Mossi language
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Mossi | |
---|---|
Mooré | |
Native to | Burkina Faso, Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, Togo |
Ethnicity | Mossi |
Native speakers | 7.83 million (2009–2013)[1] |
Latin | |
Official status | |
Recognised minority language in | |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-2 | mos |
ISO 639-3 | mos |
Glottolog | moss1236 |
![]() Majority areas of Mossi speakers, in pink, on a map of Burkina Faso |
A Mossi speaker speaking Mossi and Dioula, recorded in Taiwan.
Person | Moaaga |
---|---|
People | Moose |
Language | Mòoré |
The Mossi language (known in the language as Mooré; also Mòoré, Mõõré, Moré, Moshi, Moore, More) is a Gur language of the Oti–Volta branch and one of two official regional languages of Burkina Faso, closely related to the Frafra language spoken just across the border in the northern half of Ghana and less-closely to Dagbani and Mampruli farther south. It is the language of the Mossi people, spoken by approximately 5 million people in Burkina Faso, plus another 60,000+ in Mali and Togo.
Phonology[edit]
The Mossi language consists of the following sounds:[2]
Consonants[edit]
Labial | Alveolar | Postalveolar / palatal |
Velar | Glottal | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nasal | m | n | ɲ | |||
Stop | voiceless | p | t | k | ʔ | |
voiced | b | d | ɡ | |||
Fricative | voiceless | f | s | h | ||
voiced | v | z | ||||
Liquid | r, l | |||||
Approximant | j | w |
Remark:
Vowels[edit]
Front | Central | Back | ||
Close | Close | i | u | |
Near-close | ɪ | ʊ | ||
Close-mid | e | o | ||
Open | a |
Notes:
- All vowels (other than /e/ and /o/) are pronounced like their nasal counterparts.
- All vowels (oral and nasal) are pronounced like their lengthened counterparts.
- Other linguists include the vowels /ɛ/ and /ɔ/; here, they are analysed as diphthongs, (/ɛ/ is considered to be ea and /ɔ/ is considered to be oa).
Orthography[edit]
In Burkina Faso, the Mossi alphabet uses the letters specified in the national Burkinabé alphabet.
Burkinabé Mossi alphabet | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A | ʼ | B | D | E | Ɛ | F | G | H | I | Ɩ | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | Ʋ | V | W | Y | Z |
a | ʼ | b | d | e | ɛ | f | g | h | i | ɩ | k | l | m | n | o | p | r | s | t | u | ʋ | v | w | y | z |
Phonetic values | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
a | ʔ | b | d | e | ɛ | f | ɡ | h | i | ɪ | k | l | m | n | o | p | r | s | t | u | ʊ | v | w | j | z |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
External links[edit]
![]() |
Mossi language test of Wikipedia at Wikimedia Incubator |
Learning materials[edit]
- Protestant Mission, Assemblies of God. More (Language of the Mossi Tribe) Phrase Book. Ouagadougou, Upper Volta: World Digital Library.
![]() |
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Mooré phrasebook. |
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