The Soninke language (Soninke: Sooninkanxanne, ), also known as Serakhulle or Azer or Maraka, is a Mande language spoken by the Soninke people of West Africa. The language has an estimated 2.3 million speakers, primarily located in Mali and Mauritania, and also (in order of numerical importance of the communities) in Senegal, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea. It is a national language of Mauritania, Mali, Senegal and The Gambia.
Phonology
Consonants Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal Nasal Stop andAffricate Fricative ~ Trill Approximant
Vowels FrontCentralBackClose Close-mid Open
Long vowels are written double: aa, ee, ii, oo, uu.
Dialects Dialects of Soninke include the Berber-inflected Azer dialect.
References
External links
PanAfriL10n page on Soninke Soninkara.org: La langue soninké Collection of documents in Soninke Decree No. 2005-991 of 21 October 2005 relating to the spelling and the separation of words in Soninke via the website of the Senegalese Journal officiel