Themne
A language of Sierra Leone
| Population | 1,230,000 (2006). |
| Region | Northern Province, west of Sewa River to Little Scarcie. |
| Language map |
Sierra Leone, reference number 15 |
| Alternate names | Temen, Temne, Timene, Timmannee, Timne |
| Dialects | Banta, Konike, Yoni, Bombali, Western Temne (Pil), Sanda, Ribia, Kholifa, Koya, Masingbi, Malal. The people claim to understand all dialects. Lexical similarity: 74% between the Masingbi and Malal dialects, 70% between the Konike dialect and western varieties. |
| Classification | Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Atlantic, Southern, Mel, Temne, Temne-Banta |
| Language use | Trade language. The primary language of central Sierra Leone. 240,000 L2 speakers (1981 D. Cranmer). Some also use Krio [kri] or English. |
| Language development | Literacy rate in L2: 6%. Taught as an elective from primary to college level. NT: 1868–1992. |
| Writing system | Latin script. |
| Comments | Agriculturalists: rice. Traditional religion, Muslim, Christian. |
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