Marka
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A language of Burkina Faso
ISO 639-3
Alternate Names
Dafing, Marka Dafing
Population
135,000 (2009 UNSD). Total users in all countries: 185,800.
Location
Boucle du Muhoun region: Bale, Banwa, Nayala, and Sourou provinces; Kossi and Mouhoun provinces: Nouna and Dedougou areas.
Language Maps
Language Status
6a (Vigorous).
Dialects
Safané, Nouna, Gassan. More than 80% inherent intelligibility of southeastern dialect around Safané; however, northwestern dialect region is 70%. The central dialect around Dembo village is well understood. Reportedly similar to Bambara [bam] or a variant of Jula [dyu]. Comprehension of Jula ranges from 45% in a southeastern villages to 85% in the northwest.
Typology
SOV; postpositions; genitives, articles, adjectives, numerals, relatives after noun heads; question word final; word order distinguishes subject, object, indirect object; CV.
Language Use
Language Development
Literacy rate in L2: 5% haltingly in French [fra], some in Jula [dyu]. Literature. Radio. Grammar. Bible portions: 1987.
Language Resources
Writing
Latin script [Latn].
Marka is used for followers of the traditional religion, Dafing for Muslim speakers. Different from the Marka dialect of Soninke. Muslim, traditional religion.