Mankanya language
Encyclopedia
The Mankanya language is spoken by approximately 70,000 people in Guinea-Bissau
, Senegal
and Gambia primarily belonging to the ethnic group
of the same name. It belongs to the Atlantic branch
of the Niger–Congo language family
.
The language has status as an official language in Senegal, and an orthography
has recently been developed for writing it. Mankanya is known as "Uhula" by the people themselves (the Mankanya people
, or "Bahula"). The name 'Mankanya' ('Mancagne' in French
) is thought to have been conferred upon the people and their language by colonialists who mistook the name of their chief at the time of colonisation
for the name of the people-group itself.
The language contains many loanwords from Kriol. There is also extensive bilingualism
in Mandjak, a closely related language which is largely mutually comprehensible
, as well as in other minority languages spoken in the area, such as Mandinka
and Jola
. Finally, Mankanya speakers in Senegal also know French, and those in Gambia know English.
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
, Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
and Gambia primarily belonging to the ethnic group
Mankanya people
The Mankanya people form an ethnic group living in Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Gambia. Their religion is predominantly Roman Catholic, yet keep a strong tradition of animism. They speak Mankanya, a language belonging to the Atlantic group....
of the same name. It belongs to the Atlantic branch
Atlantic languages
The Atlantic or West Atlantic languages of West Africa are an obsolete proposed major group of the Niger–Congo languages. They are those languages west of Kru which have the noun-class systems characteristic of the Niger–Congo family; in this they are distinguished from their Mande neighbors, which...
of the Niger–Congo language family
Niger–Congo languages
The Niger–Congo languages constitute one of the world's major language families, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. They may constitute the world's largest language family in terms of distinct languages, although this question...
.
The language has status as an official language in Senegal, and an orthography
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
has recently been developed for writing it. Mankanya is known as "Uhula" by the people themselves (the Mankanya people
Mankanya people
The Mankanya people form an ethnic group living in Guinea-Bissau, Senegal and Gambia. Their religion is predominantly Roman Catholic, yet keep a strong tradition of animism. They speak Mankanya, a language belonging to the Atlantic group....
, or "Bahula"). The name 'Mankanya' ('Mancagne' in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
) is thought to have been conferred upon the people and their language by colonialists who mistook the name of their chief at the time of colonisation
Colonisation
Colonization occurs whenever any one or more species populate an area. The term, which is derived from the Latin colere, "to inhabit, cultivate, frequent, practice, tend, guard, respect", originally related to humans. However, 19th century biogeographers dominated the term to describe the...
for the name of the people-group itself.
The language contains many loanwords from Kriol. There is also extensive bilingualism
Multilingualism
Multilingualism is the act of using, or promoting the use of, multiple languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. Multilingualism is becoming a social phenomenon governed by the needs of...
in Mandjak, a closely related language which is largely mutually comprehensible
Mutual intelligibility
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is recognized as a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related languages can readily understand each other without intentional study or extraordinary effort...
, as well as in other minority languages spoken in the area, such as Mandinka
Mandinka language
The Mandinka language is a Mandé language spoken by millions of Mandinka people in Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea-Bissau and Chad; it is the main language of The Gambia. It belongs to the Manding branch of Mandé, and is thus fairly...
and Jola
Jola language
Jola or Diola is the name for a dialect cluster spoken in Senegal, The Gambia, and Guinea Bissau. It belongs to the Bak branch of the Niger–Congo language family....
. Finally, Mankanya speakers in Senegal also know French, and those in Gambia know English.