Note on African languages

 

As the compiling progresses we come across an increasing number of African languages. These can be confusing because almost each of them has one or several spelling(s) or synonym(s). Any of them can be found in the literature to identify common names.

AKAN :  English is the official language in Ghana, but Akan, Hausa, Twi, Ewe, Ga, Dagbani are also parts of the many local dialects.

BAMBARA : main language in Mali. It is also known as Malian, Bamana or Bamanankan.

DAGBANI or Dagbanli is a Gur language spoken in Ghana and northern Togo.

DJERMA : an indigenous language of Niger, also known as Zarma or Zarma Ciine.

DIOLA : also called Jola, Jola-Fonyi, Jola kaasa, and Kujamataak. Several closely related dialects spoken in the Casamance region of Senegal, and neighboring countries. 

FON : also known as Dahomean or Beninese, spoken in Niger-Congo (Benin) and in parts of Nigeria and Togo.

FULFULDE : also known as Fula or Fulani, spoken by the Fulbe / Fulani people in West Africa, from Senegal to Sudan. 

HAUSA : one of the most wide spread languages in Africa, especially in West and Central Africa.

IGBO : spoken by Igbo people in Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and 

southeastern Nigeria.

KARAI-KARAI : is a language spoken in West Africa, most prominently North eastern Nigeria by  the Karai-Karai people.

KIKAMBA : Spoken by the Kamba people in south-central Kenya, parts of Tanzania and Uganda. 

KINYARWANDA : also called Ikinyarwanda. Spoken in Rwanda and Uganda.

KIPSIGIS : Spoken by Kipsigis people in southwestern Kenya.

KRIO : English-based creole of Sierra Leone.

MAA : Spoken by the Chamus people and Maasai people across southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. 

MANDINGUE : also spelled Manding is widely used in West Africa.

MINA : A language of Togo

MORÉ : also known as Mooré, Mossi, or Mole, is the primary language of the Mossi people in Burkina Faso. 

OUATCHI :  A language of Togo.

PULAAR : referred to as Haalpulaar'en, closely related to Pular (spoken in Guinea) and Fulfulde (spoken further east). Spoken by the Fula and Toucouleur peoples, widely used across Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, and Mali.

SAMPUR : Spoken by the Samburu people in north-central Kenya. 

SANGO : Spoken by Sango people in Central Africa, especially the Central African Republic, southern Chad and Democratic Republic of the Congo.

SERER : also spelled Seereer, spoken by the Serer people in Senegal, as well as in Gambia and Mauritania.

SESOTHO : known as Sotho or Southern Sotho, spoken in Lesotho and South Africa.

SOMALI : Spoken in Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and to a lesser extent in Kenya.

SWATI :  also known as Swazi or siSwati, spoken in Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and South Africa.

TACHELHIT : (Taclḥit, Tashelhiyt, or Shilha) is the most widely spoken Tamazight/Berber language in North Africa, primarily spoken by the Shilha people in southwestern Morocco. It is written in the Tifinagh alphabet.

TUGEN : Spoken by the Tugen people in parts of Kenya.

VENDA : also called Tshivenda and spoken in parts of South Africa and Zimbabwe by the Vhavenda people.

WOLOF : West African language, principally in Senegal but also in Gambia and Mauritania.

XHOSA : also isiXhosa, Xosa, spoken in South Africa specially in Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Zimbabwe and Lesotho.

ZULU : also isiZulu, spoken in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province.