Tommo So

Tommo So
Tombo-So[1]
Pronunciation/tɔ̀mmɔ̀ sɔ̀ɔ́/
Native toMali
RegionRégion de Mopti
Native speakers
40,000-60,000 (2013)[2]
Language codes
ISO 639-3dto
Glottologtomm1242
Approximate location where Tommo So is spoken
Approximate location where Tommo So is spoken
Tommo So
Location in Mali
Coordinates: 14°20′N 3°25′W / 14.333°N 3.417°W / 14.333; -3.417

Tommo So is a language spoken in the eastern part of Mali's Mopti Region. It is placed under the Dogon language family, a subfamily of the Niger-Congo language family.[3]

There are approximately 60,000 speakers of Tommo So. Of the twelve Dogon languages, it is the second-most common.[4] It is classed as a 6a (vigorous) language under Ethnologue's language status classifications—the language is "used for face-to-face communication by all generations and the situation is sustainable."[5] Children are still acquiring Tommo So as their first language. Bambara and French (Mali's lingua franca and national language) are common second languages for Tommo So speakers, with the former being common among those that have spent time in other areas of Mali, and the latter being used to communicate in the classroom or with foreigners.[6]

  1. ^ Tommo So Dogon at Ethnologue (22nd ed., 2019) Closed access icon
  2. ^ McPherson 2013.
  3. ^ McPherson 2013, p. 2.
  4. ^ McPherson 2013, p. 3.
  5. ^ "Language Status". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  6. ^ McPherson 2013, p. 6.