Dan language

Dan
Yacouba
Native toIvory Coast, Guinea, and Liberia
EthnicityDan people
Native speakers
1.6 million (2012)[1]
Niger–Congo?
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3Either:
dnj – Dan
lda – Kla
Glottologdann1241
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A Dan speaker, recorded in Liberia.

Dan /ˈdæn/[2] is a Southern Mande language spoken primarily in Ivory Coast (~800,000 speakers) and Liberia (150,000–200,000 speakers). There is also a population of about 800 speakers in Guinea. Dan is a tonal language, with 9 to 11 contour and register tones, depending on the dialect.

Alternative names for the language include Yacouba or Yakubasa, Gio, Gyo, Gio-Dan, and Da. Dialects are Gio (Liberian Dan), Gweetaawu (Eastern Dan), Blowo (Western Dan), and Kla. Kla is evidently a distinct language.

  1. ^ Dan at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
    Kla at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Laurie Bauer, 2007, The Linguistics Student’s Handbook, Edinburgh[relevant?]