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
Native to	Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, and the Gambia
Ethnicity	Manjack people
Native speakers	310,000 (2006)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Bak–Bijago Bak proper Jola–Papel Manjaku–Papel Manjak
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.

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

Writing system

The Manjak alphabet in Senegal established by the Senegal government in 2005 is as follows.

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

Ţ

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

ţ

u

w

y

z

References

1. Manjak at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)

Further reading

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