Mooré


Mooré, also called Burkinabé, Upper Voltan, More or Mossi, is a Gur language of the Oti–Volta branch and one of four official languages of Burkina Faso. It is the language of the Mossi people, spoken by approximately 6.46 million people in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Niger, Mali, Togo, and Senegal as a native language, but with many more L2 speakers. Mooré is spoken as a first or second language by over 50% of the Burkinabé population and is the main language in the capital city of Ouagadougou.
It is closely related to Frafra, and less related to Dagbani.

Phonology

The Mooré language consists of the following sounds:

Consonants

Remark:

Vowels

Notes:
  • All vowels can also be nasalized.
  • All vowels can be short or long.
  • Other linguists include the vowels and ; here, they are analysed as diphthongs,.

Orthography

In Burkina Faso, the Mooré alphabet uses the letters specified in the national Burkinabé alphabet. It can also be written with the newly-devised Goulsse alphabet.