Bobo Madaré, Southern

A language of Burkina Faso

ISO 639-3

Alternate Names

Black Bobo, Bobo, Bobo Fi, Bobo Fing

Population

312,000 (2000). 15,000 speakers of Zara. Ethnic population: 160,000–190,000 (1999 SIL).

Location

Mainly Houet Province, Bobo Dioulasso area; Kossi Province, Kouka region.

Language Status

5 (Developing).

Classification

Dialects

Benge, Sogokiré, Syabéré (Sya), Voré, Zara (Bobo Dioula, Bobo Jula).

Typology

Tonal

Language Use

All ages. Some Jula [dyu] is also used by most men and some women; French [fra] is used by the educated.

Language Development

Literacy rate in L2: 10% Jula. Syabéré in Bobo Dioulasso region is the prestige dialect, and is used for literature. Bible: 2004.

Language Resources

Writing

Latin script.

Other Comments

The government calls them Bobo Madaré. ‘Bobo’ is the general Bambara word for Bobo Fing, Buamu, or Bomu. Traditional religion, Muslim, Christian.