Mooré, also known as Mossi, is a Gur language of the Oti–Volta branch and one of the four official languages of Burkina Faso. It is the language of the Mossi people, spoken by approximately 6.46 million people in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin, Niger, Mali, Togo, and Senegal as a native language, but with many more L2 speakers. Mooré is spoken as a first or second language by over 50% of the Burkinabé population and is the main language in the capital city of Ouagadougou. It is closely related to Frafra, and less related to Dagbani.

Phonology

The Mooré language consists of the following sounds:

Vowels

1. Notes

2. All vowels (other than and ) can also be nasalized.

3. All vowels (oral and nasal) can be short or long.

4. Other linguists include the vowels and ; here, they are analysed as diphthongs, ( is considered to be ea and is considered to be oa).

Consonants

1. Notes

2. The semivowel is pronounced (palatal nasal) in front of nasal vowels.

Orthography

In Burkina Faso, the Mooré alphabet uses the letters specified in the national Burkinabé alphabet. It can also be written with the newly-devised Goulsse alphabet.

References

Citations

Works cited

External links

• PanAfrican L10n wiki page on Moore

• Database of audio recordings in Mòoré - basic Catholic prayers

Learning materials