Zarma is a Songhay language spoken by about 6 million people, mainly along the Niger River in southwestern Niger and also in Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, making it the most widely spoken language traditionally classed as Nilo-Saharan. It is written primarily in the Latin alphabet, with an Arabic-derived Ajami script also in use. The Songhay branch own placement within Nilo-Saharan is genuinely contested among specialists.
Facts
Speaker Count RegionSouthwestern Niger, and parts of Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria 1 Zarma
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Connections
In Family
Zarma is a Songhay language, and the Songhay branch own placement within Nilo-Saharan is genuinely disputed: Gerrit Dimmendaal (2008) argues Songhay is better treated as an independent family, while Roger Blench proposes a narrower Songhay-Saharan branch within Nilo-Saharan. Recorded as associated rather than holds pending that debate.
Source Wikipedia: Songhay Languages
Written In
Arabic Script, Scripts Ajami, an Arabic-derived script, is a secondary writing system beside the primary Latin alphabet.
Source Wikipedia: Zarma Language
Source Wikipedia: Zarma Language
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Zarma Language
Wikimedia Foundation- Lead section, speaker count and region description
- Infobox, speaker count figure (6.0 million, 2021, Ethnologue)
- Region section, majority in southwestern Niger statement
- Infobox, current speaker figures
- Written In: Latin Script, Writing system section, primarily written in the Latin alphabet statement
- Written In: Arabic Script, Writing system section, Arabic alphabet Ajami script statement
View the Source Wikipedia: Songhay Languages
Wikimedia FoundationIn Family: Nilo-Saharan, Classification section, this classification remains controversial statementView the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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