Songhoyboro Ciine Explained

Songhoyboro Ciine
Region:Niger
Ethnicity:Songhay
Speakers:946,000
Date:2014
Familycolor:Nilo-Saharan
Fam2:Songhay
Fam3:Southern
Isoexception:dialect
Glotto:kaad1238
Glottorefname:Kaado
Map:Songhay languages.svg
Mapcaption:Location of Songhay languages[1]
Northwest Songhay:Eastern Songhay:

Songhoyboro Ciine or Songhay Ciiné (pronounced as /soŋoj-boro-tʃiːné/ or pronounced as /soŋaj-tʃiːné/) is an upriver dialect of the southern Songhay dialect of Niger.[2] It is spoken mostly in the northwestern corner of Niger's Tillaberi region, an area known as Songhay: from Gorouol, a border town with Mali, down to the towns of Tera, Anzourou, Namari Goungou and Say.

Due to the high mutual intelligibility with the prestige dialect of Zarma in Niamey, it is common for Songhoyboro Ciine speakers to use the words "Zarma" and "Songhay" interchangeably when referring to their language. Songhoyboro Ciine is not, however, intelligible with Koyraboro Senni Songhai dialect of Gao in Mali. Some use the Peulh word "kado" (meaning; "stranger") to address this dialect although many of the dialect speakers consider it pejorative.

Notes and References

  1. This map is based on classification from Glottolog and data from Ethnologue.
  2. Seydou Hanafiou, Hamidou. 1995. Eléments de description du kaado d'Ayorou-Goungokore (parler songhay du Niger). (Doctoral dissertation, Université Stendhal (Grenoble 3); 437pp.)