Baoulé (native name: wawle), also known as Baule or Bawule, is a language spoken in central and southern Ivory Coast, including in the regions of Lacs, Lagunes, Gôh-Djiboua, Sassandra-Marahoué, Vallée du Bandama, Woroba, and Yamoussoukro, by approximately 5.3 million people. It is a Kwa language of the Central Tano branch, forming a dialect continuum with Anyin and closely related to Nzema and Sehwi. It is the common language of the Baoulé people, the largest ethnic group in Ivory Coast.
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👉 Baoulé language in the context of Baoulé people
The Baule or Baoulé /ˈbaʊˌleɪ/ (Baule: Baule [ba.u.le]; French: baoulé [bawle]) are an Akan people and one of the largest ethnicities in Ivory Coast. The Baoulé are traditionally farmers who live in the centre of Ivory Coast, in a French braid shaped region (the Baoule “V”) between the rivers Bandama and N'Zi. This area broadly encompasses the regions around the cities of Bouaké and Yamoussoukro. The Baoulé have come to play a relatively important role in the recent history of Ivory Coast: the state's first president, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, was a Baoulé; additionally, since the Ivorian cocoa boom of the 1960-1970s, the Baoulé have also become one of the most widespread ethnicities throughout the country, especially in the Southern forests (the "Low Coast") where they are amongst the most numerous planters of cocoa, rubber, and coffee and sometimes seem to outnumber the local native ethnic groups.
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Baoulé language in the context of Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is the port city of Abidjan. It borders Guinea to the northwest, Liberia to the west, Mali to the northwest, Burkina Faso to the northeast, Ghana to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean's Gulf of Guinea to the south. With 31.5 million inhabitants in 2024, Ivory Coast is the third-most populous country in West Africa. Its official language is French, and indigenous languages are also widely used, including Bété, Baoulé, Dyula, Dan, Anyin, and Cebaara Senufo. In total, there are around 78 languages spoken in Ivory Coast. The country has a religiously diverse population, including numerous followers of Islam, Christianity, and traditional faiths often entailing animism.
Before its colonisation, Ivory Coast was home to several states, including Gyaaman, the Kong Empire, and Baoulé. The area became a protectorate of France in 1843 and was consolidated as a French colony in 1893 amid the Scramble for Africa. It achieved independence in 1960, led by Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who ruled the country until 1993. Relatively stable by regional standards, Ivory Coast established close political-economic ties with its West African neighbours while maintaining close relations with the West, especially France. Its stability was diminished by a coup d'état in 1999 and two civil wars—first between 2002 and 2007 and again during 2010–2011. It adopted a new constitution in 2016.
Baoulé language in the context of Anyin language
Anyin, also known as Agni, Agny, and Anyi, is a Niger-Congo language spoken mainly in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. It is a Kwa language of the Central Tano branch, forming a dialect continuum with Baoulé, and is closely related to Nzema and Sehwi. Its dialects, divided into Northern and Central dialect areas, include Sannvin, Abé, Ano, Bona, Bini, and Barabo in the Northern area and Ndenye and Juablin in the Central area. In Côte d'Ivoire, there are approximately 1.45 million native speakers of Anyin, along with 10,000 second-language users; in Ghana, there are approximately 66,400 speakers.
Morofo, spoken by 300,000 in southeastern Côte d'Ivoire, is sometimes classified as a dialect of Anyin, but may also be classified as a separate language.