Bissa
Language · official in 1 country
Bɩsa is what its speakers call the language of the Bissa people, a Mande group of south-central Burkina Faso, northeastern Ghana and the northern tip of Togo. The Mossi know it as Busansi. It is official in 1 country on record, Burkina Faso, where it shares that status with Mooré, Dioula and Fula.
The language on record
- Own name
- Bɩsa
- ISO 639-3
- BIB
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Mande
- Official in
- 1 country
Where Bissa is official
One country, Burkina Faso, where Bissa is one of the national languages the 2023 constitutional revision made official, beside Mooré, Dioula and Fula.
Official beside Bissa
About Bissa
Where do Bissa speakers live
In Burkina Faso the language is spoken in the Centre-Est Region, in Boulgou, Koulpélogo and Kouritenga provinces, and further west around Garango, Gomboussougou, Zabré and Tenkodogo. Across the border it is heard in the Bawku area of Ghana's Upper East Region and in Tône Prefecture in Togo.
Which languages sit closest to it
Bissa belongs to Eastern Mande. Its nearest relatives are spoken far to the east, in the old Borgu Kingdom of northeastern Benin and northwestern Nigeria: Busa, Boko and Kyenga. The Busa and Boko are counted as subgroups of the Bissa people. The name can mislead, since Bisa of Zambia and Busa of Nigeria are separate languages.
How the dialects split by compass point
Barka, also called Eastern Bissa, is spoken to the east and Lebre, or Zeba, to the west. Leere is the northern dialect. Gormine stays close to Barka. The written alphabets differ between Barka and the Lebre and Leere pair, and both mark high tone with an acute accent and low tone with a grave.
Common questions
Questions about Bissa
What do the Mossi call Bissa?
Busansi in the singular and Busanga in the plural. The Kusasi use the same name.
Has Bissa always been official in Burkina Faso?
No. French held that place until December 2023, when a revision of the constitution made the indigenous languages official and left French as a working language only.
What is the Lebre word for thanks?
Barka. A greeting such as Domireh ki, good morning, is answered with Domireh zain, and An barka boi is the reply to thanks.