Yacouba
Dan
Niger-Congo (Mande, Eastern, Southern)
Dan (also called Yacouba in Côte d'Ivoire and Gio in Liberia) is an Eastern Mande language of the western Côte d'Ivoire-Liberia border region around the city of Man. Notable for an exceptionally complex tone system: 5 contrastive level tones plus contour tones, totalling 12-14 tonal categories — among the richest tone inventories documented for any African language. The Dan people are also famous for the iconic Dan masks of Man (gle masks), which became important reference works in early-20th-century European art history.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Dan
Water
yi
/ji/
Fire
siŋ
/siŋ/
Sun
lai
/lai/
Moon
siŋ
/siŋ/
Star
céé
/tséː/
Mother
da
/da/
Father
de
/de/
I
ŋ̄
/ŋ̄/
You
ī
/i/
Name
tɔ́
/tɔ́/
Eye
ŋkɛ̃
/ŋkɛ̃/
Hand
kɔ
/kɔ/
Heart
gbɔɔ
/ɡbɔː/
Love
be
/be/
Tree
gbe
/ɡbe/
House
kɔ
/kɔ/
Dog
gbɛ
/ɡbɛ/
Cat
nyaa
/ɲaː/
Eat
dɛ
/dɛ/
Drink
mi
/mi/
One
do
/do/
Two
plɛ̀
/plɛ˩/
Hello
daka
/daka/
Thank you
kpe
/kpe/
Good
ka
/ka/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo (Mande, Eastern, Southern) languages
| Meaning | Dan | Mano | Vai | Susu | Ingush | Chechen | Kita Maninkakan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | yi /ji/ | yi /ji/ | ꕀ /dʒi/ | yi /ji/ | хий /xij/ | хи /xi/ | ji /dʒi/ |
| Fire | siŋ /siŋ/ | kɔ /kɔ/ | ꕪꔻ /kaːsi/ | te /te/ | цӏе /tsʼe/ | цӏе /tsʼe/ | tasuma /tasuma/ |
| Sun | lai /lai/ | lɛ /lɛ/ | ꔎꔒ /tele/ | soge /soɡe/ | малх /malx/ | малх /malx/ | tle /tle/ |
| Moon | siŋ /siŋ/ | lɔ /lɔ/ | ꕬꖝ /laro/ | kike /kike/ | бутт /butː/ | бутт /butː/ | kalo /kalo/ |
| Star | céé /tséː/ | sĩ̄ã́ŋēlè /sĩ̄ã́ŋēlè/ | ꗋꗏ /tólò/ | tunbi /tunbi/ | седкъа /sedqʼa/ | седа /seda/ | lolo /lolo/ |
| Mother | da /da/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ | ꖣ /na/ | nga /ŋɡa/ | наьна /næna/ | нана /nana/ | ba /ba/ |
| Father | de /de/ | de /de/ | ꕝ /dɛ/ | baba /baba/ | да /da/ | да /da/ | fa /fa/ |
| I | ŋ̄ /ŋ̄/ | mā /ma˧/ | ꘋ /ŋ̀/ | n /n/ | со /so/ | со /sʷo/ | ne /ne/ |
| You | ī /i/ | ī /ī/ | ꔤ /ì/ | i /i/ | хьо /ʜo/ | хьо /ʜʷo/ | i /i/ |
| Name | tɔ́ /tɔ́/ | tɔ́ /tɔ́/ | ꕿꘌ /tɔ́ː/ | xili /xili/ | цӀи /tsʼi/ | цӀе /tsʼe/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ |
| Eye | ŋkɛ̃ /ŋkɛ̃/ | mi /mi/ | ꕰ /ɲa/ | ya /ja/ | бӏаьрг /bˤæɾɡ/ | бӏаьрг /bˤæɾɡ/ | ña /ɲa/ |
| Hand | kɔ /kɔ/ | kɔ /kɔ/ | ꗃꗏ /ɓolo/ | belexɛ /belexɛ/ | куьг /kyɡ/ | куьг /kyɡ/ | bolo /bolo/ |
| Heart | gbɔɔ /ɡbɔː/ | gba /ɡba/ | ꔖꕇ /sɛni/ | biye /bije/ | дог /doɡ/ | дог /doɡ/ | dusu /dusu/ |
| Love | be /be/ | ŋalo /ŋalo/ | ꖣꔆ /nai/ | xanunteya /xanunteja/ | безам /bezam/ | безам /bezam/ | kanu /kanu/ |
| Tree | gbe /ɡbe/ | ka /ka/ | ꕘ /wuɾu/ | wuri /wuɾi/ | га /ɡa/ | дитт /ditː/ | yiri /jiɾi/ |
| House | kɔ /kɔ/ | kpɛ /kpɛ/ | ꕜꖢ /daɛ/ | banxi /banxi/ | цӏа /tsʼa/ | цӏа /tsʼa/ | so /so/ |
| Dog | gbɛ /ɡbɛ/ | gba /ɡba/ | ꕝꖣ /dɛni/ | barɛ /baɾɛ/ | жӏали /ʒˤali/ | жӏала /ʒˤala/ | wulu /wulu/ |
| Cat | nyaa /ɲaː/ | poso /poso/ | ꖷꖬ /musu/ | nyɛɛsu /ɲɛːsu/ | циск /tsisk/ | цициг /tsitsiɡ/ | ñaakuma /ɲaːkuma/ |
| Eat | dɛ /dɛ/ | mɛ /mɛ/ | ꕒ /fa/ | don /don/ | даа /daː/ | даа /daː/ | don /don/ |
| Drink | mi /mi/ | mi /mi/ | ꕇ /mi/ | min /min/ | мала /mala/ | мала /mala/ | min /min/ |
| One | do /do/ | do /do/ | ꕴꖝ /do/ | keren /keɾen/ | цаӀ /tsaʔ/ | цхьа /tsʜa/ | kelen /kelen/ |
| Two | plɛ̀ /plɛ˩/ | plɛ̀ɛ̀ /plɛː˩/ | ꗱꘌꕟ /fèːrà/ | firin /firin/ | шиъ /ʃiʔ/ | шиъ /ʃiʔ/ | fila /fila/ |
| Hello | daka /daka/ | ye /je/ | ꕒꔢ /famo/ | inu uxara /inu uxaɾa/ | моаршал /moaɾʃal/ | маршалла /maɾʃalːa/ | i ni soɣoma /i ni soɣoma/ |
| Thank you | kpe /kpe/ | nyɛŋ /ɲɛŋ/ | ꖢꕜ /sɛda/ | inu wali /inu wali/ | баркал /baɾkal/ | баркалла /baɾkalːa/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ |
| Good | ka /ka/ | kɛlɛ /kɛlɛ/ | ꖝꖢ /sue/ | fanyi /faɲi/ | дика /dika/ | дика /dika/ | ñuman /ɲuman/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.