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Languages of Burkina Faso

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192: 425:. In December 2023, the government of Burkina Faso adopts a bill revising the Constitution and henceforth enshrining the national languages as official languages in place of French which is relegated to the rank of "working language". French is a language of instruction in the nation's schools. However, fewer than 15 percent of the population uses French on a day-to-day basis. Despite this low percentage, there is a high amount of support in keeping French as a language of instruction because it provides children a pathway to social mobility and assures continued economic support for education. In fact, according to a 1998 report, “Burkinabe saw no interest in sending their children to school to learn a language that they already spoke at home”. 28: 191: 313:
in many parts of Burkina Faso. It is widely spoken in the north and east of the country as a first language, with 8.36 percent of the population able to speak it. Dyula is also a lingua franca and is widely used as a trading language, particularly in the west and in
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families. In rural areas of Burkina Faso, one's native language is typically used for common activities. In large towns, most people are multilingual. Although not recognized as an official language,
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The country's name was taken from words in two of the official languages, with ‘Burkina’ meaning ‘man of integrity’ in Mooré and ‘Faso’ meaning ‘father’s house’ in Dyula.
614: 1069: 1786: 1556: 349:, spoken by 1.66%. Dagara is spoken in the southwestern part of Burkina Faso and borrows heavily from French and, to a lesser degree, English. 1478: 291:
is the most widely spoken official language in the country, with 48 percent of Burkinabe being speakers as of 2008 and is a lingua franca.
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are also official languages. This has caused consternation with speakers of the other languages, who have protested it as an injustice.
1701: 1541: 666:"Language contact in two border communities in Burkina Faso and Ghana. Lexical borrowings from French, English and African languages" 594: 1062: 992: 1561: 615:"WP172: 800 languages and counting: Lessons from survey research across a linguistically diverse continent | Afrobarometer" 318:. A 2014 survey reported that 5.7% of the population speaks Dyula as their dominant language at home, but the number of 1892: 1055: 523: 486: 257:), a dialect of Fulani, is spoken in the north, however it is widely spoken throughout the country as a lingua franca. 1471: 1248: 458:
Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International.
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is spoken by about 52.5% of the population, mainly in the central region around the capital,
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is spoken by 5.51% of the population. Other important minority languages include
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country. An estimated 70 languages are spoken there, of which about 66 are
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is likely much higher. Bissa is spoken by 2.85% of the population.
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Rupley, Lawrence; Bangali, Lamissa; Diamitani, Boureima (2013).
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Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education
283: 816:"Did you know Pana (Burkina Faso) is threatened?" 1884: 233:(also spelled Jula or Dioula), others including 229:are widely spoken, the most predominant being 1472: 1077: 1063: 1043:Ethnologue listing of Burkina Faso languages 325:Most spoken languages belong to either the 1479: 1465: 1070: 1056: 638: 199:, the most spoken language in the country. 568:National African Language Resource Center 481:. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 123. 590: 588: 501: 190: 1486: 941:"Endangered Languages Project - Search" 866:"Did you know Sininkere is threatened?" 663: 537: 535: 268:Education for the deaf in Burkina uses 1885: 691:"Did you know Jalkunan is endangered?" 472: 470: 468: 466: 460:(Page on "Languages of Burkina Faso.") 1460: 1051: 791:"Did you know Natioro is vulnerable?" 716:"Did you know Kalamsé is threatened?" 643:. Multilingual Matters. p. 356. 585: 544: 479:Historical Dictionary of Burkina Faso 990: 639:Baker, Colin; Jones, Sylvia (1998). 632: 532: 408: 891:"Did you know Tiéfo is endangered?" 841:"Did you know Pongu is vulnerable?" 766:"Did you know Khisa is threatened?" 463: 32:Ethnolinguistic map of Burkina Faso 13: 916:"Did you know Wara is threatened?" 14: 1904: 1036: 741:"Did you know Khe is threatened?" 284:Official and indigenous languages 261:is spoken in the east, while the 1787:Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic 1557:Democratic Republic of the Congo 26: 1024: 1015: 984: 958: 933: 908: 883: 858: 833: 808: 783: 758: 733: 708: 683: 657: 607: 553: 495: 451: 352:Endangered languages include: 1: 561:"Fulfude, Moore & Dioula" 445: 7: 945:www.endangeredlanguages.com 428: 254: 10: 1909: 512:Cambridge University Press 1893:Languages of Burkina Faso 1800: 1775: 1494: 1364: 1323: 1295: 1262: 1189: 1146: 1137: 1116: 1085: 1079:Languages of Burkina Faso 664:Beyogle, Richard (2015). 440:Education in Burkina Faso 173: 105: 61: 37: 25: 21:Languages of Burkina Faso 20: 1542:Central African Republic 502:Brentari, Diane (2010). 280:is used in Ouagadougou. 265:is spoken in the south. 195:Blackboard with text in 997:International Education 604:Burkina Faso Government 345:, spoken by 1.76%; and 270:American Sign Language 200: 180:American Sign Language 80:Wara–Natyoro languages 1702:São Tomé and Príncipe 1562:Republic of the Congo 278:Burkina Sign Language 194: 184:Burkina Sign Language 1488:Languages of Africa 1356:Western Plains Dogon 920:Endangered Languages 895:Endangered Languages 870:Endangered Languages 845:Endangered Languages 820:Endangered Languages 795:Endangered Languages 770:Endangered Languages 745:Endangered Languages 720:Endangered Languages 695:Endangered Languages 600:3 March 2016 at the 595:Language census form 100:Western Plains Dogon 1777:States with limited 1365:Immigrant languages 991:Kone, Aame (2010). 341:, spoken by 1.91%, 1117:Regional languages 670:Ph.D. Dissertation 572:Indiana University 201: 1878: 1877: 1804:other territories 1577:Equatorial Guinea 1454: 1453: 1450: 1449: 1086:Official language 619:afrobarometer.org 541:Kone 2010, page 9 415:working languages 409:Working languages 189: 188: 1900: 1865: 1864:(United Kingdom) 1860:Tristan da Cunha 1856:Ascension Island 1848: 1835: 1826: 1802:Dependencies and 1495:Sovereign states 1481: 1474: 1467: 1458: 1457: 1144: 1143: 1072: 1065: 1058: 1049: 1048: 1031: 1030:Kone 2010, p. 15 1028: 1022: 1021:Kone 2010, p. 12 1019: 1013: 1012: 1010: 1008: 988: 982: 981: 979: 977: 962: 956: 955: 953: 951: 937: 931: 930: 928: 926: 912: 906: 905: 903: 901: 887: 881: 880: 878: 876: 862: 856: 855: 853: 851: 837: 831: 830: 828: 826: 812: 806: 805: 803: 801: 787: 781: 780: 778: 776: 762: 756: 755: 753: 751: 737: 731: 730: 728: 726: 712: 706: 705: 703: 701: 687: 681: 680: 678: 676: 661: 655: 654: 636: 630: 629: 627: 625: 611: 605: 592: 583: 582: 580: 578: 565: 557: 551: 550:Kone 2010, p. 10 548: 542: 539: 530: 529: 509: 499: 493: 492: 474: 461: 455: 76:Senufo languages 30: 18: 17: 1908: 1907: 1903: 1902: 1901: 1899: 1898: 1897: 1883: 1882: 1879: 1874: 1873: 1863: 1846: 1833: 1824: 1805: 1803: 1796: 1780: 1778: 1771: 1490: 1485: 1455: 1446: 1360: 1319: 1291: 1258: 1185: 1139: 1133: 1112: 1081: 1076: 1039: 1034: 1029: 1025: 1020: 1016: 1006: 1004: 989: 985: 975: 973: 964: 963: 959: 949: 947: 939: 938: 934: 924: 922: 914: 913: 909: 899: 897: 889: 888: 884: 874: 872: 864: 863: 859: 849: 847: 839: 838: 834: 824: 822: 814: 813: 809: 799: 797: 789: 788: 784: 774: 772: 764: 763: 759: 749: 747: 739: 738: 734: 724: 722: 714: 713: 709: 699: 697: 689: 688: 684: 674: 672: 662: 658: 651: 637: 633: 623: 621: 613: 612: 608: 602:Wayback Machine 593: 586: 576: 574: 563: 559: 558: 554: 549: 545: 540: 533: 526: 500: 496: 489: 475: 464: 456: 452: 448: 431: 411: 384:(Burkina Faso) 286: 227:Mande languages 182: 68:Mande languages 33: 12: 11: 5: 1906: 1896: 1895: 1876: 1875: 1872: 1871: 1869:Western Sahara 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Retrieved 567: 555: 546: 505: 497: 478: 453: 412: 351: 324: 309:Peul is the 308: 305: 287: 267: 224: 208:multilingual 204:Burkina Faso 202: 15: 1779:recognition 1732:South Sudan 1622:Ivory Coast 1287:Syer-Tenyer 972:(in French) 950:17 December 925:17 December 900:17 December 875:17 December 850:17 December 825:17 December 800:17 December 775:17 December 750:17 December 725:17 December 700:17 December 320:L2 speakers 259:Gourmantché 220:Ouagadougou 1834:(Portugal) 1792:Somaliland 1712:Seychelles 1677:Mozambique 1662:Mauritania 1647:Madagascar 1602:The Gambia 1537:Cape Verde 1422:Portuguese 1234:Gourmanché 1138:Indigenous 1007:24 October 675:24 October 650:1853593621 624:24 January 577:24 October 514:. p.  446:References 335:Gourmanché 212:indigenous 152:Portuguese 63:Indigenous 1667:Mauritius 1224:Cwi Bwamu 1140:languages 393:Sininkere 1887:Category 1858: / 1854: / 1847:(France) 1841: / 1819: / 1815: / 1767:Zimbabwe 1742:Tanzania 1592:Ethiopia 1587:Eswatini 1567:Djibouti 1532:Cameroon 1517:Botswana 1427:Japanese 1351:Tamasheq 1277:Nanerigé 1272:Karaboro 1129:Mandinka 976:7 August 970:Le Monde 598:Archived 429:See also 357:Jalkunan 255:fulfulde 156:Japanese 96:Tamasheq 39:Official 1843:Réunion 1839:Mayotte 1830:Madeira 1825:(Spain) 1821:Melilla 1752:Tunisia 1722:Somalia 1707:Senegal 1692:Nigeria 1682:Namibia 1672:Morocco 1637:Liberia 1632:Lesotho 1582:Eritrea 1552:Comoros 1527:Burundi 1502:Algeria 1432:Russian 1417:Chinese 1397:Italian 1387:Spanish 1382:Punjabi 1372:English 1305:Natioro 1239:Gurunsi 1229:Dagaare 1199:Birifor 1124:Bambara 423:English 377:Natioro 362:Kalamsé 160:Russian 148:Chinese 132:Italian 124:Spanish 120:Punjabi 116:English 107:Foreign 1862:  1845:  1832:  1762:Zambia 1757:Uganda 1697:Rwanda 1652:Malawi 1612:Guinea 1507:Angola 1437:Danish 1412:Arabic 1407:Hebrew 1392:German 1377:French 1346:Siamou 1310:Paleni 1282:Sucite 1264:Senufo 1254:Puguli 1244:Kasena 1003:(2): 7 647:  522:  485:  419:French 343:Dagara 299:, and 276:. The 241:, and 175:Signed 164:Danish 144:Arabic 140:Hebrew 128:German 112:French 92:Siamou 1817:Ceuta 1737:Sudan 1687:Niger 1642:Libya 1627:Kenya 1607:Ghana 1597:Gabon 1572:Egypt 1512:Benin 1442:Dutch 1402:Hindi 1336:Hausa 1324:Other 1315:Samwe 1219:Cerma 1209:Buamu 1176:Marka 1166:Dyula 1156:Bissa 1148:Mande 1108:Mooré 1098:Dyula 1093:Bissa 564:(PDF) 398:Tiéfo 388:Pongu 372:Khisa 339:Bwamu 327:Mande 297:Dyula 293:Bissa 289:Mooré 243:Marka 231:Dyula 216:Mooré 206:is a 197:Mooré 168:Dutch 136:Hindi 84:Hausa 52:Dyula 48:Bissa 44:Mooré 1747:Togo 1657:Mali 1547:Chad 1331:Fula 1204:Bomu 1181:Samo 1171:Kpee 1161:Bobo 1103:Fula 1009:2016 978:2024 952:2019 927:2019 902:2019 877:2019 852:2019 827:2019 802:2019 777:2019 752:2019 727:2019 702:2019 677:2016 645:ISBN 626:2020 579:2016 520:ISBN 483:ISBN 417:are 413:The 403:Wara 382:Pana 347:Samo 301:Peul 251:Fula 247:Peul 239:Samo 235:Bobo 56:Fula 1214:Bwa 1191:Gur 516:406 367:Khe 331:Gur 329:or 1889:: 1001:39 999:. 995:. 968:. 943:. 918:. 893:. 868:. 843:. 818:. 793:. 768:. 743:. 718:. 693:. 668:. 617:. 587:^ 570:. 566:. 534:^ 518:. 510:. 465:^ 295:, 253:: 245:. 237:, 222:. 214:. 166:, 162:, 158:, 154:, 150:, 146:, 142:, 138:, 134:, 130:, 126:, 122:, 118:, 114:, 98:, 94:, 90:, 86:, 82:, 78:, 74:, 70:, 54:, 50:, 46:, 1480:e 1473:t 1466:v 1071:e 1064:t 1057:v 1011:. 980:. 954:. 929:. 904:. 879:. 854:. 829:. 804:. 779:. 754:. 729:. 704:. 679:. 653:. 628:. 581:. 528:. 491:. 249:(

Index


Official
Mooré
Bissa
Dyula
Fula
Indigenous
Mande languages
Gur languages
Senufo languages
Wara–Natyoro languages
Hausa
Humburi Senni
Siamou
Tamasheq
Western Plains Dogon
Foreign
French
English
Punjabi
Spanish
German
Italian
Hindi
Hebrew
Arabic
Chinese
Portuguese
Japanese
Russian

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