Bamanankan
Bambara
Niger-Congo (Mande)
Bambara (Bamanankan) is the largest language of Mali and a major lingua franca, with ~14M speakers (4M L1 + 10M L2). Member of the Manding cluster of Niger-Congo (Mande branch), closely related to Dyula and Maninka. Has 2 lexical tones, a remarkably regular grammar, and SOV word order with postpositions. Latin orthography developed by Solomana Kanté in 1949 alongside the indigenous N'Ko script for Manding languages. Used in primary literacy programs and Mali's RFM and ORTM broadcasting in over 100 listening hours/week.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Bambara
Water
ji
/dʒi/
Fire
tasuma
/tasuma/
Sun
tile
/tile/
Moon
kalo
/kalo/
Mother
ba
/ba/
Father
fa
/fa/
Eat
dumuni
/dumuni/
Drink
min
/min/
Love
kanu
/kanu/
Heart
dusu
/dusu/
Tree
jiri
/dʒiɾi/
House
so
/so/
Dog
wulu
/wulu/
Cat
jakuma
/dʒakuma/
Hand
bolo
/bolo/
Eye
ɲɛ
/ɲɛ/
Hello
i ni ce
/i ni t͡ʃɛ/
Thank you
i ni ce
/i ni t͡ʃɛ/
One
kelen
/kelen/
Good
ka ɲi
/ka ɲi/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo (Mande) languages
| Meaning | Bambara | Dyula | Xaasongaxango | Eastern Maninka | Kita Maninkakan | Western Maninkakan | Konabéré |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ |
| Fire | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | ta /ta/ |
| Sun | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ | tle /tle/ | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ |
| Moon | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ |
| Mother | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | na /na/ | ba /ba/ |
| Father | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ |
| Eat | dumuni /dumuni/ | dun /dun/ | domu /domu/ | domu /domu/ | don /don/ | don /don/ | don /don/ |
| Drink | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ |
| Love | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kana /kana/ |
| Heart | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ |
| Tree | jiri /dʒiɾi/ | yiri /jiri/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiri/ |
| House | so /so/ | so /so/ | so /so/ | lu /lu/ | so /so/ | so /so/ | so /so/ |
| Dog | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | wuli /wuli/ | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | fugo /fuɡo/ |
| Cat | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | ñaakuma /ɲaːkuma/ | nyaakuma /ɲaːkuma/ | nyukuma /ɲukuma/ |
| Hand | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ |
| Eye | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ | ɲa /ɲa/ | ɲa /ɲa/ | ña /ɲa/ | nya /ɲa/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ |
| Hello | i ni ce /i ni t͡ʃɛ/ | i ni soɣoma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni sogoma /i ni soɡoma/ | i ni se /i ni se/ | i ni soɣoma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni sögöma /i ni soɣoma/ | ka kɛ /ka kɛ/ |
| Thank you | i ni ce /i ni t͡ʃɛ/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃe/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | i ni se /i ni se/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | baraka /baɾaka/ |
| One | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kele /kele/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ |
| Good | ka ɲi /ka ɲi/ | ɲuman /ɲuman/ | nyi /ɲi/ | ka ɲi /ka ɲi/ | ñuman /ɲuman/ | nyuman /ɲuman/ | ɲuman /ɲuman/ |
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