The Soninke language (Soninke: Sooninkanxanne, ), also known as Serakhulle or Azer or Maraka, is a Mande language spoken by the Soninke people of West Africa. The language has an estimated 2.3 million speakers, primarily located in Mali and Mauritania, and also (in order of numerical importance of the communities) in Senegal, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea. It is a national language of Mauritania, Mali, Senegal and The Gambia.

Phonology

Consonants Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal Nasal Stop andAffricate Fricative ~ Trill Approximant

Vowels FrontCentralBackClose Close-mid Open

Long vowels are written double: aa, ee, ii, oo, uu.

Dialects Dialects of Soninke include the Berber-inflected Azer dialect.

References

External links

PanAfriL10n page on Soninke Soninkara.org: La langue soninké Collection of documents in Soninke Decree No. 2005-991 of 21 October 2005 relating to the spelling and the separation of words in Soninke via the website of the Senegalese Journal officiel