Baga language
| Baga | |
|---|---|
| Barka | |
| Native to | Guinea |
| Ethnicity | Baga |
Native speakers | Koga: No data Sitemu: 40,000 (2018) Mandari: 4,000 (2011) Kaloum: Extinct by the 1950s Sobané: Extinct by the 1950s |
Niger–Congo?
| |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | Variously:bgo – Kogabsp – Sitemubmd – Mandaribqf – Kaloum (spurious)bsv – Sobané (spurious) |
| Glottolog | temn1245 adds Temne & Landoma |
Baga, or Barka, is a dialect cluster spoken by the Baga people of coastal Guinea. The name derives from the phrase bae raka Slaves trading place ( a mispronounced bae=Arabic for sellers and Raka= Arabic for slaves)and understood by the local as 'people of the seaside' outcast people. Most Baga are bilingual in the Mande language Susu, the official regional language. Two ethnically Baga communities, Sobané and Kaloum, are known to have abandoned their (unattested) language altogether in favour of Susu.