Julakan
Dyula
Niger-Congo (Mande, Manding)
Dyula (Jula) is a major West African trade lingua franca, mutually intelligible with Bambara (Mali) and Mandinka (Senegal/Gambia) — the three together forming the Manding dialect continuum. Centred on northern Côte d'Ivoire and southwest Burkina Faso, it has been the marketplace and caravan language of the Sahel-Forest interface for centuries. Although usually written in Latin script, the N'Ko script invented in 1949 by Solomana Kanté is increasingly used among literate communities.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Dyula
Water
ji
/dʒi/
Fire
tasuma
/tasuma/
Sun
tile
/tile/
Moon
kalo
/kalo/
Star
dolo
/dólo/
Mother
ba
/ba/
Father
fa
/fa/
I
ń
/ŋ́/
You
í
/í/
Name
tɔgɔ
/tɔ́gɔ/
Eye
ɲɛ
/ɲɛ/
Hand
bolo
/bolo/
Heart
dusu
/dusu/
Love
kanu
/kanu/
Tree
yiri
/jiri/
House
so
/so/
Dog
wulu
/wulu/
Cat
jakuma
/dʒakuma/
Eat
dun
/dun/
Drink
min
/min/
One
kelen
/kelen/
Two
fila
/fìla/
Hello
i ni soɣoma
/i ni soɣoma/
Thank you
i ni ce
/i ni tʃe/
Good
ɲuman
/ɲuman/
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo (Mande, Manding) languages
| Meaning | Dyula | Bambara | Kita Maninkakan | Western Maninkakan | Xaasongaxango | Eastern Maninka | 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/ | 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 | dolo /dólo/ | dolo /dòlo/ | lolo /lolo/ | lolo /lolo/ | lolo /lolo/ | lolo /lolo/ | tɛnɛ /tɛ̀nɛ̀/ |
| 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 | ń /ŋ́/ | ne /nè/ | ne /ne/ | ne /ne/ | ne /ne/ | ne /ne/ | n /ǹ/ |
| You | í /í/ | i /í/ | i /i/ | i /i/ | i /i/ | i /i/ | i /í/ |
| Name | tɔgɔ /tɔ́gɔ/ | tɔgɔ /tɔ̀ɡɔ/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | to /tō/ |
| Eye | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ | ña /ɲa/ | nya /ɲa/ | ɲa /ɲa/ | ɲa /ɲa/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ |
| 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 | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kana /kana/ |
| Tree | yiri /jiri/ | jiri /dʒiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiri/ |
| House | so /so/ | so /so/ | so /so/ | so /so/ | so /so/ | lu /lu/ | so /so/ |
| Dog | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | wuli /wuli/ | fugo /fuɡo/ |
| Cat | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | ñaakuma /ɲaːkuma/ | nyaakuma /ɲaːkuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | nyukuma /ɲukuma/ |
| Eat | dun /dun/ | dumuni /dumuni/ | don /don/ | don /don/ | domu /domu/ | domu /domu/ | don /don/ |
| Drink | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ |
| One | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kele /kele/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ |
| Two | fila /fìla/ | fila /fìla/ | fila /fila/ | fila /fila/ | fila /fila/ | fila /fila/ | pla /plà/ |
| Hello | i ni soɣoma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃɛ/ | i ni soɣoma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni sögöma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni sogoma /i ni soɡoma/ | i ni se /i ni se/ | ka kɛ /ka kɛ/ |
| Thank you | i ni ce /i ni tʃe/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃɛ/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃe/ | baraka /baɾaka/ |
| Good | ɲuman /ɲuman/ | ka ɲi /ka ɲi/ | ñuman /ɲuman/ | nyuman /ɲuman/ | nyi /ɲi/ | ka ɲi /ka ɲi/ | ɲuman /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.