Languages of Burkina Faso

Ethnolinguistic map of Burkina Faso

Official| Mooré, Bissa, Dyula, Fula
Semi-official| African French (working language)
Indigenous| Mande languages, Gur languages, Senufo languages, Wara–Natyoro languages, Hausa, Humburi Senni, Siamou, Tamasheq, Western Plains Dogon
Foreign| English, Punjabi, Spanish, German, Italian, Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese, Japanese, Russian, Danish, Dutch
Signed| American Sign Language
Burkina Sign Language
Blackboard with text in Mooré, the most spoken language in the country.

Burkina Faso is a multilingual country. An estimated 70 languages are spoken there, of which about 66 are indigenous.[1] Mooré is spoken by about 52.5% of the population, mainly in the central region around the capital, Ouagadougou.

In the west, Mande languages are widely spoken, the most predominant being Dyula (also spelled Jula or Dioula), others including Bobo, Samo, and Marka. Peul (Fula: fulfulde), a dialect of Fulani, is spoken in the north, however it is widely spoken throughout the country as a lingua franca. Gourmantché is spoken in the east, while the Bissa language is spoken in the south.[2]

In 2024, the Francophone population of Burkina Faso represents 22.8%, which is approximately 5,379,000 people. Among them, 1.3% (around 302,000 individuals) speak French as their first language.[3] Additionally, 5,063,000 people, or 21.5% of the total population of 23,550,000, use French as a second language.[4]

Education for the deaf in Burkina uses American Sign Language, which was introduced by the deaf American missionary Andrew Foster. The Burkina Sign Language is used in Ouagadougou.[5]

## Official and indigenous languages

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Mooré is the most widely spoken official language in the country, with 48 percent of Burkinabe being speakers as of 2008 and is a lingua franca.[6] Bissa, Dyula, and Peul are also official languages. This has caused consternation with speakers of the other languages, who have protested it as an injustice.[7]

The country's name was taken from words in two of the official languages, with ‘Burkina’ meaning ‘man of integrity’ in Mooré and ‘Faso’ meaning ‘father’s house’ in Dyula.

Peul is the lingua franca in many parts of Burkina Faso.[8] It is widely spoken in the north and east of the country as a first language, with 8.36 percent of the population able to speak it.[2][9] Dyula is also a lingua franca and is widely used as a trading language, particularly in the west and in Bobo-Dioulasso.[2] A 2014 survey reported that 5.7% of the population speaks Dyula as their dominant language at home,[10] but the number of L2 speakers is likely much higher. Bissa is spoken by 2.85% of the population.

Most spoken languages belong to either the Mande or Gur families. In rural areas of Burkina Faso, one's native language is typically used for common activities.[2] In large towns, most people are multilingual.[11] Although not recognized as an official language, Gourmanché is spoken by 5.51% of the population. Other important minority languages include Bwamu, spoken by 1.91%, Dagara, spoken by 1.76%; and Samo, spoken by 1.66%.[9] Dagara is spoken in the southwestern part of Burkina Faso and borrows heavily from French and, to a lesser degree, English.[12]

Endangered languages include:

* Jalkunan [aka Dyala, Dyalanu, Jalkuna][13]
* Kalamsé [aka Kalemsé, Kalenga, Sàmòmá][14]
* Khe [aka Kheso, Bambadion-Kheso,][15]
* Khisa [aka Komono, Khi Khipa, Kumwenu][16]
* Natioro [aka Koo'ra, Natyoro, Natjoro][17]
* Pana (Burkina Faso) [aka Sama,][18]
* Pongu [aka Pongo, Pangu, Arringeu][19]
* Sininkere [aka Silinkere, Silanke,][20]
* Tiéfo [aka Foro, Tyefo, Tyeforo][21]
* Wara [aka Wára, Ouara, Ouala][22][23]

## Working languages

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The working languages are French, which was introduced when France colonized Burkina Faso in 1919, and English. In December 2023, the government of Burkina Faso adopted a bill revising the Constitution regarding language. Indigenous languages were set as official languages, while French was made a "working language" only.[24] French is a language of instruction in the nation's schools.[25] However, fewer than 15 percent of the population uses French on a day-to-day basis.[6] Despite this low percentage, there is a high amount of support in keeping French as a language of instruction because it provides children a pathway to social mobility and assures continued economic support for education.[26] In fact, according to a 1998 report, “Burkinabe saw no interest in sending their children to school to learn a language that they already spoke at home”.[27]

## See also

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* African French
* Education in Burkina Faso

## References

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1. ^ Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. (Page on "Languages of Burkina Faso.")
2. ^ a b c d Rupley, Lawrence; Bangali, Lamissa; Diamitani, Boureima (2013). Historical Dictionary of Burkina Faso. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 123\. ISBN 978-0810867703.
3. ^ French speaking countries
4. ^ "Accueil-Francoscope". ODSEF (Observatoire démographique et statistique de l'espace francophone de l'Université Laval) & l'Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (in French). Laval, Québec.
5. ^ Brentari, Diane (2010). Sign Languages. Cambridge University Press. p. 406. ISBN 978-1139487399.
6. ^ a b Kone 2010, page 9
7. ^ Kone 2010, p. 10
8. ^ "Fulfude, Moore & Dioula" (PDF). National African Language Resource Center. Indiana University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
9. ^ a b Language census form Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Burkina Faso Government
10. ^ "WP172: 800 languages and counting: Lessons from survey research across a linguistically diverse continent | Afrobarometer". afrobarometer.org. Archived from the original on 23 September 2020. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
11. ^ Baker, Colin; Jones, Sylvia (1998). Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education. Multilingual Matters. p. 356\. ISBN 1853593621.
12. ^ Beyogle, Richard (2015). "Language contact in two border communities in Burkina Faso and Ghana. Lexical borrowings from French, English and African languages". Ph.D. Dissertation. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
13. ^ "Did you know Jalkunan is endangered?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
14. ^ "Did you know Kalamsé is threatened?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
15. ^ "Did you know Khe is threatened?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
16. ^ "Did you know Khisa is threatened?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
17. ^ "Did you know Natioro is vulnerable?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
18. ^ "Did you know Pana (Burkina Faso) is threatened?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
19. ^ "Did you know Pongu is vulnerable?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
20. ^ "Did you know Sininkere is threatened?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
21. ^ "Did you know Tiéfo is endangered?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
22. ^ "Did you know Wara is threatened?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
23. ^ "Endangered Languages Project - Search". www.endangeredlanguages.com. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
24. ^ "Le Burkina Faso révise sa Constitution et relègue le français au rang de « langue de travail". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 7 August 2024.
25. ^ Kone, Aame (2010). "Politics of Language: The Struggle for Power in Schools in Mali and Burkina Faso". International Education. 39 (2): 7. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
26. ^ Kone 2010, p. 12
27. ^ Kone 2010, p. 15

## External links

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* Ethnologue listing of Burkina Faso languages

* v
* t
* e

Languages of Burkina Faso

Official language|

* Bissa
* Dyula
* Fula
* Mooré

Regional languages|

* Bambara
* Mandinka

Indigenous
languages|

| Mande|

* Bissa
* Bobo
* Dyula
* Kpee
* Marka
* Samo

|

Gur|

* Birifor
* Bomu
* Buamu
* Bwa
* Cerma
* Cwi Bwamu
* Dagaare
* Gourmanché
* Gurunsi
* Kasena
* Láá Láá Bwamu
* Puguli

Senufo|

* Karaboro
* Nanerigé
* Sucite
* Syer-Tenyer

Wara–Natyoro|

* Natioro
* Paleni
* Samwe

Other|

* Fula
* Hausa
* Humburi Senni
* Siamou
* Tamasheq
* Western Plains Dogon

Immigrant languages|

* English
* French
* Punjabi
* Spanish
* German
* Italian
* Hindi
* Hebrew
* Arabic
* Chinese
* Portuguese
* Japanese
* Russian
* Danish
* Dutch

* v
* t
* e

Languages of Africa

Sovereign states|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Eswatini
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

States with limited
recognition

* Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
* Somaliland

Dependencies and
other territories

* Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain)
* Madeira (Portugal)
* Mayotte / Réunion (France)
* Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)
* Western Sahara

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