Temne language

Temne (Temne)
Spoken in: Sierra Leone
Region: Central Sierra Leone
Total speakers: About 1,000,000.
Ranking: Not in top 100
Genetic classification: Niger-Congo

 Atlantic-Congo
  Atlantic
   Southern
    Mel
     Temne
      Temne

Official status
Official language of: Sierra Leone
Regulated by: None
Language codes
ISO 639-1n.a.
ISO 639-2tem
SILtem
See also: LanguageList of languages

Temne (also known as 'Themne' or 'Timne') is a Southern Atlantic language spoken in Sierra Leone by about one million first language speakers, or some 30% of the country’s population. It serves as a lingua franca for an additional 250,000 speakers. Temne is one of the four official languages of Sierra Leone. It is related to the Baga languages spoken in Guinea.


Bibliography

  • Bai-Sharka, Abou (1986) Temne names and proverbs (Stories and songs from Sierra Leone vol. 19). Freetown: People’s Educational Association of Sierra Leone.
  • Turay, Abdul Karim (1989) Temne stories. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
  • Wilson, W.A.A. (1961) An outline of the Temne language. London: University of London / SOAS.
  • Yillah, M. Sorie (1992) Temne phonology and morphology [Unpublished thesis. New York: City University of New York]. Ann Arbor: UMI.

External link

de:Temnische Sprache