Languages of Benin
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 .
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
- Website of the Benin government ( memento of June 19, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- French Aménagement linguistique dans le monde / Benin
Individual evidence
- ↑ Délégation Générale à la langue française et aux langues de France, référence 2006
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ INFORMATIONS GENERALES ( Memento from September 17, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ https://www.gouv.bj/spip.php/IMG/pdf/dist/animations/animations/swf/ecrire/spip.php?article21 (link not available)