Suppire
Senoufo Supyire
Niger-Congo
Senoufo Supyire (Suppire, "the Senufo speech") is the principal Senufo language of southwestern Mali, spoken across the Sikasso Region by ~750,000 Senufo (Suppire-speaking subgroup). The Senufo cluster (Supyire, Mamara, Sicite, Tagbana, Cebaara, etc. — ~3M total speakers across Mali, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire) is one of the smallest branches of Atlantic-Congo, with internal mutual intelligibility limited despite ethnic unity. Famous for the Senufo "balafon" (West African xylophone) musical tradition and elaborate masked ritual society (Poro). Linguistically, Senufo shows Atlantic-Congo Bantu-like noun-class system (~6 classes), tonal (3 tones with downstep), and SOV constituent order. The Carlson 1994 reference grammar is a seminal work in Senufo linguistics.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Senoufo Supyire
Water
lwɔ
/lwɔ/
Fire
fyaa
/fjaː/
Sun
kanha
/kaɲa/
Moon
cuoꞌngo
/tʃuoŋɡo/
Mother
naa
/naː/
Father
saa
/saː/
Eat
kanyi
/kaɲi/
Drink
nyaha
/ɲaha/
Love
lyɛnɛ
/ʎɛnɛ/
Heart
urɔ
/uɾɔ/
Tree
kapyiŋi
/kapjiŋi/
House
nyiŋkanaŋa
/ɲiŋkanaŋa/
Dog
fwo
/fwo/
Cat
baha
/baha/
Hand
kya
/kja/
Eye
fyaha
/fjaha/
Hello
mɛ
/mɛ/
Thank you
fenge
/feŋɡe/
One
ni
/ni/
Good
nyaha
/ɲaha/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo languages
| Meaning | Senoufo Supyire | Kinyarwanda | Igbo | Tagalog | Kirundi | Nyaturu | Odia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | lwɔ /lwɔ/ | amazi /amaːzi/ | mmiri /mːiɾi/ | tubig /tubiɡ/ | amazi /amaːzi/ | maazi /maːzi/ | ପାଣି /paːɳi/ |
| Fire | fyaa /fjaː/ | umuriro /umuɾiɾo/ | ọkụ /ɔkʊ/ | apoy /ʔaˈpoj/ | umuriro /umuɾiɾo/ | moto /moto/ | ନିଆଁ /niãː/ |
| Sun | kanha /kaɲa/ | izuba /izuba/ | anyanwụ /aɲaŋwʊ/ | araw /ˈʔaɾaw/ | izuba /izuba/ | nzua /nzua/ | ସୂର୍ଯ୍ୟ /suːɾjɔ/ |
| Moon | cuoꞌngo /tʃuoŋɡo/ | ukwezi /ukwezi/ | ọnwa /ɔŋwa/ | buwan /buwan/ | ukwezi /ukwezi/ | umweri /umweɾi/ | ଚନ୍ଦ୍ର /tʃɔndɾɔ/ |
| Mother | naa /naː/ | mama /maːma/ | nne /nːe/ | ina /ʔiˈna/ | mama /maːma/ | mama /mama/ | ମା /maː/ |
| Father | saa /saː/ | papa /paːpa/ | nna /nːa/ | ama /ʔaˈma/ | data /data/ | tata /tata/ | ବାପା /baːpaː/ |
| Eat | kanyi /kaɲi/ | kurya /kuɾja/ | iri /iɾi/ | kumain /kumaˈʔin/ | kurya /kuɾja/ | kuria /kuɾia/ | ଖାଇବା /kʰaːɪbaː/ |
| Drink | nyaha /ɲaha/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | ịṅụ /ɪŋʊ/ | uminom /ʔumiˈnom/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | kunywa /kuɲwa/ | ପିଇବା /piːɪbaː/ |
| Love | lyɛnɛ /ʎɛnɛ/ | urukundo /uɾukundo/ | ịhụnanya /ɪhʊnaɲa/ | pag-ibig /paɡʔibiɡ/ | urukundo /uɾukundo/ | butogwa /butoɡwa/ | ପ୍ରେମ /pɾemɔ/ |
| Heart | urɔ /uɾɔ/ | umutima /umutima/ | obi /obi/ | puso /puˈsoʔ/ | umutima /umutima/ | umutima /umutima/ | ହୃଦୟ /hɾudɔjɔ/ |
| Tree | kapyiŋi /kapjiŋi/ | igiti /iɡiti/ | osisi /osisi/ | puno /puno/ | igiti /iɡiti/ | umuti /umuti/ | ଗଛ /ɡɔtʃʰɔ/ |
| House | nyiŋkanaŋa /ɲiŋkanaŋa/ | inzu /inzu/ | ụlọ /ʊlɔ/ | bahay /bahaj/ | inzu /inzu/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | ଘର /ɡʱɔɾɔ/ |
| Dog | fwo /fwo/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | nkịta /ŋkɪta/ | aso /ˈʔaso/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | imbwa /imbwa/ | କୁକୁର /kukuɾɔ/ |
| Cat | baha /baha/ | injangwe /indʒaŋɡwe/ | nwamba /ŋwamba/ | pusa /pusa/ | akayabu /akajabu/ | paka /paka/ | ବିଲେଇ /bilei/ |
| Hand | kya /kja/ | ikiganza /ikiɡanza/ | aka /aka/ | kamay /kamaj/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ | ହାତ /haːtɔ/ |
| Eye | fyaha /fjaha/ | ijisho /idʒiʃo/ | anya /aɲa/ | mata /mata/ | ijisho /idʒiʃo/ | iriiso /iɾiːso/ | ଆଖି /aːkʰi/ |
| Hello | mɛ /mɛ/ | muraho /muɾaːho/ | nnọọ /nːɔː/ | kamusta /kamusta/ | amahoro /amahoɾo/ | mbukire /mbukiɾe/ | ନମସ୍କାର /nɔmɔskaːɾɔ/ |
| Thank you | fenge /feŋɡe/ | murakoze /muɾakoze/ | daalụ /daːlʊ/ | salamat /salamat/ | murakoze /muɾakoze/ | ahsante /ahsante/ | ଧନ୍ୟବାଦ /dʱɔnjɔbaːdɔ/ |
| One | ni /ni/ | rimwe /ɾimwe/ | otu /otu/ | isa /ʔiˈsa/ | rimwe /ɾimwe/ | umwe /umwe/ | ଏକ /ekɔ/ |
| Good | nyaha /ɲaha/ | byiza /bjiza/ | ọma /ɔma/ | mabuti /mabuti/ | nziza /nziza/ | kihi /kihi/ | ଭଲ /bʱɔlɔ/ |
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