Temne language

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Temne
Spoken in:	Central Sierra Leone
Total speakers:	about 1,000,000.
Language family:	Niger-Congo Atlantic-Congo Atlantic Southern Mel Temne Temne
Official status
Official language of:	Sierra Leone
Regulated by:	no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1:	none
ISO 639-2:	`tem`
ISO 639-3:	`tem`
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-based pronunciation key.

Temne (also known as 'Themne' or 'Timne') is a language of the Atlantic subfamily of languages spoken in Sierra Leone by about 1.8 million first speakers, or more than 30% of the country’s population. It also serves as a lingua franca for an additional 900,000 people living in areas near the Temne people.

Temne, a tonal language, is one of the most widely spoken indigenous languages of Sierra Leone. It is related to the Baga languages spoken in Guinea and to Sherbro spoken in Sierra Leone. Temne speakers live mostly in the Northern Province and Western Area (Freetown and its environs) of Sierra Leone, but because Temnes often migrate seeking economic opportunity, Temne speakers can also be found in all 12 districts of Sierra Leone. Temne people can be found in a number of other West African countries as well, including Guinea and Gambia. Some Temnes have also migrated beyond West Africa seeking educational and professional opportunities, especially Great Britain, the United States, and Egypt. Temnes are mostly rice farmers, traders, and coastal fishermen; and most are Muslims.

[edit] Bibliography

Bai-Sharka, Abou (1986) Temne names and proverbs (Stories and songs from Sierra Leone vol. 19). Freetown: People’s Educational Association of Sierra Leone.
Turay, Abdul Karim (1989) Temne stories. Köln: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag.
Wilson, W.A.A. (1961) An outline of the Temne language. London: University of London / SOAS.
Yillah, M. Sorie (1992) Temne phonology and morphology [Unpublished thesis. New York: City University of New York]. Ann Arbor: UMI.