Native to Sierra Leone Ethnicity Temne Official language in Sierra Leone | Region Central Sierra Leone Native speakers 1.2 million (2006) | |
Language family Niger–Congo
Atlantic–Congo
Mel
Temne–Baga
Temne | ||
Temne (also Themne, Timne; [t̪emnɛ]) is a language of the Mel branch of Niger–Congo, spoken in Sierra Leone by about 2 million first speakers. One of the country's most widely spoken languages, it is spoken by 30% of the country’s population. It also serves as a lingua franca for an additional 1,500,000 people living in areas near the Temne people. It is closely related to the neighboring Kissi language.
Contents
It is related to the Baga languages spoken in Guinea and to Sherbro spoken in Sierra Leone. Temne speakers live mostly in the Northern Province and Western Area (Freetown and its environs) of Sierra Leone, Temne speakers can also be found in all 12 districts of Sierra Leone. Temne people can be found in a number of other West African countries as well, including Guinea and The Gambia. Some Temnes have also migrated beyond West Africa seeking educational and professional opportunities, especially in Great Britain, the United States, and Egypt. Temnes are mostly scholars, business people, farmers, and coastal fishermen; and most are Muslims.
Sounds
Temne is a tonal language, with four tones. Among consonants, Temne distinguishes dental and alveolar, but unusually, the dental consonants are apical and the alveolar consonants are laminal (and slightly affricated), the opposite of the general pattern, though one found also in the nearby language Limba.
Consonants
/th/ can be pronounced as /t̪/ or /θ/.
Writing
The alphabet of Temne includes the following characters and digraphs:
a, b, d, e, ɛ, ǝ, f, gb, h, i, k, l, m, n, ŋ, o, ɔ, p, r, s, t, th, u, w, y