Dagaare language

Dagaare
Native toGhana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Cameroon
EthnicityDagaaba people
Native speakers
(1.3 million cited 1999–2021)[1]
Niger–Congo?
Dialects
  • Lober
  • Nura
  • Wule
Latin (Dagaare alphabet)
Dagaare Braille
Language codes
ISO 639-3Variously:
dga – Southern Dagaare
dgd – Dagaari Dioula
dgi – Northern Dagara
Glottologsout2789  Central Dagaare
daga1272  Dagaari Dioula
nort2780  Northern Dagara
Majority areas of Northern Dagara speakers, in red, on a map of Burkina Faso.

Dagaare is the language of the Dagaaba people of Ghana, Burkina Faso, and Ivory Coast. It has been described as a dialect continuum that also includes Waale and Birifor. Dagaare language varies in dialect stemming from other family languages including: Dagbane, Waale, Mabia, Gurene, Mampruli, Kusaal, Buli, Niger-Congo, and many other sub languages resulting in around 1.3 million Dagaare speakers.[1] Throughout the regions of native Dagaare speakers the dialect comes from Northern, Central, Western, and Southern areas referring to the language differently. Burkina Faso refers to Dagaare as Dagara and Birifor to natives in the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire. The native tongue is still universally known as Dagaare. Amongst the different dialects, the standard for Dagaare is derived from the Central region's dialect. Southern Dagaare (or Waale) also stems from the Dagaare language and is known to be commonly spoken in Wa and Kaleo.

Ethnologue divides Dagaare into three languages:

  • Southern/Central Dagaare language, which is spoken mainly in Ghana
  • Northern Dagara language, which is spoken mainly in Burkina Faso
  • Dagaari Dioula, which is spoken mainly in Burkina Faso, and has significant influence from the genetically unrelated Dioula language
    Map
    Distribution of Dagaree Speakers
  1. ^ a b Southern Dagaare at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon
    Dagaari Dioula at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon
    Northern Dagara at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon