| Manding | |
|---|---|
| Manden | |
| Geographic distribution | West Africa |
Native speakers | 9.1 million (2017–2021)[1] |
| Linguistic classification | Niger-Congo? |
| Subdivisions |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | man |
| Glottolog | mand1435 |
 Map of the Manding language continuum | |
The Manding languages (sometimes spelt Manden)[2][3] are a dialect continuum within the Niger-Congo family spoken in West Africa. Varieties of Manding are generally considered (among native speakers) to be mutually intelligible – dependent on exposure or familiarity with dialects between speakers – and spoken by 9.1 million people in the countries Burkina Faso, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mali, Liberia, Ivory Coast and The Gambia.[1] Their best-known members are Mandinka or Mandingo, the principal language of The Gambia; Bambara, the most widely spoken language in Mali; Maninka or Malinké, a major language of Guinea and Mali; and Jula, a trade language of Ivory Coast and western Burkina Faso. Manding is part of the larger Mandé family of languages.
- ^ a b Manding at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
- ^ Fairhead, James; Leach, Melissa (1996-10-17). Misreading the African Landscape: Society and Ecology in a Forest-Savanna Mosaic. CUP Archive. pp. xviii. ISBN 9780521563536.
- ^ Belcher, Stephen Paterson (1999-01-01). Epic Traditions of Africa. Indiana University Press. pp. 89. ISBN 0253212812.
manden manding.
