Languages of Côte d'Ivoire
The official language of Cote d'Ivoire is French, spoken by less than one percent of the population (17,470) according to a 1988 census. There are 77 distinct living languages in the country; the most widely spoken of these is the Dioula dialect, with 179,000 (1.03%) first language speakers. This dialect also goes by several other names: Jula, Dyula, Dyoula, Diula, and Djula. The Dioula language is further split into various dialects: Kong Jula, Tagboussikan, and Dioula Vehiculaire (trade Jula). Languages related to Jula include Koro Jula, Koyaga Jula, Odienne Jula, and Worodougou Jula.
Many of the country.s languages are in a similar state, fractured and spoken by only a few people. Several languages are spoken by fewer than 5,000 people, and most languages have entire religions and cultures associated with them. Four of eight major Niger-Congo language family branches are represented, roughly corresponding to the nation.s four cultural regions.
Cote d'Ivoire's one extinct language is Esuma, or Essouma. A 1988 census reports 164 speakers in the two villages of Assinie and Mafia.
The literacy rate stands at 50.9% overall, 57.9% for males, and 43.6% for females. Few newspapers are in local languages, but biblical texts and some school materials have been translated. Most schools use French. Some northern schools use Arabic.
LINKS
Here are some links to pages about languages.
Map of Language DistributionsEthnologue A Full Report on All of Cote d'Ivoire languages
~LM