Maninka | |
---|---|
Malinke | |
Maninkakan N'Ko: ߡߊ߬ߣߌ߲߬ߞߊ߬ߞߊ߲ | |
Native to | Guinea, Mali, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast |
Ethnicity | Mandinka |
Native speakers | 4.6 million (2012–2021)[1] |
N'Ko, Latin | |
Official status | |
Official language in | Guinea, Mali |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | Variously:mku – Konyankaemk – Eastern Maninkakamsc – Sankaran Maninkakamzj – Manya (Liberia)jod – Wojenaka (Odienné Jula)jud – Worodougoukfo – Koro (Koro Jula)kga – Koyaga (Koyaga Jula)mxx – Mahou (Mawukakan) |
Glottolog | mane1267 Manenkanmani1303 Maninka–Mori |
ELP | Koro (Cote d'Ivoire) |
Maninka (also known as Malinke), or more precisely Eastern Maninka, is the name of several closely related languages and dialects of the southeastern Manding subgroup of the Mande language family (itself, possibly linked to the Niger–Congo phylum). It is the mother tongue of the Malinké people in Guinea, where it is spoken by 3.1 million people and is the main language in the Upper Guinea region, and in Mali, where the closely related Bambara is a national language, as well as in Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, where it has no official status. It was the language of court and government during the Mali Empire.