Maninka
Sign in to saveAlso known as Eastern Maninka, Malinke, Maninka language, Manenkan
Manding language of West Africa
Key facts
- Native to
- Guinea , Mali , Liberia , Sierra Leone , Ivory Coast
- Ethnicity
- Mandinka
- Native speakers
- 4.6 million (2012–2021)
- Language family
- Niger–Congo ? Mande Western Manding East Maninka
- Writing system
- N'Ko , Latin
- Official language in
- Guinea , Mali
- Iso 639 3
- Variously:, mku – Konyanka, emk – Eastern Maninkaka, msc – Sankaran Maninkaka, mzj – Manya (Liberia), jod – Wojenaka (Odienné Jula), jud – Worodougou, kfo – Koro (Koro Jula), kga – Koyaga (Koyaga Jula), mxx – Mahou (Mawukakan)
- Glottolog
- mane1267 Manenkan, mani1303 Maninka–Mori
- Elp
- Koro (Cote d'Ivoire)
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
Show 2 more facts
- number of speakers, writers, or signers
- 3300000
via Wikidata · CC0
~3 min read
Article
Maninka (also known as Malinke), or more precisely Eastern Maninka, is the name of several closely related languages and dialects of the southeastern Manding subgroup of the Mande language family (itself, possibly linked to the Niger–Congo phylum). It is the mother tongue of the Malinké people in Guinea, where it is spoken by 3.1 million people and is the main language in the Upper Guinea region, and in Mali, where the closely related Bambara is a national language, as well as in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast, where it has no official status. It was the language of court and government during the Mali Empire.
Phonology