| Kassonke | |
| Nativename: | Xaasongaxango |
| Also Known As: | Western Maninka |
| States: | Mali |
| Ethnicity: | Kassonke, Malinke |
| Speakers: | million |
| Date: | 2009–2022 |
| Ref: | e25 |
| Familycolor: | Niger-Congo |
| Fam1: | Niger–Congo ? |
| Fam2: | Mande |
| Fam3: | Western Mande |
| Fam4: | Manding |
| Fam5: | West Manding |
| Minority: | Mali |
| Lc1: | kao |
| Ld1: | Kassonke |
| Lc2: | mlq |
| Ld2: | Western Malinke (Malinka) |
| Glotto: | xaas1235 |
| Glottoname: | Xaasongaxango |
| Glotto2: | west2500 |
| Glottoname2: | Western Maninkakan |
The Kassonke (Khassonké) language, Xaasongaxango (Xasonga), or Western Maninka (Malinke), is a Manding language spoken by the Khassonké and Malinke of western Mali and by the Malinke of eastern Senegal. Kassonke is an official language in Mali. Western and Eastern Maninka are 90% mutually intelligible, though distinct from the Mandinka (Malinke) of southern Senegal, which is a national language there.
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||
| Stop | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||
| pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||
| Fricative | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||
| Trill | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||
| Lateral | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||
| Front | Central | Back | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Close | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Mid | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ | ||
| Open | pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ |