Manjak language

Manjak or Manjack (French: Mandjak, Mandyak; Portuguese: Manjaco) or Njak is a Bak language of Guinea-Bissau and Senegal. The language is also known as Kanyop.

Manjak
Manjáku
Native to	Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and the Gambia
Ethnicity	Manjack
Native speakers	320,000 (2021–2022)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Senegambian Bak Manjaku–Papel Manjak
Dialects	Bok Ulekes Ucur Ulund Uyu Unuab Uteer Uyool Uyanga Undin Ubuey Uguejan Utimats Uroongaan
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	mfv
Glottolog	mand1419

In 2006, the total number of speakers was estimated at 315,300, including 184,000 in Guinea-Bissau, 105,000 in Senegal and 26,300 in The Gambia.

Dialects

The Manjak dialects below are distinct enough that some might be considered separate languages.^{[citation needed]}

• Bok (Babok, Sarar, Teixeira Pinto, Tsaam)
• Likes-Utsia (Baraa, Kalkus)
• Cur (Churo)
• Lund
• Yu (Pecixe, Siis, Pulhilh)
• Unhate (Binhante, Bissau)

The Manjak dialects listed by Wilson (2007) are^[2]

• Canchungo (kancuŋuʔ) – central dialect
• Baboque (babɔk) (formerly Teixeira Pinto) – eastern dialect
• Churo (cuur) – northern dialect
• Pecixe (locally called pəhlihl; otherwise pəsiis), on an island to the south
• Calequisse (kaləkiis), to the west of Canchungo

Writing system

The official spelling system for Manjak established by the Senegalese government is regulated by Decree No. 2005-983 of 21 October 2005.

Manjak alphabet (Senegal)

A

B

C

D

E

Ë

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

Ñ

Ŋ

O

P

R

S

Ŝ

T

[illegible]

U

W

Y

Z

a

b

c

d

e

ë

f

g

h

i

j

k

l

m

n

ñ

ŋ

o

p

r

s

ŝ

t

[illegible]

u

w

y

z

References

1. Manjak at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)
2. Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

Further reading

• Karlik, Jan (1972). A Manjako Grammar with Special Reference to the Nominal Group (PhD thesis). University of London.

External links

• Decree no. 2005-983 of 21 October 2005 relating to the spelling and the separation of words in Manjakú via the website of the Journal officiel.