Busa, or Bisã, is the Mande language of the former Borgu Emirate in northwestern

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 ...

and 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 ...

. It is called ''Busanci'' in Hausa, and has also been called ''Zugweya''.

Names

Busa language can be better known as Busa, but it is also known with the native name Bisã or with the Hausa name Busanci (also spelled Busanchi, Bussanci Or Bussanchi); This should not be confused with the Busa language of Papua New Guinea or the related Bissa language of Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo and Ivory Coast. One person or speaker is called a Busa and more persons/speakers are called Busano and the language of the Busano/Bussawa people is called Bisã. The Busa people are one of two subgroups of the Bissa people, the other being the Boko people, who speak the

Boko language Boko, or Boo, is a Mande languages, Mande language of Benin and Nigeria. Names Boko language can be better known as Boko, but it is also known as Boo or with the Hausa name Busanci (also spelled Busanchi, Bussanci Or Bussanchi). One person or ...

. They are not a clan but a subgroup. They are related to the

Bariba people The Bariba people, self designation ''Baatonu'' (plural ''Baatombu),'' are the principal inhabitants of Borgou and Alibori Departments, Benin, and cofounders of the Borgu kingdom of what is now northeast Benin and west-central Nigeria. In Niger ...

, who speak the

Bariba language Bariba, also known as Baatonum (also Baatombu, Baatonu, Barba, Baruba, Berba and a number of various other names and spellings), is the language of the Bariba people of Benin and Nigeria and was the language of the state of Borgu. It is primari ...

, which is a Gur language. The Bissa people proper speak the Bissa language, which is closely related to Busa.

Geographic distribution

In Nigeria, Busa is spoken in Borgu

LGA LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia. ...

Niger State Niger is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria and the largest state in the country. Niger state has three political zones, zone A,B and C. The state's capital is at Minna. Other major cities are Bida, Kontagora and Suleja. It was ...

, in Bagudo LGA of

Kebbi State Kebbi state ( ha, Jihar Kebbi; Fulfulde: Leydi Kebbi 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤫𞤦𞥆𞤭) is a state in the northwestern Nigeria, Kebbi state is bordered east and north of Sokoto and Zamfara states, and to the south by Niger state while ...

, and in Baruten LGA of Kwara state. A number of Busa have migrated to other parts of Nigeria, including Abuja. The Busa people are referred to as Bussawa in Hausa. The Bokobaru dialect also known as Bokhobaru is spoken mainly in Kayama and Baruten LGA's, Kwara state. In Benin, Busa is spoken in Alibori and Borgou departments. The Bokobaru dialect is not spoken in Benin. Busa language is spoken in cities like Bussa, New Bussa, Bagudo, Kosubosu, Kaiama, Segbana, and Kalalé, and Bokobaru is dominant in the city of Kaiama. Bariba, which is a Gur language, is also spoken by the Bussawa.

Classification

Busa language is the most populous of the

Mande languages The Mande languages are spoken in several countries in West Africa by the Mandé peoples and include Maninka, Mandinka, Soninke, Bambara, Kpelle, Dioula, Bozo, Mende, Susu, and Vai. There are "60 to 75 languages spoken by 30 to 40 millio ...

of Nigeria. It is part of the Eastern Mande group, which also includes several other languages spoken across the

Volta River The Volta River is the main river system in the West African country of Ghana. It flows south into Ghana from the Bobo-Dioulasso highlands of Burkina Faso. The main parts of the river are the Black Volta, the White Volta, and the Red Volta. I ...

and the Borgu Kingdom, including Boko, Bissa, and Samo. Bokobaru is a dialect.

Usage as a second language

Speakers of Laru and Lopa, which are

Kainji languages The Kainji languages are a group of about 60 related languages spoken in west-central Nigeria. They form part of the Central Nigerian (Platoid) branch of Benue–Congo. Demographics Four of the most widely spoken Kainji languages are Tsuvadi ( ...

, are also speakers of Busa and are shifting and also speak it as a

Second language A person's second language, or L2, is a language that is not the native language ( first language or L1) of the speaker, but is learned later. A second language may be a neighbouring language, another language of the speaker's home country, or a ...

along with the Hausa language, and some Laru/Lopa speak it as a native language.

Orthography

Busa language has 32 letters (Aa, Ãã, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee, Ɛɛ, Ɛ̃ɛ̃, Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Ĩĩ, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Ɔɔ, Ɔ̃ɔ̃, Pp, Rr, Ss, Tt, Uu, Ũũ, Vv, Ww, Yy, Zz) and 25 digraphs (Aa aa, Ãa ãa, Ee ee, Ẽe ẽe, Ɛɛ ɛɛ, Ɛ̃ɛ ɛ̃ɛ, Gb gb, Ii ii, Ĩi ĩi, Kp kp, Oo oo, Ɔ̃ɔ ɔ̃ɔ, Uu uu, Ũu ũu, gw, mb, mp, nd, ng, nk, ns, nt, nz). High tones are marked with an acute accent and low tones are marked with a grave accent.

References

External links

Alphabet and pronunciation

The New Testament and portions of the Old Testament in the Bokobaru language of Nigeria
Mande languages Languages of Nigeria languages of Benin {{Mande-lang-stub