Bissa language

Bissa (or Bisa (singular), Bisan, Bissanno (plural)), is a Mande ethnic group of south-central Burkina Faso, northeastern Ghana and the northernmost tip of Togo. Their language, Bissa, is a Mande language that is related to, but not the same as, a cluster of languages in the old Borgu Kingdom area of Northeast Benin and Northwest Nigeria, including Busa, Boko, and Kyenga. An alternate name for the Bissa is Busansi which is used by the Mossi people and Kusasi people or Busanga.

Bissa
Bisa, Busansi
Bɩsa
Region	Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo
Ethnicity	Bissa people
Native speakers	(590,000 cited 1999–2003)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Mande Eastern Bisa–Busa Bissa
Language codes
ISO 639-3	bib
Glottolog	biss1248
Majority areas of northern dialects of Bissa, in dark blue, on a map of Burkina Faso.

Bissa
Person	Bɩsan
People	Bɩsanno
Language	Bɩsa

Bissa

Total population
1.7 million
Regions with significant populations
Burkina Faso	approx 6.8 million
Ghana	1.1 million
Togo	3,356
Languages
Bissa, French
Religion
Islam African Traditional Religion
Related ethnic groups
other Mandé peoples

Names

The name is usually spelled Bissa. It can also be spelled Bisa, and the name in the Mossi language is Busansi (Singular) or Busanga (Plural); This should not be confused with the Bisa language of Zambia or the Busa language of Nigeria and Benin.

Geographic distribution

In Burkina Faso, Bissa is spoken in Boulgou, Koulpélogo, and Kouritenga Provinces of the Centre-Est Region, in Bazaga and Zoundwéogo Provinces of the Centre–Sud Region (Garango, Gomboussougou, Zabré, and Tenkodogo Cities), and in the Boudry Department of Ganzargou Province of the Plateau-Central Region.

In Ghana, Bissa is spoken in Bawku Municipal District of the Upper East Region.

In Togo, Bissa is spoken in Tône Prefecture of the Savanes Region. There are also some Bissa speakers in Ivory Coast.

Classification

Bissa language is the most populous of the Mande languages of Ghana and Togo. It is part of the Eastern Mande group, which also includes several other languages spoken across the Volta River and the Borgu Kingdom, including Boko, Busa, Samo, and Bokobaru.

Dialects

Bissa has three dialect:

1. Barka or Baraka (also known as Eastern Bissa)
2. Lebir or Zeba (also known as Western Bissa)
3. Lere (also known as Northern Bissa)

The most widely spoken dialects of Bissa are Barka and Lebir.

To the East the Bissa people speak Barka/Baraka. To The West people speak Lebir/Zeba. To the North the Lere dialect is used. To the South, there is no specifics dialect.

Phonology

Vowels

	Front	Central	Back
Close	i, ĩ		u
Near-close	ɪ, ɪ̃		ʊ, ʊ̃
Close-mid	e		o
Open-mid	ɛ, ɛ̃	ɐ, ɐ̃	ɔ, ɔ̃
Open		a, ã

Consonants

		Labial	Alveolar	Palatal	Velar
Nasal		m	n	ɲ	ŋ
Plosive	voiceless	p	t		k
	voiced	b	d		ɡ
Fricative	voiceless	f	s
	voiced	v	z
Approximant			l	j	w
Trill			r

Writing system

High tone is marked with an acute accent and low tone is marked with a grave accent. The following is the alphabet of the Lere and Lebir dialects of Bissa:

Bissa alphabet

A

B

C

D

E

Ǝ

Ɛ

F

G

H

I

Ɩ

J

K

L

M

N

Ny

Ŋ

O

Ɔ

P

R

S

T

U

Ʋ

V

W

Y

Z

a

b

c

d

e

ǝ

ɛ

f

g

h

i

ɩ

j

k

l

m

n

ny

ŋ

o

ɔ

p

r

s

t

u

ʋ

v

w

y

z

The following is the alphabet of the Barka dialect of Bissa:

Bissa-Barka Alphabet (Burkina-Faso)

A

B

D

E

Ɛ

Ǝ

F

G

H

I

Ɩ

K

L

M

N

Ɲ

Ŋ

O

Ɔ

P

R

S

T

U

Ʋ

W

Y

Z

a

b

d

e

ɛ

ə

f

g

h

i

ɩ

k

l

m

n

ɲ

ŋ

o

ɔ

p

r

s

t

u

ʋ

w

y

z

Comparison of dialects

Phrase	Lere	Barka	Lebir
Good morning	Domireh ki	Idomleki
come	bur	iahh	Eyaham
water	pi	hi
food	forbile	hobile

Lere phrases

• Good morning: Domireh ki (Response: Domireh zain)
• Good afternoon: Sundareh ki (Response: Sundareh zain)
• Good evening/night: Yirbaa ki (Response: Yirbaa zain)
• Thank you: Barka
• Good: Minga
• Come: Bur
• Go: Ta
• You're welcome: An barka boi
• I love you: Moi wam

The Busa and Boko peoples of Benin and Nigeria

The Busa and Boko peoples, two subgroups of the Bissa people, live in Northwestern Nigeria and Northern Benin near Borgu in the Nigerian States of Niger, Kebbi and Kwara (mostly Bokobaru subgroup) and in the Beninese Departments of Alibori and Borgou.

They speak Busa (also known as Bisã) and Boko (also known as Boo). This peoples are referred to as Bussawa in Hausa.

See also

• Busa language (Mande)
• Boko language
• Kyenga language
• Shanga language

References

Sources

• "Dictionnaire Bissa-Barka". SIL International. 25 April 2016., the SIL entry direct towards "Dictionnaire Bissa-Barka". Sous-Commission de la langue Bisa.