Dendi is a Songhay language used as a trade language across northern

Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...

(along the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali ...

. It forms a

dialect cluster A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated vari ...

with Zarma and

Koyraboro Senni Koyraboro Senni (Koroboro Senni, Koyra Senni or Gao Senni) is a member of the Songhay languages of Mali and is spoken by some 400,000 people along the Niger River from the town of Gourma-Rharous, east of Timbuktu, through Bourem, Gao and A ...

but it is heavily influenced by Bariba. Dendi has been described as a four- tone language.Joe Salmons, ''Accentual change and language contact: Comparative survey and a case study of early Northern Europe''

Distribution

Dendi is mainly spoken in Northern Benin, but also in other parts of Benin, and neighbouring countries. The

Dendi people The Dendi are an ethnic group located in Benin, Niger, Nigeria and northern Togo mainly in the plains of the Niger River. They are part of the Songhai people. Derived from the Songhay language, the term "Dendi" translates to "down the river." Th ...

are the main group in the Departments of Alibori, Borgou, Donga, and Atakora. In

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

, the Dendi people are found in Bordering States ( Kebbi,

Kwara Kwara State ( yo, Ìpínlẹ̀ Kwárà), is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger state, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the internation ...

Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesSokoto Sokoto is a major city located in extreme northwestern Nigeria, near the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006 it has a population of over 427,760. Sokoto is the modern-day capital of Sokoto State and was previously th ...

), and in other parts of Nigeria. They are usually referred by the

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

name Dendawa (which is also used for the

Songhai people The Songhai people (also Ayneha, Songhay or Sonrai)'' are an ethnolinguistic group in West Africa who speak the various Songhai languages. Their history and ''lingua franca'' is linked to the Songhai Empire which dominated the western Sahel in ...

Writing system

The grave accent, the acute accent and the macron are used on vowels to indicate tones.

References

Bibliography

* * {{Authority control Languages of Benin Songhay languages Dendi people