Kassonke language

Kassonke
Western Maninka
Xaasongaxango
Native to	Mali
Ethnicity	Kassonke, Malinke
Native speakers	1.6 million (2006–2012)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo Mande Western Mande ... Manding West Manding Kassonke
Official status
Recognised minority language in	Mali
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either: kao – Kassonke mlq – Western Malinke (Malinka)
Glottolog	xaas1235  (Xaasongaxango)[2] west2500  (Western Maninkakan)[3]

The Kassonke (Khassonké) language, Xaasongaxango (Xasonga), or Western Maninka (Malinke), is a Manding language spoken by the Khassonké of western Mali and by the Malinke of eastern Senegal. Kassonke is a national language in Mali. Western and Eastern Maninka are 90% mutually intelligible, though distinct from the Mandinka (Malinke) of southern Senegal, which is a national language there.

See also

• Bafoulabé
• Kayes

References

1. Kassonke at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
   Western Malinke (Malinka) at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
2. Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Xaasongaxango". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
3. Nordhoff, Sebastian; Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2013). "Western Maninkakan". Glottolog. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

• Koite-Herschel, Ute. 1981. La translation du constituent verbal: le cas du xasonga. Mandenkan 2 (Automne 1981):3–16.
• Sullivan, Terrence D.. 2004. "A preliminary report of existing information on the Manding languages of West Africa: summary and suggestions for future research." SIL Electronic Survey Reports 2004-005: 34 p. http://www.sil.org/silesr/abstract.asp?ref=2004-005