This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.
Koyra Chiini ([kojratʃiːni], figuratively "town language"), or Western Songhay, is a member of the Songhay languages spoken in Mali by about 200,000 people (in 1999) along the Niger River in Timbuktu and upriver from it in the towns of Diré, Tonka, Goundam and Niafunké as well as in the Saharan town of Araouane to its north. In this area, Koyra Chiini is the dominant language and the lingua franca, although minorities speaking Hassaniya Arabic, Tamasheq and Fulfulde are found. Djenné Chiini[dʒɛnːɛtʃiːni], the dialect spoken in Djenné, is mutually comprehensible, but has noticeable differences, in particular two extra vowels (/ɛ/ and /ɔ/) and syntactic differences related to focalisation.
East of Timbuktu, Koyra Chiini gives way relatively abruptly to another Songhay language, Koyraboro Senni.
Unlike most Songhai languages, Koyra Chiini has no phonemic tones and has subject–verb–object word order rather than subject–object–verb. It has changed the original Songhay z to j.[3]
^Koyra Chiini at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
^This map is based on classification from Glottolog and data from Ethnologue.
^Heath, Jeffrey (1999-01-01). A Grammar of Koyra Chiini: The Songhay of Timbuktu. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110804850.
and 25 Related for: Koyra Chiini language information
KoyraChiini ([kojra tʃiːni], figuratively "town language"), or Western Songhay, is a member of the Songhay languages spoken in Mali by about 200,000...
Koyra may refer to: KoyraChiinilanguage, spoken in Mali Koyralanguage or Koore language, spoken in Ethiopia Koyra Upazila, in Khulna District, Bangladesh...
the Niger River. East of Timbuktu, Koyra Senni gives way relatively abruptly to the closely related KoyraChiini. The majority of speakers live in the...
Timbuktu (/ˌtɪmbʌkˈtuː/ TIM-buk-TOO; French: Tombouctou; KoyraChiini: Tumbutu; Tuareg: ⵜⵏⵀⵗⵜ, romanized: Tin Bukt) is an ancient city in Mali, situated...
(Djerma), a major language of Niger. The languages are, approximately from upstream to downstream: KoyraChiini Humburi Senni Tondi Kiini Koyraboro Senni...
Senni, with 400,000 speakers, is the language of the town of Gao, the seat of the old Songhai Empire. KoyraChiini is spoken to its west. The much smaller...
neighbouring languages; example includes differences within the Songhay language (between the non-tonal northernmost dialects of KoyraChiini in Timbuktu...
• French Hamdallaye • Maasina Fulfulde hamdallaay حَمْدَلَّايْ • KoyraChiini hamdallaay حَمْدَلَّايْ Hamdullahi Location within modern Mali Coordinates:...
Tagdalt) is a mixed Northern Songhay language of central Niger. Ethnologue considers it a "mixed Berber–Songhay language", while other researchers consider...
زَرْمَ ݘِينٜ / زَرْمَ سَنِّ) is one of the Songhay languages. It is the leading indigenous language of the southwestern lobe of the West African nation...
Dendi is a Songhay language used as a trade language across northern Benin (along the Niger River. It forms a dialect cluster with Zarma and Koyraboro...
romanized: al-Balbaliyyah) is a Northern Songhay language which is by far the most northerly of the Songhay languages. It is spoken around the Algerian oasis of...
DNAFLA, 1993 Chtatou, M. (1992). Using Arabic script in writing the languages of the peoples of Muslim africa. Institute of African Studies. [1] Kew...
Mosque (Arabic: مسجد دجينجيربر; French: Mosquée de Djinguereber; from KoyraChiini jiŋgar-ey beer 'grand mosque'), also known as Djingareyber or Djingarey...
spellings, after the Tuareg name for its speakers, Dăwsăhak) is a Songhay language spoken by the pastoralist Idaksahak of the Ménaka Region and Gao Region...
name: Tesăwăq), sometimes also called Ingelshi, is a Northern Songhay language spoken by the Issawaghan or Ingalkoyyu, a community surrounding the town...
l'Harmattan. Vol. 1: KoyraChiini, pp. 264. Vol. 2: Djenne Chiini, pp. 202. vol. 3: Koroboro Senni, pp. 344. 1998. Texts in KoyraChiini, Songhay of Timbuktu...
people. The languages spoken there reflect ancient settlement patterns, migrations, and its long history. Ethnologue counts more than 80 languages. Of these...
Zarma people poses a challenge, as both are subgroups within the same language family, sharing a very similar dialect and culture. Despite the significant...
linguistic names. Language portal Constructed language and List of constructed languagesLanguage (for information about language in general) Language observatory...
the words "Zarma" and "Songhay" interchangeably when referring to their language. Songhoyboro Ciine is not, however, intelligible with Koyraboro Senni Songhai...
new lands. Askia the Great made Timbuktu (Archaic English: Timbuctoo; KoyraChiini: Tumbutu; French: Tombouctou) one of the most famous centers of commerce...
"Languages of Mali". Ethnologue.com. Archived from the original on 29 April 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012. Heath, Jeffrey (1999). A Grammar of Koyra Chiini:...
Mifflin, ISBN 978-0-395-25224-6. Heath, Jeffrey (1999), A Grammar of KoyraChiini: the Songhay of Timbuktu, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter, ISBN 9783110162851...