Dagbani

Dagbanli

Dagbani is an Atlantic-Congo language spoken in Ghana and Togo, by about 3.2 million people.

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Dagbani · 9.6°N 0.4°W

Dagbani or Dagbanli is a Gur language spoken in Ghana and northern Togo. It has an estimated 1.17 million native speakers. Dagbani is the most widely spoken language in the northern half of Ghana, including among several acephalous ethnic groups historically under the authority of the King of Dagbaŋ, the Yaa-Naa. Dagbaŋ, located in the Northern Region of Ghana, is regarded as the oldest traditional kingdom in the country, and the Yaa-Naa serves as its paramount chief, presiding over the various communities within the Dagbaŋ area.

Dagbani is mutually intelligible with Mampruli and closely related to Nabit, Talni, Kamara, Kantosi, and Hanga, also spoken in Northern, North East, Upper East, and Savannah Regions. It is also related to the other members of the same subgroup spoken in other regions, including Dagaare and Wali, spoken in Upper West Region of Ghana, along with Frafra and Kusaal, spoken in the Upper East Region of the country.

In Togo, Dagbani is spoken in the Savanes Region on the border with Ghana.

From Wikipedia · Dagbani language · CC BY-SA 4.0

Written down

Sal' la sala. Bɛhig' be sokam sanimi, din pa la amii. Suhizɔbo be sokam sani; ka nambɔɣu beni. Suhubɔhibo mi bi lan kɔŋ yigunaadam kam sani. Dinzuɣu dimbɔŋɔ zaa wuhiya ka dama di tu kamaata ka ti zaa yu tab' hali ni ti puuni.

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR in Unicode).

Words in Dagbani

Meaning	Word	Romanization
woman	pağa
name	yuli*
eye	nini*
ear	t3bli*
nose	nye*
tooth	nyini*
tongue	z3lnli*
hand	nu*
blood	zim*
bone	kobli*
skin	gbaN*
knee	duni*
water	kom
fire	bugm*
sun	wuntaNa*
stone	kuɣli
tree	tia*
night	yuN*
dog	ba*
fish	z3Na*
one	ndam*
two	yi*
I	mani*
you	nyini*
we	t3*
drink	nyu*
see	nya*
hear	wum*
die	kpi*
come	ka*