Mande is a family of some 60 to 75 languages spoken by the Mande peoples across West Africa, including Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ivory Coast, with around 60 million speakers combined. Its major languages include Bambara, Maninka, Mandinka, Soninke, Susu, Mende, Vai and Jula, divided between a Western Mande branch and a smaller Southeastern branch. Mande's relationship to the broader Niger-Congo family has long been disputed, with many linguists treating it as an independent family, though research in the 2020s has offered new evidence for a genetic link between the two.
Facts
Partially Attested
Proto-Language StatusProto-Mande, the reconstructed ancestor of the Mande languages, is an ongoing reconstruction effort that has not yet reached the comparative depth of better-studied proto-languages such as Proto-Bantu; the time depth of the family is estimated at 5,300 to 5,500 years 1 Confirmed: reconstruction of Proto-Mande is underway and the family's time depth is estimated at 5,300 to 5,500 years. Open: the reconstruction has not reached the comparative depth of better-studied families such as Bantu, so many details remain unsettled. RegionWest Africa: Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, plus southern Mauritania, northern Ghana, northwestern Nigeria and northern Benin 1 Speaker Count Mande
Filter Results2 entries
Connections
Ancestor Of
Southern Mande is one of the two primary branches of Mande (alongside Northwestern Mande), spoken across Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia and Guinea, including the Dan and Mano languages.
Descends From
Mande is generally treated as an early-branching primary division of Niger-Congo, coordinate with Atlantic-Congo and Ijoid.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Mande Languages
WikipediaWikipedia, Mande languages, introduction
There are around 60 to 75 languages spoken by around 60 million people, chiefly in Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) and also in southern Mauritania, northern Ghana, northwestern Nigeria and northern Benin.
Wikipedia, Mande languages, introduction, speaker total
There are around 60 to 75 languages spoken by around 60 million people
Wikipedia, Mande languages, section Proto-language
The reconstruction of Proto-Mande is an ongoing effort, and it has not yet reached the same level of comparative depth as some other proto-languages, such as Proto-Bantu.
View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.