Languages of Mali

2025-09-18T17:26:09Z

146.196.38.164: Changed the position of arabic in official languages so that all languages are in alphabetical order

{{Short description|none}} 
{{Languages of
| country =Mali
| official = [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Bambara language|Bambara]], [[Bobo language|Bobo]], [[Bozo language|Bozo]], [[Dogon languages|Dogon]], [[Fula language|Fula]], [[Kassonke language|Kassonke]], [[Maninka language|Maninke]], [[Minyanka language|Minyanka]], [[Senufo languages|Senufo]], [[Songhay languages]], [[Soninke language|Soninke]], [[Tamasheq language|Tamasheq]]
|vernacular = [[Arabic language|Arabic]]
|indigenous = [[Bambara language|Bambara]], [[Bomu language|Bomu]], [[Bozo language|Bozo]], [[Mamara Senoufo language|Mamara]], [[Maninka language|Maninkakan]], [[Soninke language|Soninke]], [[Songhay languages|Songhay]], [[Syenara Senoufo language|Syenara]], [[Tamasheq]], [[Xaasongaxango]]
| semi-official = [[African French]] ([[working language]])
| foreign = [[Arabic language|Arabic]]
| sign = [[Francophone African Sign Language]]
|image=Town hall of Ouelessebougou, Mali, December 2017.jpg
|caption=Sign in [[French Language|French]] at [[Ouélessébougou]] town hall
|keyboard = French [[AZERTY]]
|keyboard image = [[File:KB France.svg|200px]]
}}

[[Mali]] is a multilingual country of about 21.9 million people. The languages spoken there reflect ancient settlement patterns, migrations, and its long history. ''Ethnologue'' counts more than 80 languages. Of these, [[Bambara language|Bambara]], [[Bobo language|Bobo]], [[Bozo language|Bozo]], [[Dogon languages|Dogon]], [[Fula language|Fula]], [[Arabic language|Arabic]], [[Kassonke language|Kassonke]], [[Maninka language|Maninke]], [[Minyanka language|Minyanka]], [[Senufo languages|Senufo]], [[Songhay languages]], [[Soninke language|Soninke]] and [[Tamasheq language|Tamasheq]] are official languages.<ref name="Lingua 2023">{{cite web |url=https://sgg-mali.ml/JO/2023/mali-jo-2023-13-sp-2.pdf |title=JOURNAL OFFICIEL DE LA REPUBLIQUE DU MALI SECRETARIAT GENERAL DU GOUVERNEMENT - DECRET N°2023-0401/PT-RM DU 22 JUILLET 2023 PORTANT PROMULGATION DE LA CONSTITUTION |author= |date=22 July 2023 |website=sgg-mali.ml |access-date=26 July 2023 |quote=Article 31 : Les langues nationales sont les langues officielles du Mali.}}</ref><ref name="national languages">{{cite web |url=https://sgg-mali.ml/JO/2017/mali-jo-2017-39.pdf |title=JOURNAL OFFICIEL DE LA REPUBLIQUE DU MALI |author= |date=29 September 2017 |website=sgg-mali.ml |access-date=26 July 2023 |quote=Langues nationales : langues considérées comme propres à une nation ou à un pays. Selon la Loi n°96- 049 du 23 août 1996, les langues nationales du Mali sont : le bamanankan (bambara), le bomu (bobo), le bozo (bozo), le dTgTsT (dogon), le fulfulde (peul), l'arabe (maure/hassaniya), le mamara (miniyanka), le maninkakan (malinké) le soninke (sarakolé), le soKoy (songhoï), le syenara (sénoufo), le tamasayt (tamasheq), le xaasongaxanKo (khassonké).}}</ref>

[[French language|French]] is the [[working language]].<ref name="Lingua 2023" /> In 2024, the Francophone population of Mali represents 20%, which is approximately 4,884,000 people. Among them, 6.4% (around 1,491,000 individuals) speak French as their [[first language]].<ref name="source1">[https://www.worlddata.info/languages/french.php French speaking countries]</ref> Additionally, approximately 3,329,144 people, or 13.6% of the total population of 24,479,000, use French as a [[second language]].<ref name="source2">{{cite web |lang=fr |title=Accueil-Francoscope |url=https://www.outils-odsef-fss.ulaval.ca/francoscope/ |website=ODSEF (Observatoire démographique et statistique de l'espace francophone de l'[[Université Laval]]) & l'[[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie]] |location=[[Laval (Québec)|Laval]], [[Québec]]}}</ref>

==Language usage==
[[File:Statue de Patrice Émérite Lumumba - Bamako.jpg|thumb|400px|A sign in French at a monument in [[Bamako]].]]

[[French language|French]] was retained as the official language at independence until 2023. As a [[working language]],<ref name="Lingua FR">{{cite web | author=Jean-Baptiste François | title=Au Mali, une nouvelle constitution renforce le président et rétrograde la langue française | website=La Croix | date=22 Jul 2023 | url=https://www.la-croix.com/Monde/Au-Mali-nouvelle-constitution-renforce-president-retrograde-langue-francaise-2023-07-22-1201276284 | language=fr | access-date=25 Jul 2023}}</ref> it is used in government and formal education. Estimates of the number of Malians who actually speak French are low, and almost all of them speak French as a second language. 1993 estimates are that there were only around 9,000 Malian speakers of French as a first language.<ref>[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=ML ethnologue.com], cites: Johnstone (1993)</ref>

Derived from the numbers of school attendees,<ref name="lafage">Anne Lafage. French in Africa. Carol Sanders (ed.) French Today: Language in Its Social Context. pp 215-238. Cambridge University Press (1993) {{ISBN|0-521-39695-6}} p. 217. This cites a report by the Haut Council du Francophonie, Bull. du FIPF (1986), pp. 10-12.</ref> it was estimated in 1986 that roughly 21% of the population spoke French, a number considerably lower than those who speak Bambara.<ref>386,000 in a population of ~ 8.2 Million in 1986, according to Data [[food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database|faostat]], year 2005 : http://faostat.fao.org/faostat/help-copyright/copyright-e.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060719110524/http://faostat.fao.org/faostat/help-copyright/copyright-e.htm |date=19 July 2006 }} (last updated 11 February 2005)</ref> French is more understood in urban centres, with 1976 figures showing a 36.7% "Francophone" rate in urban areas, but only an 8.2% rate in rural areas. French usage is gender weighted as well, with 1984 figures showing 17.5% percent of males speaking French, but only 4.9% of women.<ref>Anne Lafage (1993), p. 219, citing Perrot: 1985 for both 1974 and 1984 figures.</ref>

Bambara ({{langx|bm|Bamanankan}}), a [[Manding languages|Manding]] language (in the [[Mande language|Mande]] family) is said to be spoken by 80% of the population as a first or second language.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} It is spoken mainly in central and Southern Mali. Bambara and two other very closely related Manding languages [[Maninka language|Malinke]] or Maninkakan in the southwest and [[Xaasongaxango language|Kassonke]] (in the region of [[Kayes]] in the west), are among the 13 national languages. It is used as a trade language in Mali between language groups.

(Bambara is also very close to the [[Dyula language]] ({{langx|dyu|Jula}} or {{lang|dyu|Julakan}}; {{langx|fr|Dioula}}), spoken mainly in [[Ivory Coast|Côte d'Ivoire]] and [[Burkina Faso]]. The name "Jula" is actually a Manding word meaning "trader.")

Other Mande languages (not in the Manding group) include [[Soninke language|Soninke]] (in the region of [[Kayes]] in western Mali) and the [[Bozo languages]] (along the middle [[Niger River|Niger]]).

Other languages include [[Senufo language|Senufo]] in the [[Sikasso]] region (south), [[Fula language|Fula]] ({{langx|ff|Fulfulde}}; {{langx|fr|Peul}}) as a widespread trade language in the [[Mopti]] region and beyond, the [[Songhay languages]] along the Niger, the [[Dogon languages|Dogon]] languages of ''Pays Dogon'' or “Dogon country” in central Mali, [[Tuareg languages|Tamasheq]] in the eastern part of Mali's [[Sahara]] and [[Arabic language|Arabic]] in its western part.

Thirteen of the most widely spoken indigenous languages are considered "[[national language]]s." 

Most formal education for the deaf in Mali uses [[American Sign Language]], introduced to West Africa by the deaf American missionary [[Andrew Foster (educator)|Andrew Foster]]. There are two other sign languages in Mali. One, [[Tebul Sign Language]], is found in a village with a high incidence of congenital deafness. Another, [[Bamako Sign Language]], developed in the after-work tea circles of the cities; it is threatened by the educational use of ASL.

== Language descriptions ==
Most of the languages of Mali are among the [[Mande languages]]. The Mande family is traditionally counted as a branch of [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo]], Africa's largest [[language family]], though this view has been questioned. Non-Mande languages include the [[Dogon languages]], perhaps another Niger–Congo branch, and the [[Senufo languages]], which are unquestionably part of that family.

Mande, Senufo, and Dogon stand out among Niger–Congo because of their divergent [[subject–object–verb|SOV]] basic word order. The [[Gur languages]] are represented by [[Bomu language|Bomu]] on the [[Bani River]] of Mali and Burkina Faso. Fulfulde, spoken throughout West Africa, is a member of the [[Senegambian languages|Senegambian]] branch.

Other language families include [[Afro-Asiatic languages|Afro-Asiatic]], represented by the [[Berber languages|Berber]] language Tamasheq and by Arabic, and the [[Songhay languages]], which have traditionally been classified as [[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan]] but may constitute an independent language family.

=== Spoken languages ===
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2016}}
{{bar box
|title=Languages of Mali (2009)<ref name="CIATONGA">{{cite web|url= https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/mali/|title= Africa :: MALI|publisher= CIA The World Factbook}}</ref>
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Languages
|right1=percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Bambara language|Bambara]] |red|30.3}}
{{bar percent|[[Fula language|Fula]]|Yellow| 25.4}}
{{bar percent|[[Dogon language|Dogon]] |Green|7.2}}
{{bar percent|[[African French|French]]<ref name="source1"/>|Black|6.4}}
{{bar percent|[[Soninke language|Soninke]]|blue|6.4}}
{{bar percent|Other| Brown| 6.3}}
{{bar percent|[[Malinke language|Malinke]]|pink|5.6}}
{{bar percent|[[Djerma language|Djerma]] |Silver|5.6}}
{{bar percent| [[Minianka language|Minianka]] |cyan|4.3}}
{{bar percent|[[Tuareg languages|Tuareg]]|Purple| 3.5}}
{{bar percent|[[Bobo language|Bobo]]|Violet|2.1}}
{{bar percent|Unspecified |grey| 0.7}}
}}
The following table gives a summary of the 63 spoken languages reported by ''Ethnologue'' (there are also 3 sign languages):

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Language (''Ethnologue'')
! [[Dialect continuum|Cluster]]
! [[Language family]]
! Legal status
! [[First language|L1]] speakers in Mali*
! [[Second language|L2]] speakers in Mali**
! Main region
|-
| [[Hassaniya Arabic]]
| [[Arabic]]
| [[Afro-Asiatic]]: [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]
| [[Official language|Official]]
| 106,000
| ?
| NW
|-
| [[Bambara language|Bambara, Bamanankan]]
| [[Manding languages|Manding]]
| Mande
| [[Official language|Official]]
| 4,000,000
| 10,000,000
| All
|-
| Bomu
|
| [[Niger–Congo]] / [[Gur languages|Gur]]
| [[Official language|Official]]
| 102,000
| ?
| SE
|-
| Bozo, Tiéyaxo
| [[Bozo languages|Bozo]]
| Mande
| [[Official language|Official]]
| 118,000
| ?
| Central
|-
| Dogon, Toro So
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| [[Official language|Official]]
| 50,000
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| [[Maasina Fulfulde|Fulfulde, Maasina]]
| [[Fula language|Fula]]
| [[Niger–Congo]] / [[Senegambian languages|Senegambian]]
| [[Official language|Official]]
| 1,000,000
| ? (some L2 speakers)
| Central
|-
| Maninkakan, Kita
| [[Manding languages|Manding]]
| Mande
| [[Official language|Official]]
| 434,000
| ?
| W
|-
| Senoufo, Mamara (Miniyanka)
| [[Senufo languages|Senufo]]
| [[Niger–Congo]]
| [[Official language|Official]]
| 738,000
| ?
| S
|-
| Senoufo, Syenara
| [[Senufo languages|Senufo]]
| [[Niger–Congo]]
| [[Official language|Official]]
| 155,000
| ?
| S
|-
| Songhay, Koyraboro Senni
| [[Songhay languages|Songhay]] (Southern)
|
| [[Official language|Official]]
| 430,000
| ? (a trade language)
| N
|-
| [[Soninke language|Soninke]] (& Marka/Maraka)
|
| Mande
| [[Official language|Official]]
| 1,280,000
| ?
| NW
|-
| Tamasheq
| [[Tuareg languages|Tamashek]]
| [[Afro-Asiatic]] / [[Berber languages|Berber]]
| [[Official language|Official]]
| 250,000
| ?
| N
|-
| [[Xaasongaxango language|Xaasongaxango, Khassonke]]
| [[Manding languages|Manding]]
| Mande
| [[Official language|Official]]
| 700,000
| ?
| NW
|-
| Bankagooma
|
| Mande
| None?
| 6,000
| ?
| S
|-
| Bobo Madaré, Northern
|
| Mande
| None?
| 18,400
| ?
| SE
|-
| Bozo, Hainyaxo
| [[Bozo languages|Bozo]]
| Mande
| None?
| 30,000
| ?
| Central
|-
| Bozo, Jenaama
| [[Bozo languages|Bozo]]
| Mande
| None?
| 197,000
| ?
| Central
|-
| Bozo, Tièma Cièwè
| [[Bozo languages|Bozo]]
| Mande
| None?
| 2,500
| ?
| Central
|-
| Bangerime
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]?
|
| None?
| 2,000
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Ampari
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 5,200
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Ana Tinga
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 500
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Bankan Tey
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 1,320
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Ben Tey
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 3,000
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Bondum Dom
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 24,700
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Bunoge
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 1,000
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Dogul Dom
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 15,700
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Donno So
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 45,300
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Jamsay
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 130,000
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Kolum So
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 19,000
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Nanga Dama
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 3,000
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Tebul Ure
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 3,000
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Tene Kan
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 127,000
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Tiranige Diga
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 4,200
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Tommo So
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 60,000
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Tomo Kan
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 133,000
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Toro Tegu
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 2,900
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Dogon, Yanda Dom
| [[Dogon languages|Dogon]]
|
| None?
| 2,000
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| Duungooma
|
| Mande
| None?
| 70,000
| ?
| S
|-
| Jahanka
|
| Mande
| None?
| 500
| ?
| SW
|-
| Jalunga, Dyalonke
|
| Mande
| None?
| 9,000
| ?
| SW
|-
| Jowulu
|
| Mande
| None?
| 10,000
| ?
| SE
|-
| [[Dioula language|Jula, Dioula]]
| [[Manding languages|Manding]]
| Mande
| None?
| 50,000
| 278,000
| SE, all?
|-
| Kagoro
| [[Manding languages|Manding]]
| Mande
| None?
| 15,000
| ?
| W
|-
| Konabéré
|
| Mande
| None?
| 25,000
| ?
| SE
|-
| Koromfé
|
| [[Niger–Congo]] / [[Gur languages|Gur]]
| None?
| 6,000
| ?
| SE
|-
| Maninkakan, Eastern
| [[Manding languages|Manding]]
| Mande
| None?
| 390,000
| ?
| SW
|-
| Maninkakan, Western
| [[Manding languages|Manding]]
| Mande
| None?
| 100,000
| ?
| SW
|-
| Marka
|
| Mande
| None?
| 25,000
| ?
| SE
|-
| [[More language|Mòoré]]
|
| [[Niger–Congo]] / [[Gur languages|Gur]]
| None?
| 17,000
| ?
| SE
|-
| Pana
|
| [[Niger–Congo]] / [[Gur languages|Gur]]
| None?
| 2,800
| ?
| Central-east
|-
| [[Pulaar language|Pulaar]]
| [[Fula language|Fula]]
| [[Niger–Congo]] / [[Senegambian languages|Senegambian]]
| None?
| 175,000
| ?
| W
|-
| [[Pular language|Pular]]
| [[Fula language|Fula]]
| [[Niger–Congo]] / [[Senegambian languages|Senegambian]]
| None?
| 50,000
| ?
| SW
|-
| Sàmòmá
|
| [[Niger–Congo]] / [[Gur languages|Gur]]
| None?
| 2,500
| ?
| SE
|-
| Senoufo, Shempire
| [[Senufo languages|Senufo]]
| [[Niger–Congo]]
| None?
| 14,800
| ?
| SE
|-
| Senoufo, Sìcìté
| [[Senufo languages|Senufo]]
| [[Niger–Congo]]
| None?
| 3,000
| ?
| SE
|-
| Senoufo, Supyire
| [[Senufo languages|Senufo]]
| [[Niger–Congo]]
| None?
| 350,000
| ?
| S
|-
| Songhay, Humburi Senni
| [[Songhay languages|Songhay]] (Southern)
|
| None?
| 15,000
| ?
| N
|-
| Songhay, Koyra Chiini
| [[Songhay languages|Songhay]] (Southern)
|
| None?
| 200,000
| ?
| N
|-
| Tadaksahak
| [[Songhay languages|Songhay]] (Northern)
|
| None?
| 100,000
| ?
| N
|-
| Tamajaq
| [[Tuareg languages|Tamashek]]
| [[Afro-Asiatic]] / [[Berber languages|Berber]]
| None?
| 190,000
| ?
| N
|-
| Tondi Songway Kiini
| [[Songhay languages|Songhay]] (Southern)
|
| None?
| 3,000
| ?
| N
|-
| Zarmaci
| [[Songhay languages|Songhay]] (Southern)
|
| None?
| 1,700
| ?
| NE
|}
* [[First language]] / mother tongue speakers. Figures from ''Ethnologue''.
** [[Second language|Second]] or additional language speakers. It is difficult to get accurate figures for this category.

==Language policies and planning==
===General===
French is the working language. According to the Loi 96-049 of 1996 thirteen indigenous languages are recognised by the government as [[national languages]]: [[Bambara language|Bamanankan]], [[Bomu language|Bomu]], [[Bozo language|Bozo]], [[Dogon languages|Dɔgɔsɔ]], [[Fulfulde]], [[Hassaniya Arabic]], [[Mamara Senoufo language|Mamara]], [[Maninka language|Maninkakan]], [[Soninke language|Soninke]], [[Songhay languages|Soŋoy]], [[Syenara Senoufo language|Syenara]], [[Tamasheq]], [[Xaasongaxango|Xaasongaxanŋo]].<ref>[http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/mali.htm Leclerc, Jacques. L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, "Mali," Laval University, Canada]. Citing: GAUTHIER, François, Jacques LECLERC et Jacques MAURAIS. Langues et constitutions, Montréal/Paris, Office de la langue française / Conseil international de la langue française, 1993, 131 p</ref><ref>Loi 96-049 Portant modalités de promotion des langues nationales</ref> This superseded the Decree 159 PG-RM of 19 July 1982 (Article 1).

===Education===
French is part of the standard school curriculum. There is a new policy to use Malian languages in the first grades and transition to French. Activists are also teaching literacy to speakers of Manding languages (Bambara, Malinke, Maninkakan, Dyula) in the standardized [[N'Ko language|N'Ko]] form.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Donaldson|first=Coleman|date=2019-03-01|title=Linguistic and Civic Refinement in the N'ko Movement of Manding-Speaking West Africa|journal=Signs and Society|volume=7|issue=2|pages=156–185; 181|doi=10.1086/702554|issn=2326-4489}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Mali Ethnologue listing for Mali]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070314051428/http://www.panafril10n.org/wikidoc/pmwiki.php/PanAfrLoc/Mali PanAfrican L10n page on Mali]
*[http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/mali.htm Linguistic situation in Mali]

{{Languages of Mali}}
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{{Africa in topic|Languages of}}

[[Category:Languages of Mali| ]]

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Languages of Mali