Baga language
Baga, or Barka, is a dialect cluster spoken by the Baga people of coastal Guinea. The name derives from the phrase bae raka 'people of the seaside'. Most Baga are bilingual in the Mande language Susu, the official regional language. Two ethnically Baga communities, Sobané and Kaloum, are known to have abandoned their (unattested) language altogether in favour of Susu.
| Baga | |
|---|---|
| Barka | |
| Native to | Guinea |
| Ethnicity | Baga |
Native speakers | (undated figure of 13,000, possibly the ethnic population)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:bgo – Kogabsp – Sitemubmd – Mandaribqf – Kaloum (spurious)bsv – Sobané (spurious) |
| Glottolog | temn1245 adds Temne & Landoma |
Varieties
The varieties as distinct enough to sometimes be considered different languages.[2] They are:
- Baga Koga (Koba)
- Baga Manduri (Maduri, Mandari)
- Baga Sitemu (Sitem, Sitemú, Stem Baga, Rio Pongo Baga)
The extinct Baga Kaloum and Baga Sobané peoples spoken Koga and Sitemu, respectively.[3]
Neighboring Baga Pokur is not closely related.
Geographical distribution
Geographical distribution of Baga varieties, listed from north to south, by Fields-Black (2008:85):[4]
- Baga Mandori: coast of Guinea, north of the mouth of the Nunez River
- Baga Sitem: coast of Guinea, south of the mouth of the Nunez River
- Baga Kakissa: coast of Guinea, north of the mouth of the Pongo River
- Baga Koba: coast of Guinea, from south of the mouth of the Pongo River to north of the mouth of the Konkouré River
- Baga Kalum: Îles de Los and area surrounding Conakry
Noun Class Systems
Baga has prefixes for eight noun classes:[2]
| Variety | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baga Maduri | o- or none | a- | a- | i- | kə- | da- | cə- | sə- |
| Bagu Sitemu | wi- or none | a- | a- | none | kə- | da- | cə- | sə- |
| Baga Koba | i- | a- | a- | ɛ- | kə- | da- | cə- | sə- |
Vocabulary
All these are from Baga Maduri:[2]
- aceen - dog
- iceen - dogs
- alomp - fish
- asɔɔp - pig
- atɔf - earth, land
- daboomp da-ka-obɛ - the chief's head
- daboomp da-wana - the cow's head
- dafɔr - eye
- dasek - tooth
- isek - teeth
- gbak - hang
- kəca - hand, arm
- waca - hands, arms
- kufoon - hair
- mun - drink
- tafac - iron
- gbup - turn onto front
References
- Koga at Ethnologue (15th ed., 2005)
Sitemu at Ethnologue (15th ed., 2005)
Mandari at Ethnologue (15th ed., 2005) - W.A.A.Wilson, Temne, Landuma and the Baga Languages in: Sierra Leone Language Review, No. 1, 1962 published by Fourah Bay College, Freetown.
- Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices
- Fields-Black, Edda L. 2008. Deep Roots: Rice Farmers in West Africa and the African Diaspora. (Blacks in the Diaspora.) Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Further reading
- Houis, Maurice (1952) 'Remarques sur la voix passive en Baga', Notes Africaines, 91–92.
- Houis, Maurice (1953) 'Le système pronominal et les classes dans les dialectes Baga, i carte', Bulletin de l'IFAN, 15, 381–404.
- Mouser, Bruce L. (2002) 'Who and where were the Baga?: European perceptions from 1793 to 1821', History in Africa, 29, 337–364.