Harman Patil (Editor)

Mossi language

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Ethnicity
  
Mossi

Writing system
  
Latin

Native speakers
  
7.6 million (2007)

Recognised minority language in
  
Burkina Faso

Mossi language

Native to
  
Burkina Faso, Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, Togo

Language family
  
Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Gur Northern Oti–Volta Western Oti-Volta Northwestern Mossi

The Mossi language (known in the language as Mooré; also Mòoré, Mõõré, Moré, Moshi, Moore, More) is 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 further 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.

Contents

Phonology

The Mossi language consists of the following sounds:

Consonants

Remark:

  • The semivowel /j/ y is pronounced [ɲ] (palatal nasal) in front of nasal vowels.

    • Vowels

    Remark:

  • All the vowels (other than /e/ and /o/) are pronounced equivalently to their nasal counterparts.
  • All the vowels (oral and nasal) are pronounced equivalently to their lengthened counterparts.
  • Other linguists include the vowels /ɛ/ and /ɔ/; here, these vowels are analyzed as diphthongs (/ɛ/ is considered to be ea, and /ɔ/ is considered to be oa).

    • Orthography

    In Burkina Faso, the Mossi alphabet uses the letters specified in the national Burkinabé alphabet.

    References

    Mossi language Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA