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Songhai People
The Songhai people ( autonym: Ayneha) 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 the 15th and 16th century. Predominantly adherents of Islam, the Songhai are primarily located in Niger and Mali. Historically, the term "Songhai" did not denote an ethnic or linguistic identity but referred to the ruling caste of the Songhay Empire known as the Songhaiborai. However, the correct term used to refer to this group of people collectively by the natives is "Ayneha". Although some speakers in Mali have also adopted the name ''Songhay'' as an ethnic designation, other Songhay-speaking groups identify themselves by other ethnic terms such as Zarma (or Djerma, the largest subgroup) or Isawaghen. The dialect of Koyraboro Senni spoken in Gao is unintelligible to speakers of the Zarma dialect of Niger, according to at least one report. The Song ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
West Africa
West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo, as well as Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom Overseas Territories, United Kingdom Overseas Territory).Paul R. Masson, Catherine Anne Pattillo, "Monetary union in West Africa (ECOWAS): is it desirable and how could it be achieved?" (Introduction). International Monetary Fund, 2001. The population of West Africa is estimated at around million people as of , and at 381,981,000 as of 2017, of which 189,672,000 were female and 192,309,000 male.United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2017). World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision, custom data acquired via webs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mali
Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the List of African countries by area, eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over . The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east by Niger, to the northwest by Mauritania, to the south by Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, and to the west by Guinea and Senegal. The population of Mali is about 23.29 million, 47.19% of which are estimated to be under the age of 15 in 2024. Its Capital city, capital and largest city is Bamako. The country has 13 official languages, of which Bambara language, Bambara is the most commonly spoken. The sovereign state's northern borders reach deep into the middle of the Sahara, Sahara Desert. The country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, is in the Sudanian savanna and has the Niger River, Niger and Senegal River, Senegal rivers running through it. The country's economy centres on agriculture and mining with its most promine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ingalkoyyu People
The Ingalkoyyu or Isawaghan people are a Northern Songhay ethnic group around In-Gall in Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east .... They speak Tasawaq, a Northern Songhay dialect.Michael J. Rueck; Niels ChristiansenNorthern Songhay languages in Mali and Niger, a sociolinguistic survey Summer Institute of Linguistics (1999).Catherine Taine-Cheikh. es langues parlées au sud Sahara et au nord Sahel http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00456346/ De l'Atlantique à l'Ennedi (Catalogue de l'exposition « Sahara-Sahel »), Centre Culturel Français d'Abidjan (Ed.) (1989) 155–173 References Ethnic groups in Niger {{Ethnicity-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Igdalen People
The Igdalen (var.: Igdalan, Agdal) are a Berbers, Berber people inhabiting northwestern Niger and parts of Mali and Algeria.Tagdal A language of Niger in Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'', Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/. They speak Tagdal, a mixed Tuareg languages, Tuareg–Northern Songhay languages, Songhay language. The Igdalen are closely related to Idaksahak people of eastern Mali and the Sawaq of Ingal in Niger, with whom they share a very similar language. Culturally, the Igdalen are often considered a Tuareg people, Tuareg faction. In the past they have formed a sub-confederation with the Kel Fadey, Kel Ferwan and others in the Kel Ayr Tuareg confederation or ''Drum Group''.Edmond Bernus, Suza ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kurtey People
The Kurtey people (var. Kourtey) are a small ethnic group found along the Niger River valley in parts of the West African nations of Niger, Benin, Mali, and Nigeria. They are also found in considerable numbers in Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast, and Burkina Faso. Assimilation into Songhai The Kurtey were formed from the movement of Fula people into the Niger River valley of modern Tillaberi Region, Niger in the 18th century, and their intermarriage with local Songhai, Zarma, Sorko and others. While retaining many aspects of Fula traditional culture, the Kurtey have assimilated into Songhai-Zarma ways of life and speak a Southern Songhay dialect.Harrison, Byron, Annette Harrison, and Michael J. Rueck, with Mahaman Soumana as Interpreter"Southern Songhay Speech Varieties in Niger: A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Zarma, Songhay, Kurtey, Wogo, and Dendi Peoples of Niger."(1997). Some outside observers consider them a subsection of the Songhai people, while others describe them as communi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wogo People
The Wogo people are a small subgroup of the broader Songhai people. They are found primarily in Niger and Mali on the banks and islands of the Niger river, a territory they share with the Zarma, the Kurtey and the Songhay. The main Wogo communities are found on the islands in the Tillabery region of Niger with the largest being Ayorou in Niger and Boura in Mali. They speak the Wogo Ciine songhay dialect. Economy and society The Wogos are mainly farmers of rice and tobacco and to some extent millet, corn, fishing and rearing of cattle. The Niger River is their main source of living. Culture The Wogos are very closely related to the Songhai culturally. They almost speak the same language as them and are both Muslims, but the Wogos practice holy possession dances which the Songhays do not. They are also good craftsmen especially in weaving and basketry. References Sources * Jean-Pierre Olivier de Sardan Jean-Pierre or Jean Pierre may refer to: People * Karine Jean- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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, and were an integral part of the Songhai Empire as the Dendi province or Dendiganda. Derived from the Songhay language, the term "Dendi" translates to "down the river." The community consists of 195,633 people. Among them, only 4,505 live in Nigeria. In Niger they live in around the city of Gaya. Their mother tongue is Dendi. History The Dendi and the Songhai descended from the ancient kingdom of Za, whose presence has been recorded since the eighth century between the towns of Kukiya and Gao in modern Mali. In 1010, the Arabs came to the territory. They converted the people to Islam, which was then mixed with their indigenous religion (based on the belief of the holy rivers, soil and hunting). The Songhay Empire collapsed at the end of the sixteenth century, when Morocco conquered the territory. Culture The ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Velar Nasal
The voiced velar nasal, also known as eng, engma, or agma (from Greek 'fragment'), is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. It is the sound of ''ng'' in English ''sing'' as well as ''n'' before velar consonants as in ''English'' and ''ink''. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is N. The IPA symbol is similar to , the symbol for the retroflex nasal, which has a rightward-pointing hook extending from the bottom of the right stem, and to , the symbol for the palatal nasal, which has a leftward-pointing hook extending from the bottom of the left stem. While almost all languages have and as phonemes, is rarer. Half of the 469 languages surveyed in had a velar nasal phoneme; as a further curiosity, many of them limit its occurrence to the syllable coda. The velar nasal does not occur in many of the languages of the Americas, the Middle East, or the Caucasus, but it is ext ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zarma Language
Zarma (''Zarma Ciine/Sanni''; Ajami: ) is one of the Songhay languages. It is the leading indigenous language of the southwestern lobe of the West African nation of Niger, where the Niger River flows and the capital city, Niamey, is located. Zarma is the second-most common language in the country, after Hausa, which is spoken in south-central Niger. With over 6 million speakers, Zarma is the most widely spoken Songhay language. In earlier decades, Zarma was rendered ''Djerma'', using French orthography, but it is usually now 'Zarma', the form that the Zarma people use in their language. Alternative names for Zarma are Djerma, Jerma, Dyabarma, Dyarma, Dyerma, Adzerma, Zabarma, Zarbarma, Zarmaci or Zerma. Geographic distribution The majority of people who speak Zarma live in Southwestern Niger. It is also spoken in other parts of Niger, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Nigeria. Cities where Zarma is spoken include Tillaberi, Dosso, Niamey, Tahoua and Agadez. In Nigeria, where the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Ansongo to the Mali–Niger border. The expression "''koyra-boro senn-i''" denotes "the language of the town dwellers", as opposed to nomads like the Tuareg people and other transhumant people. Although Koyraboro Senni is associated with settled towns, it is a cosmopolitan language which has spread east and west of Gao, to the Fula people living at the Mali–Niger border and to the Bozo people of the Niger River. East of Timbuktu, Koyra Senni gives way relatively abruptly to the closely related Koyra Chiini. Geographic distribution The majority of speakers live in the Gao Region of Mali. It is also spoken in other parts of Mali and in other countries. Phonology Consonants Vowels Nasalized realizations of vowel sounds may also occu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isawaghen
Tasawaq (Tuareg name: ''Tesăwăq''), sometimes also called ''Ingelshi'', is a Northern Songhay language spoken by the ''Issawaghan'' or ''Ingalkoyyu'', a community surrounding the town of In-Gall in Niger.Michael J. Rueck; Niels ChristiansenNorthern Songhay languages in Mali and Niger, a sociolinguistic survey Summer Institute of Linguistics (1999).Catherine Taine-Cheikh. es langues parlées au sud Sahara et au nord Sahel http://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00456346/ De l'Atlantique à l'Ennedi (Catalogue de l'exposition « Sahara-Sahel »), Centre Culturel Français d'Abidjan (Ed.) (1989) 155–173 A closely related variety called Emghedeshie was spoken in Agadez Agadez ( Air Tamajeq: ⴰⴶⴰⴷⴰⵣ, ''Agadaz''), formerly spelled Agadès, is the fifth largest city in Niger, with a population of 110,497 based on the 2012 census. The capital of the eponymous Agadez Region, the city lies in the Sahara ... but is now extinct. It shares some similarities with Berber la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heath, Jeffrey
Jeffrey Heath (born November 29, 1949) is Professor of Historical Linguistics, Morphology, Arabic and Linguistic Anthropology at the University of Michigan, US. He is known particularly for his work in historical linguistics and for his extensive fieldwork. He received his B.A. summa cum laude from Harvard College in 1971, the M.A. from the University of Chicago in 1973, and his Ph.D. from the same institution in 1976. From 1973 to 1977 he was a research fellow at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies. From 1977 to 1982 he was assistant professor of linguistics at Harvard, from 1982 to 1985, associate professor. In 1987 he moved to the University of Michigan as visiting associate professor. He has held the rank of professor since 1989. His research is based on more than ten years of fieldwork: first on Australian languages (1970s; primarily in Arnhem Land on Gunwinyguan and Yolŋu languages), then on Muslim and Jewish vernaculars of Maghrebi Arabic (1980s), and since 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
