Sooninkanxannen
Soninke
Niger-Congo (Mande, Western)
Soninke (Sooninkanxannen) is a Western Mande language of the Senegal River valley and adjoining Sahel. The Soninke people founded the medieval Ghana Empire (c. 300-1200 CE), the first major sub-Saharan empire to be widely documented in Arabic sources, with its capital at Koumbi Saleh. Soninke remained a major Sahel trade language thereafter, and Soninke merchants (Wangara) were instrumental in spreading Islam across West Africa. The N'Ko script (developed 1949 for Manding languages) is also used.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Soninke
Water
jiyi
/dʒiji/
Fire
ñaaxe
/ɲaːxe/
Sun
kiye
/kije/
Moon
kullu
/kulːu/
Star
tulle
/tulːe/
Mother
ma
/ma/
Father
baba
/baba/
I
in
/in/
You
an
/an/
Name
toxo
/toχo/
Eye
ñaa
/ɲaː/
Hand
kitte
/kitːe/
Heart
sondome
/sondome/
Love
ñaxando
/ɲaxando/
Tree
yiribirinde
/jiɾibiɾinde/
House
ka
/ka/
Dog
wulle
/wulːe/
Cat
mussu
/musːu/
Eat
lawu
/lawu/
Drink
mini
/mini/
One
baane
/baːne/
Two
filli
/filːi/
Hello
an na siri
/an na siɾi/
Thank you
inkawu
/iŋkawu/
Good
ñaxa
/ɲaxa/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo (Mande, Western) languages
| Meaning | Soninke | Western Maninkakan | Xaasongaxango | Kita Maninkakan | Mandinka | Eastern Maninka | Dyula |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | jiyi /dʒiji/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ | jiyo /dʒijo/ | ji /dʒi/ | ji /dʒi/ |
| Fire | ñaaxe /ɲaːxe/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | dimbaa /dimbaː/ | tasuma /tasuma/ | tasuma /tasuma/ |
| Sun | kiye /kije/ | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ | tle /tle/ | tilo /tilo/ | tile /tile/ | tile /tile/ |
| Moon | kullu /kulːu/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ | karoo /karoː/ | kalo /kalo/ | kalo /kalo/ |
| Star | tulle /tulːe/ | lolo /lolo/ | lolo /lolo/ | lolo /lolo/ | looloo /loːloː/ | lolo /lolo/ | dolo /dólo/ |
| Mother | ma /ma/ | na /na/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | baa /baː/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ |
| Father | baba /baba/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ | faa /faː/ | fa /fa/ | fa /fa/ |
| I | in /in/ | ne /ne/ | ne /ne/ | ne /ne/ | nte /nte/ | ne /ne/ | ń /ŋ́/ |
| You | an /an/ | i /i/ | i /i/ | i /i/ | ite /ite/ | i /i/ | í /í/ |
| Name | toxo /toχo/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | too /toː/ | tɔɔ /tɔː/ | tɔgɔ /tɔ́gɔ/ |
| Eye | ñaa /ɲaː/ | nya /ɲa/ | ɲa /ɲa/ | ña /ɲa/ | ɲaa /ɲaː/ | ɲa /ɲa/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ |
| Hand | kitte /kitːe/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ | buloo /buloː/ | bolo /bolo/ | bolo /bolo/ |
| Heart | sondome /sondome/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ | sondomoo /sondomoː/ | dusu /dusu/ | dusu /dusu/ |
| Love | ñaxando /ɲaxando/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ | kanu /kanu/ |
| Tree | yiribirinde /jiɾibiɾinde/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiroo /jiroː/ | yiri /jiɾi/ | yiri /jiri/ |
| House | ka /ka/ | so /so/ | so /so/ | so /so/ | buŋo /buŋo/ | lu /lu/ | so /so/ |
| Dog | wulle /wulːe/ | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | wulu /wulu/ | wuloo /wuloː/ | wuli /wuli/ | wulu /wulu/ |
| Cat | mussu /musːu/ | nyaakuma /ɲaːkuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | ñaakuma /ɲaːkuma/ | ñankuma /ɲankuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ | jakuma /dʒakuma/ |
| Eat | lawu /lawu/ | don /don/ | domu /domu/ | don /don/ | domo /domo/ | domu /domu/ | dun /dun/ |
| Drink | mini /mini/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | min /min/ | miŋ /miŋ/ | min /min/ | min /min/ |
| One | baane /baːne/ | kelen /kelen/ | kele /kele/ | kelen /kelen/ | kiliŋ /kiliŋ/ | kelen /kelen/ | kelen /kelen/ |
| Two | filli /filːi/ | fila /fila/ | fila /fila/ | fila /fila/ | fula /fula/ | fila /fila/ | fila /fìla/ |
| Hello | an na siri /an na siɾi/ | i ni sögöma /i ni soɣoma/ | i ni sogoma /i ni soɡoma/ | i ni soɣoma /i ni soɣoma/ | salaam /salaːm/ | i ni se /i ni se/ | i ni soɣoma /i ni soɣoma/ |
| Thank you | inkawu /iŋkawu/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | i ni baara /i ni baːɾa/ | abaraka /abaraka/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃe/ | i ni ce /i ni tʃe/ |
| Good | ñaxa /ɲaxa/ | nyuman /ɲuman/ | nyi /ɲi/ | ñuman /ɲuman/ | beteyaa /betejaː/ | ka ɲi /ka ɲi/ | ɲuman /ɲuman/ |
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