Languages ​​of Benin

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The more than 53 national languages ​​of Benin belong to the Niger-Congo language family , almost all of them to the Volta-Congo language group - only the Fulfulde in the north is a West Atlantic language .

The only official language, however, is French , which was only introduced by the French colonial rulers. The most common lingua franca at 50 percent, however, is the Kwa language Fongbe , which is spoken in the entire south as a mother tongue or second language. Ewe - also belonging to the Kwa language group - is also common in the south . To the north are voltaic Gur -Sprachen Gurma , Lama and Atakora spread to the east, the West Benue-Congo language Yoruba , in the northeast also to the East Benue-Congo counting Kambari .

Official language

The only official language is still French, although it is only spoken by 8.8% of the population - especially in the city. The prestige of this language as an official language, the only permitted language of the media and as a means of communication between different peoples increases the number of speakers, especially in urban areas. French is the only permitted language of instruction in primary schools.

A variety of French known as français d'Afrique has developed in the streets and markets of Cotonou . It is an almost argotic way of speaking.

National languages

The national languages are the Fongbe , the Yoruba , the Bariba , the Adja , the Goun and the Ayizo-Gbe as well as more than forty other languages ​​and idioms. The Fongbe is the most widely spoken national language, it is mainly present in the center and south of the country, especially in the cities of Cotonou , Porto-Novo and Abomey .

Distribution of languages ​​in Benin (left)
Distribution and diffusion of national languages
proportion of language distribution
26% Fongbe Center and south
14% Yoruba south
13% Baatonum North
12% Gungbé south
11% Adja-gbé , xlagbé, guingbé south
8th % Ayizo-Gbe south
5% Ditamari North
4% Tem North
3% Dendi North
2% Peul , Hausa North
Nagô center
Tofin-gbe south
Toli-Gbe south
Ede-Idaasha Center and south
Yom Northwest
Waama
Nateni
Fulfulde
Biali
Lekpa
Furniture
Foodo
Anii

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Délégation Générale à la langue française et aux langues de France, référence 2006
  2. Les formes de français à Cotonou ( Memento of the original of March 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.oridev.org
  3. INFORMATIONS GENERALES ( Memento from September 17, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  4. https://www.gouv.bj/spip.php/IMG/pdf/dist/animations/animations/swf/ecrire/spip.php?article21 (link not available)