The Kassonke (Khassonké) language, ''Xaasongaxango (Xasonga)'', or Western Maninka (Malinke), is a
Manding Manding may refer to:
* Manding languages, a language-dialect continuum in West Africa
* Mandinka (disambiguation)
** Mandinka language, one of the Manding languages
** Mandinka people, a West African ethnic group
* The Mandé peoples who speak Man ...
language spoken by the
Khassonké and
Malinke of western
Mali
Mali (; ), officially the Republic of Mali,, , ff, 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭, Renndaandi Maali, italics=no, ar, جمهورية مالي, Jumhūriyyāt Mālī is a landlocked country in West Africa. Ma ...
and by the
Malinke of eastern
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣� ...
. Kassonke is a
national language
A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a nation. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the te ...
in Mali. Western and
Eastern Maninka are 90%
mutually intelligible, though distinct from the
Mandinka (Malinke) of southern Senegal, which is a national language there.
See also
*
Bafoulabé
*
Kayes
References
*Koite-Herschel, Ute. 1981. La translation du constituent verbal: le cas du xasonga. Mandenkan 2 (Automne 1981):3–16.
*Sullivan, Terrence D.. 2004. "A preliminary report of existing information on the Manding languages of West Africa: summary and suggestions for future research." SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2004-005: 34 p. http://www.sil.org/silesr/abstract.asp?ref=2004-005
Manding languages
Languages of the Gambia
Languages of Mali
Languages of Senegal
{{Mande-lang-stub