Baga language
Temne dialect cluster spoken in Guinea
title: "Baga language" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["languages-of-guinea", "baga-languages"] description: "Temne dialect cluster spoken in Guinea" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baga_language" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Temne dialect cluster spoken in Guinea ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox language"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Baga |
| nativename | Barka |
| states | Guinea |
| ethnicity | Baga |
| speakers | Koga: No data |
| Sitemu: 40,000 (2018) | |
| Mandari: 4,000 (2011) | |
| Kaloum: Extinct by the 1950s | |
| Sobané: Extinct by the 1950s | |
| ref | e25 |
| familycolor | Niger-Congo |
| fam2 | Atlantic–Congo |
| fam3 | Mel |
| fam4 | Temne |
| fam5 | Baga languages |
| lc1 | bgo |
| lc2 | bsp |
| lc3 | bmd |
| lc5 | bqf |
| lc6 | bsv |
| glotto | temn1245 |
| glottorefname | Northern Mel |
| glottoname | adds Temne & Landoma |
| :: |
|name=Baga |nativename=Barka |states=Guinea |region= |ethnicity=Baga |speakers=Koga: No data Sitemu: 40,000 (2018) Mandari: 4,000 (2011) Kaloum: Extinct by the 1950s Sobané: Extinct by the 1950s |ref=e25 |familycolor=Niger-Congo |fam2=Atlantic–Congo |fam3=Mel |fam4=Temne |fam5=Baga languages |lc1=bgo|ld1=Koga |lc2=bsp|ld2=Sitemu |lc3=bmd|ld3=Mandari |lc5=bqf|ld5=Kaloum (spurious) |lc6=bsv|ld6=Sobané (spurious) |glotto=temn1245 |glottorefname=Northern Mel |glottoname=adds Temne & Landoma
Baga, or Barka, is a dialect cluster spoken by the Baga people of coastal Guinea. The name derives from the phrase bae raka Slaves trading place ( a mispronounced bae=Arabic for sellers and Raka= Arabic for slaves)and understood by the local as 'people of the seaside' outcast people. 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.
Varieties
The varieties as distinct enough to sometimes be considered different languages. 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 had spoken Koga and Sitemu, respectively.
Neighboring Baga Pokur is not closely related.
Geographical distribution
Geographical distribution of Baga varieties, listed from north to south, according to Fields-Black (2008:85):
- 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
Geographical distribution and demographics of Baga varieties according to Wilson (2007), citing a 1997 colloquium talk at Lille by Erhard Voeltz:
- Baga Manduri: spoken at Dobale, and very similar to Citɛm.
- Baga Sitemu (properly Citɛm): spoken in a cluster of villages on the Campaces River. This is the only vibrant Baga linguistic variety.
- Baga Sobane: only two known speakers in an isolated location.
- Baga Marara: spoken on three islands in the Rio Pongo. It is still being spoken by children.
- Baga Koba: spoken near Kaporo town only by elderly speakers over age 60. It is reportedly very similar to Baga Kaloum.
- Baga Kaloum: originally spoken in a quarter of what is now the Conakry area, and in the Îles de Los. It is close to Temne. Only spoken in a remote area now.
Noun Class Systems
Baga has prefixes for eight noun classes:
::data[format=table]
| Variety | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Baga Maduri | Bagu Sitemu | Baga Koba |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| o- or none | a- | a- | i- | kə- | da- | cə- | sə- | ||||
| wi- or none | a- | a- | none | kə- | da- | cə- | sə- | ||||
| i- | a- | a- | ɛ- | kə- | da- | cə- | sə- | ||||
| :: |
Vocabulary
Below is a selection of basic vocabulary in Baga Maduri:
- bmd - dog
- bmd - dogs
- bmd - fish
- bmd - pig
- bmd - earth, land
- bmd - the chief's head
- bmd - the cow's head
- bmd - eye
- bmd - tooth
- bmd - teeth
- bmd - hang
- bmd - hand, arm
- bmd - hands, arms
- bmd - hair
- bmd - drink
- bmd - iron
- bmd - turn onto front
References
References
- 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.
- Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. ''Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification''. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
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