Bissa language

Spoken in

• Niger - Congo

• Bissa / Samo

-

Nic

Bib

The Bissa, known as Bisa or Boussancé, is an east- Mande language that is spoken by an estimated 450,000 people in the Bissa in the province Boulgou in the southeast of Burkina Faso and in small enclaves in northern Ghana and Togo.

Comparable to the San is a Mande - speaking enclave in the distribution area of the Gur languages. The main distribution area is almost completely surrounded by Mòoré. Just to the south it abuts the Kasem, the Kusaal and to the Moba.

Dialectal outline

The Bissa in present-day Burkina Faso is divided into two main dialects: LEBRi in the west and in the east Barka. Within the Western dialect, two more sub-forms, the core LEBRi and Lere, be distinguished. Differences between varieties can be found both in vocabulary and in the phonology and morphology. The difference between the main dialects Barka and LEBRi is very pronounced. An understanding of speakers from the southern LEBRi variant Lere with the Barka - speakers is difficult.

Sociolinguistic situation

The sociolinguistic studies show different constellations of multilingualism in the different dialect areas. In LEBRi speakers is the competence of the Mòoré, the dominant language in this area, much less frequently and less than that of Barka - speakers. In the western dialect LEBRi a competence in Mòoré by the majority of speakers is even completely denied and stated in interviews for multilingualism Bissa as the only language.