Languages of Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso is a multilingual country. An estimated 70 languages are spoken there, of which about 66 are indigenous. Mooré is spoken by about 52.5% of the population, mainly in the central region around the capital, Ouagadougou.
In the west, Mande languages are widely spoken, the most predominant being Dyula, others including Bobo, Samo, and Marka. Fulani is spoken in the north, however it is widely spoken throughout the country as a lingua franca. Gourmantché is spoken in the east, while the Bissa language is spoken in the south.
In 2024, the Francophone population of Burkina Faso represents 22.8%, which is approximately 5,379,000 people. Among them, 1.3% speak French as their first language. Additionally, 5,063,000 people, or 21.5% of the total population of 23,550,000, use French as a second language.
Education for the deaf in Burkina uses American Sign Language, which was introduced by the deaf American missionary Andrew Foster. The Burkina Sign Language is used in Ouagadougou.
Official and indigenous languages
Mooré is the most widely spoken official language in the country, with 48 percent of Burkinabe being speakers as of 2008 and is a lingua franca. As of 1998, Mooré, Dyula, and Fula are official languages. This has caused consternation with speakers of the other languages, who have protested it as an injustice.The country's name was taken from words in two of the official languages, with ‘Burkina’ meaning ‘man of integrity’ in Mooré and ‘Faso’ meaning ‘father’s house’ in Dyula.
Fula is the lingua franca in many parts of Burkina Faso. It is widely spoken in the north and east of the country as a first language, with 8.36 percent of the population able to speak it. Dyula is also a lingua franca and is widely used as a trading language, particularly in the west and in Bobo-Dioulasso. A 2014 survey reported that 5.7% of the population speaks Dyula as their dominant language at home, but the number of L2 speakers is likely much higher. Bissa is spoken by 2.85% of the population.
Most spoken languages belong to either the Mande or Gur families. In rural areas of Burkina Faso, one's native language is typically used for common activities. In large towns, most people are multilingual. Although not recognized as an official language, Gourmanché is spoken by 5.51% of the population. Other important minority languages include Bwamu, spoken by 1.91%, Dagara, spoken by 1.76%; and Samo, spoken by 1.66%. Dagara is spoken in the southwestern part of Burkina Faso and borrows heavily from French and, to a lesser degree, English.
Endangered languages include: