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Koyracini, Zarmasaani, Dendi, ...
Songhai is classed within the Songhai branch of Nilo-Saharan, but the relationship of this branch with the others of Nilo-Saharan is contested. According to Nicolaï (personal communication, 1986), Songhai is composed of two distinct dialect groups, Northern and Southern. (Webbook)
Ethnologue lists the classification of the two main groups as:
Southern Songhai is spoken principally along the Niger River from Djenné in Mali through western Niger (known mainly as Zarma or Djerma) to the north of Benin (called Dendi); it is also found in several places in the northwest of Nigeria, in several villages of Burkina Faso, and even in several urban quarters, of which the most southern is Salaga of Ghana. Northern Songhai is spoken by sedentary populations in the region of Ingall, in the southern Algerian oasis of Tabelbala, and by the nomadic populations in the region of Menaka (Mali), Abala, and Abalak (Niger). (Webbook)
Here is a map of southern Songhai/Zarma dialects according to Nicolaï (1981) as seen in Harrison, Harrison and Rueck (1997):
Carte des dialectes de la langue Soŋay (Harrison, Harrison and Rueck, 1997)
Southern (Total, all dialects & all countries: 2,960,450)
Northern (Total, all dialects & all countries: 39,800)
Korandje (no estimate; in Algeria)
Nicolaï, in Les dialectes du songhay (1981), notes six major dialects of Southern Songhai, four major dialects of Northern Songhai, and two independent dialect clusters. (Webbook)
According to Ethnologue:
Ethnologue says re Zarma: In Niger, dialects from Dendi and Songai blend into Zarma. Intelligibility is high, although they use ethnic names 'Dendi' or 'Songai' for themselves. Speakers cannot understand Gao Songai in Mali. [However, American Peace Corps volunteers speaking Zarma of Niger were able to communicate with people in villages in Gao area, but had some difficulty communicating in Gao city. DZO]
Ethnologue says re Songhay, Koyra Chiini: The main dialect division is between Timbuktu and the upriver towns from Diré to Niafunké. A very distinct dialect is in Djenné city. [All in Mali]
Northern Songhay Languages share features from Songhay and Tamasheq. (Ethnologue)
Songhai/Zarma is a significant regional as well as a national language in Niger and Mali. It is broadcast over Radio-diffusion du Mali and La voix du Sahel in Niger. (Webbook)
Zarma is spoken by about a quarter of the population in Niger, mostly in the west.
Ethnologue has the following notes re Songhay, Koyraboro Senni of Mali:
Apparently some of the texts in the Timbuktu manuscripts are written in Songhay. [need more information]
An orthography was adopted at the 1966 UNESCO meeting in Bamako, Mali and amended by the relevant national authorities in Niger and Mali. (Webbook) It is Latin-based with extended characters.
The Arabic alphabet was used to write it in the past. [Any current usage?]
Alphabet as reported by Hartell (1993) and presented in Systèmes alphabétiques (NB, the ny digraph for the palatal n is apparently replaced in the orthographies of both Mali and Niger with the ɲ - n with left hook):
Alphabet zarma (arrété 215-99 de la République du Niger) http://www.sciences.univ-nantes.fr/info/perso/permanents/enguehard/recherche/Afrique/alphabet_zarma.htm
Most Unicode fonts with extended Latin ranges include the necessary characters.
There were some 8-bit legacy fonts in Niger (INDRAP98, La nigerienne) and Mali (Bambara Arial?). These should not be used for any documents intended to be shared in digital form or over the internet.
The CNRS/LLACAN "AFRO" Tavultesoft Keyman keyboard (for AZERTY) is intended to support Songhay and Zarma: http://www.tavultesoft.com/keyman/downloads/keyboards/details.php?KeyboardID=377&FromKeyman=0
Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Dendi: http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/den.htm
Website with content in Songhay: http://www.bagoundie.net/
There is one nascent effort to localize OpenOffice in Songhai [info from 2005, needs updating]
A localization of TuxPaint in Songhai of Mali has apparently been completed in early 2009.
Songhai languages
Dendi
Songhay (Humburi Senni)
Songhay, Koyra Chiini
Songhay, Koyraboro Senni
Zarma
Tadaksahak
Tasawaq
The RIFAL project has been involved in translating texts in legacy fonts into Unicode fonts (in Niger with INDRAP).
Old version of Peace Corps/Niger Zarma dictionary: http://www.bisharat.net/Zarma/
There is an e-mail list on the Songhay language called "marga" hosted by http://www.bagoundie.net
Chanard, Christian (2006), Systèmes alphabétiques des langues africaines, LLACAN, CNRS, http://sumale.vjf.cnrs.fr/phono/
Dwyer, David (1997), Webbook of African Languages, http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfrLang/hiermenu.html (page on "Songhai/Zarma," http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfrLang/Songhai_root.html )
Harrison, Byron, Annette Harrison, and Michael J. Rueck, with Mahaman Soumana as Interpreter. 1997. "Southern Songhay Speech Varieties in Niger: A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Zarma, Songhay, Kurtey, Wogo, and Dendi Peoples of Niger." http://www.sil.org/silesr/1999/004/zarmarpt4.pdf
Hartell, Rhonda L., ed. (1993), The Alphabets of Africa. Dakar: UNESCO and SIL. (The French edition, published the same year, is entitled Alphabets de Langues Africaines).
Nicolaï, Robert. 1981. Les dialectes du songhay. Contribution à l’étude des changements linguistiques. (étude phonologique). Paris: Selaf.
SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Dendi," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ddn
______, "Korandje," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kcy
______, "Songhay, Humburi Senni," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=hmb
______, "Songhay, Koyra Chiini," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=khq
______, "Songhai, Koyraboro Senni," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ses
______, "Tadaksahak," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=dsq
______, "Tasawaq," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=twq
______, "Zarma," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=dje
SIL International, "ISO 639 Code Tables," http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/codes.asp
U.S. Library of Congress, "ISO 639.2: Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages: Alpha-3 codes arranged alphabetically by the English name of language," http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/English_list.php
Wikipedia, "Korandje language," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korandje_language
______, "Koyra Chiini language," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koyra_Chiini_language
______, "Songhay languages," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songhay_languages
______, "Tadaksahak language," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadaksahak_language
______, "Zarma language," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zarma_language
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