Kulango is a Niger–Congo language spoken in

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

and across the border in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. It is one of the

Kulango languages The Kulango or Kulango–Lorhon languages are spoken principally in Ivory Coast. They were once classified as part of an expanded Gur (Voltaic) family and are now part of the Savannas proposal. The languages distinguished by ''Ethnologue'' are: ...

, and it may be classified as a

Gur language The Gur languages, also known as Central Gur or Mabia, belong to the Niger–Congo languages. They are spoken in the Sahelian and savanna regions of West Africa, namely: in most areas of Burkina Faso, and in south-central Mali, northeastern Ivor ...

. There are two principal varieties distinct enough to be considered separate languages: the Kulango of

Bondoukou Bondoukou (var. Bonduku, Bontuku) is a city in northeastern Ivory Coast, 420 km northeast of Abidjan. It is the seat of both Zanzan District and Gontougo Region. It is also a commune and the seat of and a sub-prefecture of Bondoukou Departme ...

(Bonduku), also known as Goutougo locally, and that of Bouna (Buna). ''Ethnologue'' reports that Bouna-dialect speakers understand Bondoukou, but not the reverse. Bouna, in addition, has the subdialects ''Sekwa'' and ''Nabanj''. In Ghana, the principal towns in which the language is spoken are Badu and

Seikwa Seikwa is a town located in Tain District, in Bono region (formerly Brong Ahafo), Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, a ...

, both in the

Tain District Tain District is one of the twelve districts in Bono Region, Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with ...

, and

Buni Buni (; also spelled Booni) is a town and the headquarters of Upper Chitral District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The high Qaqlasht Meadows, which host a major festival in the region, are situated near the town. Lying near the foothills ...

in the

Jaman North district Jaman North District is one of the twelve districts in Bono Region, Ghana. Originally it was formerly part of the then-larger Jaman District on 10 March 1989, which was created from the former Berekum-Jaman District Council, until part of the d ...

, all in the

Bono region The Bono region is one of the 16 administrative regions of Ghana. It is as a result of the remainder of Brong-Ahafo region when Bono East region and Ahafo Region, Ahafo region were created. Sunyani, also known as the green city of Ghana, is the r ...

of Ghana. In addition, there are smaller towns and villages closer to

Wenchi Wenchi is a town and the capital of Wenchi Municipal of the Bono Region in the middle-belt of Ghana. Wenchi is located at 7.73333 atitude in decimal degrees -2.1 ongitude in decimal degreesat an average elevation/altitude of 304 meters. ...

in the Bono region and

Techiman Techiman (Akan language, Akan: ''Takyiman'') is a city and the capital of the Techiman Municipal District, Techiman Metropolitan District and the Bono East Region of Ghana. The city is located about from Sunyani and about away from Kumasi. I ...

in the

Bono East region The Bono East region of Ghana is a new region carved out of the Brong Ahafo region. The capital of the new region is Techiman. This creation of this new region was in fulfillment of a promise made by the New Patriotic Party prior to the 2016 ...

where this language is spoken. Among these are Asubingya (Asubinja) and Nkonsia. The Koulango are matrilineal like the Akans and possess similar cultural practices. Writing by Francis Kofi Mensah from Badu Tain District Bono Region Ghana. Variations of the name 'Kulango' include ''Koulango, Kolango, Kulange, Nkorang, Nkurange, Nkoramfo, Nkuraeng,'' and ''Kulamo''; alternative names are ''Lorhon, Ngwela,'' and ''Babé.''James Stuart Olsen, ''The Peoples of Africa: An Ethnohistorical Dictionary'' (Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996; ), p. 311.

References

Kulango languages Languages of Ivory Coast {{gur-lang-stub