Xaasongaxango
Niger-Congo
Xaasongaxango (also Khassonké, Xaasonga, Western Manding) is the Manding language of the Khasso region in western Mali, closely related to Bambara (bm), Maninka, and Dyula (dyu) within the Manding cluster of Western Mande. The Khasso were a 19th-century Bambara-speaking polity centered at Médine on the Senegal River, conquered by the French in 1857. Today Xaasongaxango is recognized by Mali as a national language alongside other Manding varieties, with bilingual education programs since 1985. Mutual intelligibility with Bambara is high, and many sources treat Khassonké as a dialect of Bambara, though distinct phonological features (notably tonal patterns and vowel system) and cultural identity warrant separate treatment.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Xaasongaxango
Water
ji
/dʒi/
Fire
tasuma
/tasuma/
Sun
tile
/tile/
Moon
kalo
/kalo/
Mother
ba
/ba/
Father
fa
/fa/
Eat
domu
/domu/
Drink
min
/min/
Love
kanu
/kanu/
Heart
dusu
/dusu/
Tree
yiri
/jiɾi/
House
so
/so/
Dog
wulu
/wulu/
Cat
jakuma
/dʒakuma/
Hand
bolo
/bolo/
Eye
ɲa
/ɲa/
Hello
i ni sogoma
/i ni soɡoma/
Thank you
i ni baara
/i ni baːɾa/
One
kele
/kele/
Good
nyi
/ɲi/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo languages
| Meaning | Xaasongaxango | Kita Maninkakan | Western Maninkakan | Eastern Maninka | Dyula | Bambara | 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/ | tle /tle/ | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ |
| Moon | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ |
| Mother | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | na /na/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ |
| Father | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ |
| Eat | domu /domu/ | don /don/ | don /don/ | domu /domu/ | dun /dun/ | dumuni /dumuni/ | 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 | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiri/ | jiri /dʒiɾi/ | 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/ | ñaakuma /ɲaːkuma/ | nyaakuma /ɲaːkuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | nyukuma /ɲukuma/ |
| Hand | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ |
| Eye | ɲa /ɲa/ | ña /ɲa/ | nya /ɲa/ | ɲa /ɲa/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ |
| Hello | i ni sogoma /i ni soɡoma/ | i ni soɣoma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni sögöma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni se /i ni se/ | i ni soɣoma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni ce /i ni t͡ʃɛ/ | ka kɛ /ka kɛ/ |
| Thank you | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | i ni se /i ni se/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃe/ | i ni ce /i ni t͡ʃɛ/ | baraka /baɾaka/ |
| One | kele /kele/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ |
| Good | nyi /ɲi/ | ñuman /ɲuman/ | nyuman /ɲuman/ | ka ɲi /ka ɲi/ | ɲuman /ɲuman/ | ka ɲi /ka ɲi/ | ɲuman /ɲuman/ |
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