Maninkakan
Kita Maninkakan
Niger-Congo
Kita Maninkakan (Maninkakan, "Maninka language") is a Manding variety of the Kita region in southwest Mali, between the Bambara homeland (north) and the Maninka homeland (Guinea). The Kita Manding cluster includes mutually-intelligible varieties stretching from Kita through southwestern Mali to the Guinean border. Kita Maninkakan is recognized by Mali as a national language alongside other Manding varieties (Bambara bm, Xaasongaxango kao, etc.), with bilingual education programs since 1985. Linguistically, Manding varieties share core features (subject-verb-object, verb-final aspect markers, classifier-noun constructions) but differ in tone systems and lexical specifics. The N'Ko script (Souleymane Kanté 1949) is used in some communities for Manding-wide writing.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Kita Maninkakan
Water
ji
/dʒi/
Fire
tasuma
/tasuma/
Sun
tle
/tle/
Moon
kalo
/kalo/
Star
lolo
/lolo/
Mother
ba
/ba/
Father
fa
/fa/
I
ne
/ne/
You
i
/i/
Name
tɔɔ
/tɔː/
Eye
ña
/ɲa/
Hand
bolo
/bolo/
Heart
dusu
/dusu/
Love
kanu
/kanu/
Tree
yiri
/jiɾi/
House
so
/so/
Dog
wulu
/wulu/
Cat
ñaakuma
/ɲaːkuma/
Eat
don
/don/
Drink
min
/min/
One
kelen
/kelen/
Two
fila
/fila/
Hello
i ni soɣoma
/i ni soɣoma/
Thank you
i ni baara
/i ni baːɾa/
Good
ñuman
/ɲuman/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo languages
| Meaning | Kita Maninkakan | Western Maninkakan | Xaasongaxango | 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 | tle /tle/ | tile /tile/ | 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/ |
| Star | lolo /lolo/ | lolo /lolo/ | lolo /lolo/ | lolo /lolo/ | dolo /dólo/ | dolo /dòlo/ | tɛnɛ /tɛ̀nɛ̀/ |
| Mother | ba /ba/ | na /na/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ |
| Father | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ |
| I | ne /ne/ | ne /ne/ | ne /ne/ | ne /ne/ | ń /ŋ́/ | ne /nè/ | n /ǹ/ |
| You | i /i/ | i /i/ | i /i/ | i /i/ | í /í/ | i /í/ | i /í/ |
| Name | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔgɔ /tɔ́gɔ/ | tɔgɔ /tɔ̀ɡɔ/ | to /tō/ |
| Eye | ña /ɲa/ | nya /ɲa/ | ɲa /ɲa/ | ɲa /ɲa/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ | 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 /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 | ñaakuma /ɲaːkuma/ | nyaakuma /ɲaːkuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | nyukuma /ɲukuma/ |
| Eat | don /don/ | don /don/ | domu /domu/ | domu /domu/ | dun /dun/ | dumuni /dumuni/ | don /don/ |
| Drink | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ |
| One | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kele /kele/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ |
| Two | fila /fila/ | fila /fila/ | fila /fila/ | fila /fila/ | fila /fìla/ | fila /fìla/ | pla /plà/ |
| Hello | i ni soɣoma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni sögöma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni sogoma /i ni soɡoma/ | i ni se /i ni se/ | i ni soɣoma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃɛ/ | 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 ce /i ni tʃe/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃe/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃɛ/ | baraka /baɾaka/ |
| Good | ñuman /ɲuman/ | nyuman /ɲuman/ | nyi /ɲi/ | ka ɲi /ka ɲi/ | ɲuman /ɲuman/ | ka ɲi /ka ɲi/ | ɲuman /ɲuman/ |
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