Languages of Niger
- Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
- Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
- You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is
Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Sprachen Nigers]]; see its history for attribution.
- You may also add the template
{{Translated|de|Sprachen Nigers}}
to the talk page. - For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.
Languages of Niger | |
---|---|
French in use on an official sign in Niger | |
Official | French |
National | Arabic, Buduma, Fulfulde, Gourmanchéma, Hausa, Kanuri, Zarma & Songhai, Tamasheq, Tassawaq, Tebu |
Vernacular | African French, Chadian Arabic |
Minority | Tamahaq, Teda, Tasawaq, Tetserret |
Foreign | English, Chinese, Japanese |
Signed | Francophone African Sign Language |
Keyboard layout |
Niger has 11 national languages, with French being the official language and Hausa the most spoken language. Depending on how they are counted, Niger has between 8 and 20 indigenous languages, belonging to the Afroasiatic, Nilo-Saharan and Niger–Congo families. The discrepancy comes from the fact that several are closely related, and can be grouped together or considered apart.
Official languages
French, inherited from the colonial period, is the official language. It is spoken mainly as a second language by people who have received an education (20% of Nigeriens are literate in French, and even 47% in cities, growing quickly as literacy improves[1]). Although educated Nigeriens still constitute a relatively small percentage of the population, the French language is the language used by the official administration (courts, government, etc.), the media and the business community. See also: African French[citation needed]
Niger has ten official national languages, namely Arabic, Buduma, Fulfulde, Gourmanchéma, Hausa, Kanuri, Zarma & Songhai, Tamasheq, Tassawaq, Tebu.[2] These ten national languages, their language families, the approximate percentage of the population that speak them, their approximate home regions, and additional information are as follows:[citation needed]
Language | Family | Approx % | Main region | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hausa | Afro-Asiatic / Chadic | 55.4% | South, central | Main trade language[3] |
Songhai | Songhay languages (nilo-saharan) | 21% | Southwest | Zarma and Songhay are considered together |
Tamasheq | Afro-Asiatic / Berber | 9.3% | North | |
Fulfulde | Niger–Congo / Atlantic | 8.5% | All | Fulfulde of Western Niger & Central-Eastern Niger are considered together |
Kanuri | Nilo-Saharan | 4.7% | Southeast | |
Arabic | Afro-Asiatic / Semitic | 0.4% | Southeast | Particularly spoken by the Diffa Arabs mainly in the Diffa Region |
Gourmanchéma | Niger–Congo / Gur | 0.4% | Southwest corner | Spoken mainly by the Gurma people of southwest Niger |
Tebu | Nilo-Saharan | 0.4% | East | Spoken mainly by the Toubou people of Eastern Niger |
Other | N/A | 0.1% | Throughout | Any other languages |
Languages by number of speakers (according to Ethnologue)[4]
Rank | Language | Speakers in Niger |
---|---|---|
1 | Hausa | 14,500,000 |
2 | Zarma | 3,590,000 |
3 | French | 2,506,000 |
4 | Fulfulde, Central-Eastern Niger | 450,000 |
5 | Fulfulde, Western Niger | 450,000 |
6 | Tamajaq, Tawallammat | 450,000 |
7 | Kanuri, Manga | 280,000 |
8 | Tamajeq, Tayart | 250,000 |
9 | Kanuri, Yerwa | 80,000 |
10 | Dazaga | 50,000 |
11 | Kanuri, Tumari | 40,000 |
12 | Gourmanchéma | 30,000 |
13 | Tagdal | 26,900 |
14 | Kanuri, Bilma | 20,000 |
15 | Tamahaq, Tahaggart | 20,000 |
16 | Arabic, Hassaniyya | 19,000 |
17 | Arabic, Algerian Saharan Spoken | 10,000 |
18 | Tedaga | 10,000 |
19 | Arabic, Libyan Spoken | 9,300 |
20 | Arabic, Shuwa | 9,300 |
21 | Tasawaq | 8,000 |
22 | Arabic, Standard | 7,800 |
23 | Tetserret | 2,000 |
By Region
Dominant languages
Region | Languages |
---|---|
Agadez Region | Tuareg, Kanuri |
Diffa Region | Kanuri |
Dosso Region | Zarma |
Maradi Region | Hausa |
Niamey | Zarma |
Tahoua Region | Hausa |
Tillabéri Region | Zarma |
Zinder Region | Kanuri |
See also
References
- ^ http://www.odsef.fss.ulaval.ca/sites/odsef.fss.ulaval.ca/files/odsef_rr_alphab_niger_2015_final2.pdf, page 18-19.
- ^ République du Niger, "Loi n° 2001-037 du 31 décembre 2001 fixant les modalités de promotion et de développement des langues nationales." L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde (accessed 14 October 2014)
- ^ Ethnologue, 17th ed., Languages of Niger (accessed 14 October 2014)
- ^ "Niger". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
External links
- Ethnologue report on "Languages of Niger"
- PanAfriL10n page on Niger
- Linguistic situation in Niger (in French)
- v
- t
- e
This language-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e
This Niger-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e