Bobo language

Bobo
Bobo
RegionBurkina Faso, Mali
EthnicityBobo
Native speakers
(340,000 cited 1995–2021)[1]
Niger–Congo?
  • Mande
    • Western Mande
      • Northwestern
        • Soninke–Bobo
          • Bobo
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
bwq – Southern
bbo – Northern
Glottologbobo1253
Majority areas of Bobo speakers, in medium yellow, on a map of Burkina Faso

The Bobo language is a Mande language of Burkina Faso and Mali; the western city of Bobo Dioulasso is named partly for the Bobo people. It consists of Southern and Northern dialect. The Northern dialect is also known as Konabéré. Northern and Southern Bobo share only 20%–30% intelligibility according to Ethnologue, and by that standard are considered separate languages.

The terms Bobo Fing 'Black Bobo' and Bobo Madaré are used to distinguish them from Bobo Gbe 'White Bobo' and the Bobo Oule 'Red Bobo' of Burkina.

  1. ^ Southern at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon
    Northern at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon