré is in a separate Mande branch. Konabéré has approximately 32,000-50,000 speakers and is recognized as a national language of Burkina Faso under the 1991 Constitution.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Konabéré
Water
ji
/dʒi/
Fire
ta
/ta/
Sun
tile
/tile/
Moon
kalo
/kalo/
Star
tɛnɛ
/tɛ̀nɛ̀/
Mother
ba
/ba/
Father
fa
/fa/
I
n
/ǹ/
You
i
/í/
Name
to
/tō/
Eye
ɲɛ
/ɲɛ/
Hand
bolo
/bolo/
Heart
dusu
/dusu/
Love
kana
/kana/
Tree
yiri
/jiri/
House
so
/so/
Dog
fugo
/fuɡo/
Cat
nyukuma
/ɲukuma/
Eat
don
/don/
Drink
min
/min/
One
kelen
/kelen/
Two
pla
/plà/
Hello
ka kɛ
/ka kɛ/
Thank you
baraka
/baɾaka/
Good
ɲuman
/ɲuman/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo languages
| Meaning | Konabéré | Dyula | Kita Maninkakan | Western Maninkakan | Bambara | Xaasongaxango | Eastern Maninka |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ |
| Fire | ta /ta/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ |
| Sun | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ | tle /tle/ | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ |
| Moon | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ |
| Star | tɛnɛ /tɛ̀nɛ̀/ | dolo /dólo/ | lolo /lolo/ | lolo /lolo/ | dolo /dòlo/ | lolo /lolo/ | lolo /lolo/ |
| Mother | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | na /na/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ |
| Father | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ |
| I | n /ǹ/ | ń /ŋ́/ | ne /ne/ | ne /ne/ | ne /nè/ | ne /ne/ | ne /ne/ |
| You | i /í/ | í /í/ | i /i/ | i /i/ | i /í/ | i /i/ | i /i/ |
| Name | to /tō/ | tɔgɔ /tɔ́gɔ/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔgɔ /tɔ̀ɡɔ/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ |
| Eye | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ | ña /ɲa/ | nya /ɲa/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ | ɲa /ɲa/ | ɲa /ɲa/ |
| Hand | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ |
| Heart | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ |
| Love | kana /kana/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ |
| Tree | yiri /jiri/ | yiri /jiri/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | jiri /dʒiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ |
| House | so /so/ | so /so/ | so /so/ | so /so/ | so /so/ | so /so/ | lu /lu/ |
| Dog | fugo /fuɡo/ | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | wuli /wuli/ |
| Cat | nyukuma /ɲukuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | ñaakuma /ɲaːkuma/ | nyaakuma /ɲaːkuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ |
| Eat | don /don/ | dun /dun/ | don /don/ | don /don/ | dumuni /dumuni/ | domu /domu/ | domu /domu/ |
| Drink | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ |
| One | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kele /kele/ | kelen /kelen/ |
| Two | pla /plà/ | fila /fìla/ | fila /fila/ | fila /fila/ | fila /fìla/ | fila /fila/ | fila /fila/ |
| Hello | ka kɛ /ka kɛ/ | i ni soɣoma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni soɣoma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni sögöma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃɛ/ | i ni sogoma /i ni soɡoma/ | i ni se /i ni se/ |
| Thank you | baraka /baɾaka/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃe/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃɛ/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃe/ |
| Good | ɲuman /ɲuman/ | ɲuman /ɲuman/ | ñuman /ɲuman/ | nyuman /ɲuman/ | ka ɲi /ka ɲi/ | nyi /ɲi/ | ka ɲi /ka ɲi/ |
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