View source for Bambara language

{{Short description|Manding language of Mali}}
{{redirect|Bamanan|the Rokia Koné and Jacknife Lee album|Bamanan (album){{!}}''Bamanan'' (album)}}
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{{More citations needed|date=March 2019}}
{{Missing information|the history of the language and its adoption as a lingua franca|date={{monthyear}}}}
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{{Infobox language
| name           = Bambara
| nativename     = {{lang|bm|Bamanankan}} {{lang|bm-Arab|بَمَنَنكَن}} {{lang|bm-nkoo|ߓߡߊߣߊ߲ߞߊ߲}}
| states         = [[Mali]]
| region         = central southern Mali
| ethnicity      = [[Bamana people|Bamana]]
| speakers       = [[first language|L1]]: {{sigfig|4.186390|2}} million
| date           = 2012
| ref            = e27
| speakers2      = [[second language|L2]]: {{sigfig|10.002460|2}} million (2012)<ref name="e27" />
| speakers_label = Speakers
| official       = [[Mali]] (co-official)
| familycolor    = Niger-Congo
| fam1           = [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo]]?
| fam2           = [[Mande languages|Mande]]
| fam3           = [[Mande languages|Western]]
| fam4           = [[Manding languages|Manding]]
| fam5           = [[Manding languages|East]]
| fam6           = Bambara–Dyula
| iso1           = bm
| iso2           = bam
| iso3           = bam
| glotto         = bamb1269
| glottorefname  = Bambara
| script         = [[Latin script]]<br />[[Arabic script]] ([[Ajami script|Ajami]])<br />[[N'Ko script|NKo script]]<br />Masaba<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2024/24248-masaba.pdf|title=Proposal for encoding the Masaba script in the UCS |website=unicode.org}}</ref>
| notice         = IPA
}}
{{SpecialChars}}

'''Bambara''', also known as '''Malian''', '''Bamana''' ([[N'Ko script]]: {{lang|bm-nkoo|ߓߡߊߣߊ߲}}) or '''Bamanankan''' (N'Ko script: {{lang|bm-nkoo|ߓߡߊߣߊ߲ߞߊ߲}}; [[Arabic script]]: {{lang|bm-Arab|بَمَنَنكَن}}), is a [[lingua franca]] and [[national language]] of [[Mali]] spoken by perhaps 14 million people, natively by 4.2 million [[Bambara people]] and about 10 million [[Second language|second-language]] users.<ref name="e27" /> It is estimated that about 80 percent of the population of Mali speak Bambara as a first or second language. It has a [[subject–object–verb]] clause structure and two [[lexical tone]]s.

== Classification ==
Bambara is a variety of a group of closely related languages called [[Manding languages|Manding]], whose native speakers trace their cultural history to the medieval [[Mali Empire]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mandelang.kunstkamera.ru/files/mandelang/mandekan.pdf |title=Note on current use of Manding and Mande ethnonyms and linguonyms |access-date=20 April 2012 |url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408104148/http://mandelang.kunstkamera.ru/files/mandelang/mandekan.pdf |archive-date=8 April 2012 }}</ref> Varieties of Manding are generally considered (among native speakers) to be mutually intelligible – dependent on exposure or familiarity with dialects between speakers – and spoken by 9.1 million people in the countries [[Burkina Faso]], [[Senegal]], [[Guinea-Bissau]], [[Guinea]], [[Liberia]], [[Ivory Coast]] and [[the Gambia]].<ref name="Man">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/man/|title=Mandingo|publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=12 March 2024}}</ref> Manding is part of the larger [[Mande languages|Mandé]] family of languages.

== Geographical distribution ==
Bambara is spoken throughout Mali as a lingua franca. The language is most widely spoken in the areas east, south, and north of Bamako, where native speakers and/or those that identify as members of the Bambara ethnic group are most densely populated. These regions are also usually considered to be the historical geographical origin of Bambara people, particularly [[Ségou]], after diverging from other Manding groups.<ref name="autogenerated2000">{{cite web|url=http://www.sil.org/SILESR/2000/2000-003/Manding/Bamana.htm|title=Mandé Language Family: Maps of Manding-East, North-Eastern Manding, Bamana, Urban koine|website=www.sil.org|access-date=1 January 2018|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122172907/http://www.sil.org/SILESR/2000/2000-003/Manding/Bamana.htm|archive-date=22 January 2013}}</ref>

== Dialects ==
The main dialect is Standard Bamara, which has significant influence from Maninkakan.{{clarify|date=August 2015}} Bambara has many local dialects: Kaarta, Tambacounda (west); Beledugu, Bananba, Mesekele (north); Jitumu, Jamaladugu, Segu (center); Cakadugu, Keleyadugu, Jalakadougu, Kurulamini, Banimɔncɛ, Cɛmala, Cɛndugu, Baninkɔ, Shɛndugu, Ganadugu (south); Kala, Kuruma, Saro, dialects to the northeast of Mopti (especially Bɔrɛ); Zegedugu, Bɛndugu, Bakɔkan, Jɔnka (southeast).<ref name="autogenerated2000" />{{sfn|Vydrine|1999|p=315}}

== Phonology ==
=== Consonants ===
{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center
!
!colspan=2|[[Labial consonant|Labial]]
!colspan=2|[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
!colspan=2|[[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
!colspan=2|[[Velar consonant|Velar]]
![[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
![[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|m}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|n}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|ɲ}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|ŋ}}
|
|-
![[Stop consonant|Plosive]]
|style=border-right:0|{{IPA link|p}}||style=border-left:0|{{IPA link|b}}
|style=border-right:0|{{IPA link|t}}||style=border-left:0|{{IPA link|d}}
|style=border-right:0|{{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} {{angbr|c}}||style=border-left:0|{{IPA link|d͡ʒ}} {{angbr|j}}
|style=border-right:0|{{IPA link|k}}||style=border-left:0|{{IPA link|ɡ}}
|
|-
![[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|f}}
|style=border-right:0|{{IPA link|s}}||style=border-left:0|{{IPA link|z}}
|colspan=2|({{IPA link|ʃ}}) {{angbr|sh}}
|colspan=2|({{IPA link|ɣ}}) {{angbr|kh}}
|{{IPA link|h}}
|-
![[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|w}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|l}}
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|j}} {{angbr|y}}
|colspan=2|
|
|-
![[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|{{IPA link|r}}
|colspan=2|
|colspan=2|
|
|}

Each consonant represents a single sound with some exceptions:
* "W" is pronounced as in English (e.g. wait) except at the end of a word, when it is the plural mark and is pronounced as [u].
* "S" is pronounced most often as in the English word "see" but is sometimes pronounced as "sh" [ʃ] as in the word "shoe" or as [z].
* "G" is pronounced most often as in the English word "go" but in the middle of a word, it can be pronounced as in the Spanish word "abogado" ([ɣ]) and sometimes at the beginning of a word as [gw].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Cours pratique de bambara|last=Bailleul|first=Charles|pages=3}}</ref>

=== Vowels ===
{| class="wikitable"
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|- align="center"
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPA link|i}} {{IPA link|iː}} {{IPA link|ĩ}}
|
|{{IPA link|u}} {{IPA link|uː}} {{IPA link|ũ}}
|- align="center"
![[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]
|{{IPA link|e}} {{IPA link|eː}} {{IPA link|ẽ}}
|
|{{IPA link|o}} {{IPA link|oː}} {{IPA link|õ}}
|- align="center"
![[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]
|{{IPA link|ɛ}} {{IPA link|ɛː}} {{IPA link|ɛ̃}}
|
|{{IPA link|ɔ}} {{IPA link|ɔː}} {{IPA link|ɔ̃}}
|- align="center"
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|
|{{IPA link|a}} {{IPA link|aː}} {{IPA link|ã}}
|
|}

=== Tone ===
The language has two (mid/standard and high) [[tone (linguistics)|tone]]s; e.g. ''sa'' 'die' vs. ''sá'' 'snake.'

== Writing ==
[[File:Delaforge - Grammaire et méthode Bambara - p184.jpg|thumb|Page from Francis Delaforge's ''Grammaire et méthode Bambara'' (1949)]]

Since 1967, Bambara has mostly been written in the [[Latin script]], using some additional phonetic characters from the [[Africa Alphabet]]. The vowels are ''a, e, [[ɛ]]'' (formerly ''[[è]]''<span style="margin-left:3px">)</span>, ''i, o, [[ɔ]]'' (formerly ''[[ò]]''<span style="margin-left:3px">)</span>, ''u''<span style="margin-left:2px">;</span> accents can be used to indicate tonality. The former digraph ''ny'' is now written ''[[ɲ]]'' when it designates a palatal nasal; the ''ny'' spelling is kept for the combination of a nasal vowel with a subsequent oral palatal glide. Following the 1966 Bamako spelling conventions, a velar nasal "[[ŋ]]" is written as "ŋ", although in early publications it was often transcribed as ''ng'' or ''nk''.

The [[N'Ko script|N'Ko]] ({{langx|nqo|ߒߞߏ}}) alphabet is a script devised by [[Solomana Kante]] in 1949 as a writing system for the Manding languages of West Africa; N'Ko means 'I say' in all Manding languages. Kante created N'Ko in response to what he felt were beliefs that Africans were a "cultureless people" since prior to this time there had been no indigenous African writing system for his language. N'ko first gained a strong user base around the Maninka-speaking area of Kante's hometown of Kankan, Guinea and disseminated from there into other Manding-speaking parts of West Africa. N'ko, and the [[Arabic script]], also known as the [[Ajami script]], are still in use for Bambara, although only the Latin-based orthography is officially recognized in Mali.

Additionally, a script known as [[Masaba script|Masaba]] or Ma-sa-ba<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brock-Utne |first1=Birgit |title=Language and Power. The Implications of Language for Peace and Development: The Implications of Language for Peace and Development |last2=Garbo |first2=Gunnar |date=2009 |publisher=African Books Collective |isbn=9789987081462 |location=Oxford |page=146}}</ref> was developed for the language beginning in 1930 by [[Woyo Couloubayi]] ({{Circa|1910}}-1982) of [[Assatiémala]]. Named for the first characters in Couloubayi's preferred [[collation]] order, Masaba is a [[syllabary]] which uses diacritics to indicate vowel qualities such as [[Tone (linguistics)|tone]], [[Vowel length|length]], and [[nasalization]]. Though not conclusively demonstrated to be related to other writing systems, Masaba appears to draw on traditional Bambara iconography and shares some similarities with the [[Vai syllabary]] of Liberia and with Arabic-derived secret alphabets used in [[Hodh]] (now [[Hodh El Gharbi Region|Hodh El Gharbi]] and [[Hodh Ech Chargui Region|Hodh Ech Chargui]] [[Regions of Mauritania]]). As of 1978, Masaba was in limited use in several communities in [[Nioro Cercle]] for accounting, personal correspondence, and the recording of Muslim prayers; the script's current status and prevalence is unknown.<ref name="galtier">{{cite journal |last1=Galtier |first1=Gérard |date=1987 |title=Un exemple d'écriture traditionnelle mandingue : le «masaba» des Bambara-Masasi du Mali |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/jafr_0399-0346_1987_num_57_1_2174 |journal=Journal des Africanistes |volume=57 |issue=1–2 |pages=255–266 |doi=10.3406/jafr.1987.2174 |access-date=18 March 2020}}</ref><ref name="Kelly">{{cite book |last1=Kelly |first1=Piers |url=https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/253vc/ |title=STUDI MICENEI ED EGEO-ANATOLICI NUOVA SERIE SUPPLEMENTO 1 Paths into Script Formation in the Ancient Mediterranean |date=2018 |publisher=CNR – Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche |isbn=978-88-7140-898-9 |editor1-last=Ferrara |editor1-first=Silvia |location=Rome |pages=189–209 |chapter=Chapter 9: The Invention, Transmission, and Evolution of Writing: Insights from the New Scripts of West Africa |doi=10.31235/osf.io/253vc |editor2-last=Valério |editor2-first=Miguel}}</ref>
<!--
There are some or just one? [[User:Guaka|G-u-a-k-@]] hasn't found any yet, after nearly 3 months in Bamako.. :( newspapers in Bambara. -->

=== Latin orthography ===
It uses seven vowels a, e, ɛ, i, o, ɔ and u, each of which can be nasalized, pharyngealized and murmured, giving a total number of 21 vowels (the letters approximate their [[Help:IPA|IPA]] equivalents). {{citation needed|date=June 2018}} Writing with the Latin alphabet began during the [[French West Africa|French]] colonization, and the first orthography was introduced in 1967. Literacy is limited, especially in rural areas. Although written literature is only slowly evolving (due to the predominance of French as the "language of the educated"), there exists a wealth of [[oral tradition|oral literature]], which is often tales of kings and heroes. This oral literature is mainly passed on by the [[griot]]s (''Jeliw'' in Bambara) who are a mixture of [[storytelling|storyteller]]s, praise singers, and human history books who have studied the trade of singing and reciting for many years. Many of their songs are very old and are said to date back to the old empire of Mali.

=== Alphabet ===
* A – a – [a]
* B – be – [b]
* C – ce – [t͡ʃ]
* D – de – [d]
* E – e – [e]
* Ɛ – ɛ – [ɛ]
* F – ef – [f]
* G – ge – [g]
* H – ha – [h]
* I – i – [i]
* J – je – [d͡ʒ]
* K – ka – [k]
* L – ɛl – [l]
* M – ɛm – [m]
* N – ɛn – [n]
* Ɲ – ɲe – [ɲ]
* Ŋ – ɛŋ – [ŋ]
* O – o – [o]
* Ɔ – ɔ – [ɔ]
* P – pe – [p]
* R – ɛr – [r]
* S – ɛs – [s]
* T – te – [t]
* U – u – [u]
* W – wa – [w]
* Y – ye – [j]
* Z – ze – [z]

=== Other letters ===
* kh – [ɣ] (used for loanwords from other African languages)
* -n – nasalises vowel
* sh – she – [ʃ] (regional variant of s)<ref>{{cite web |title=Bambara alphabet, pronunciation, and language |url=https://omniglot.com/writing/bambara.htm |access-date=29 June 2021 |website=Omniglot}}</ref>

=== N'ko orthography ===
==== Vowels ====
* ߊ – a – [a]
* ߋ – e – [e]
* ߌ – i – [i]
* ߍ – ɛ – [ɛ]
* ߎ – u – [u]
* ߏ – o – [o]
* ߐ – ɔ – [ɔ]

==== Consonants ====
* ߓ – ba – [b]
* ߔ – pa – [p]
* ߕ – ta – [t]
* ߖ – ja – [d͡ʒ]
* ߗ – ca – [t͡ʃ]
* ߘ – da – [d]
* ߚ/ߙ – ra – [r]
* ߛ – sa – [s]
* ߜ? – ga – [g/ʀ/ɣ]
* ߜ – gba – [ɡ͡b]
* ߝ – fa – [f]
* ߞ – ka – [k]
* ߟ – la – [l]
* ߡ – ma – [m]
* ߢ – nya or ɲa – [ɲ]
* ߒ – nga or ŋa – [ŋ]
* ߣ – na – [n]
* ߥ – wa – [w]
* ߦ – ya – [j]
* ߤ – ha – [h]
* ߲ – nasal vowel – [-̃]

==== Tones ====
* ߫ – short high
* ߬ – short low
* ߯ – long high
* ߰ – long low<ref>{{cite web |title=Bambara alphabet, pronunciation, and language |url=https://omniglot.com/writing/bambara.htm |access-date=27 June 2021 |website=Omniglot}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=31 May 2019 |title=Bambara Alphabet and Pronunciation (N'ko and Latin) |url=https://www.ankataa.com/blog/bambara-alphabet |access-date=28 June 2021 |website=An ka taa}}</ref>

== Grammar ==
The basic sentence structure is [[subject–object–verb]] (SOV). Take the phrase, ''n t'a lon'' (I don't know [it]). ''n'' is the subject (I), ''a'' is the object (it), and ''[ta] lon'' is the verb ([to] know). The ''t' '' is from the negative present tense marker ''té'', ''bé'' being the affirmative present tense marker (''n b'a don'' would mean "I know it"). Like many SOV languages, Bambara uses [[postposition]]s rather than prepositions - their role being similar to English prepositions but placed after the noun.

The typical argument structure of the language consists of a subject, followed by an aspectival auxiliary, followed by the direct object, and finally a transitive verb.

Bambara does not inflect for gender. Gender for a noun can be specified by adding a suffix, ''-cɛ'' or ''-kɛ'' for male and ''-muso'' for female. The plural is formed by attaching a vocalic suffix ''-u'', most often with a low tone (in the orthography, ''-w'') to nouns or adjectives.

=== Loan words ===
In urban areas, many Bamanankan conjunctions have been replaced in everyday use by French borrowings that often mark [[code-switch]]es. The [[Bamako]] dialect makes use of sentences like: ''N taara Kita mais il n'y avait personne là-bas.'' : ''I went to Kita [Bamanankan ] but there was no one there [French].'' The sentence in Bamanankan alone would be ''Ń taara Kita nka mɔkɔ si tun tɛ yen.'' The French proposition "est-ce que" is also used in Bamanankan ; however, it is pronounced more slowly and as three syllables, {{IPA|[ɛsikə]}}.

Bamanankan uses many French loan words. For example, some people might say: ''I ka [[kurusi]] ye nere ye''{{Clarify|reason=Which part of the expression corresponds to the French"jaune" for yellow?|date=March 2024}}: "Your skirt is yellow" (using a derivation of ''jaune'', the French word for yellow, they often use ''joni''.)

However, one could also say: ''I ka kulosi ye nɛrɛmukuman ye'', also meaning "your skirt is yellow." The original Bamanankan word for yellow comes from "''nɛrɛmuku''," being flour (''muku'') made from [[Parkia biglobosa|néré]] (locust bean), a seed from a long seed pod. Nɛrɛmuku is often used in sauces in Southern Mali.

Most French loan words are suffixed with the sound 'i'; this is particularly common when using French words which have a meaning not traditionally found in Mali. For example, the Bamanankan word for [[snow]] is ''niegei'', based on the French word for snow ''neige''. As there has never been snow in Mali, there was no unique word in Bamanankan to describe it.

=== Examples ===
{{interlinear|number=ex:
|N bɛ bamanankan mɛn dɔɔni-dɔɔni
|I AUX.{{smallcaps|positive}} Bambara hear small-small
|I understand/hear a little bit of Bambara}}

{{interlinear|number=ex:
|I tɛna dumuni ke wa?
|you AUX.NEG.FUT eating do Q
|Aren't you going to eat?}}

{{interlinear|number=ex:
|{Du Mara} be ameriki hali bi wa?
|{Dou Mara} aux America even today Q
|Is Dou Mara still living in the United States?}}

== Music ==
Malian artists such as [[Oumou Sangaré]], [[Sidiki Diabaté]], [[Fatoumata Diawara]], [[Rokia Traoré]], [[Ali Farka Touré]], [[Habib Koité]] and the married duo [[Amadou & Mariam]] often sing in Bambara. Lyrics in Bambara occur on ''[[Stevie Wonder's Journey Through "The Secret Life of Plants"]].'' In 2010, [[Spain|Spanish]] rock group [[Dover (band)|Dover]] released its 7th studio album ''[[I Ka Kené]]'' with the majority of lyrics in Bambara, Spanish, English and French. American rapper [[Nas]] also released a track titled "[[Distant Relatives|Patience]]" in 2010, which featured [[Damian Marley]] and extensively sampled the Amadou & Mariam song "Sabali", as ''sabali'' is a Bambara word meaning patience.

== Legal status ==
Bambara was until 2023 one of several languages designated by Mali as a [[national language]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Skattum |first=Ingse |date=2010 |title=L'introduction des langues nationales dans le système éducatif au Mali: objectifs et conséquences |trans-title=The Introduction of National Languages to the Malian Educational System: Problems and Consequences |url=http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/docserver/19552629/3/1/19552629_003_01_S013_text.pdf?expires=1487354096&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=2A729881414DED33D000C3984B49D9E3 |language=fr |journal=Journal of Language Contact |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=248 |doi=10.1163/19552629-90000013 |access-date=17 February 2017|doi-access=free }}</ref>

In 2023, after a new constitution was approved by a majority of voters, Bambara became co-official, together with 12 other languages spoken in the country. French was removed as the official language and was kept only as a working language.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 July 2023 |title=Mali drops French as official language |url=https://www.africanews.com/2023/07/26/mali-drops-french-as-official-language/ |access-date=30 July 2023 |website=Africanews |language=en}}</ref>

== References ==
=== Citation ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* Bailleul Ch. ''Dictionnaire Bambara-Français.'' 3e édition corrigée. Bamako : Donniya, 2007, 476 p.
* Bird, Charles, Hutchison, John & Kanté, Mamadou (1976) ''An Ka Bamanankan Kalan: Beginning Bambara''. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Linguistics Club.
* Bird, Charles & Kanté, Mamadou (1977) ''Bambara-English, English-Bambara student lexicon''. Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Linguistics Club.
* Dumestre Gérard. ''Grammaire fondamentale du bambara.'' Paris : Karthala, 2003.
* Dumestre, Gérard. ''Dictionnaire bambara-français suivi d'un index abrégé français-bambara.'' Paris : Karthala, 2011. p. 1189
* [[Joseph Eidelberg|Eidelberg, Joseph]] "[https://josepheidelberg.com/blog/ Bambara (A PROTO-HEBREW LANGUAGE?)]"
* Kastenholz, Raimund (1998) ''Grundkurs Bambara (Manding) mit Texten'' (second revised edition) (Afrikawissenschaftliche Lehrbücher Vol. 1). Köln: Rüdiger Köppe.
* Konaré, Demba (1998) ''Je parle bien bamanan''. Bamako: Jamana.
* Morales, José (2010) ''J'apprends le bambara. 61 conversations'', (book + CD-ROM). Paris: Editions Karthala. {{ISBN|2-8111-0433-X}}
* Touré, Mohamed & Leucht, Melanie (1996) ''Bambara Lesebuch: Originaltexte mit deutscher und französischer Übersetzung = Chrestomathie Bambara: textes originaux Bambara avec traductions allemandes et françaises'' (with illustrations by Melanie Leucht) (Afrikawissenschaftliche Lehrbücher Vol. 11) . Köln: Rüdiger Köppe.
* {{cite book |last1=Vydrine |first1=Valentin |author-link=Valentin Vydrin |title=Manding-English dictionary : Maninka, Bamana |volume=1 |date=1999 |publisher=Dimitry Bulanin |location=St. Peterburg |isbn=978-5-86007-178-0}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{sister project links||d=Q33243|c=Category:Bambara language|n=no|q=no|b=Bambara|v=no|voy=Bambara phrasebook|m=no|mw=no|s=no|wikt=Bambara|species=no}}
{{InterWiki|code=bm}}

=== Descriptions ===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160115094600/http://mali.pwnet.org/history/history_language.htm Mali – History – Language]

=== Dictionaries ===
* [https://www.maliyiri.com/ Maliyiri.com] is a website which provides English-Bambara-French translations and is a community-based project where users can add new words, comments, provide feedback and follow one another.
* [http://cormand.huma-num.fr/bamadaba.html Corpus Bambara de Référence - Etiquetage] online and downloadable Bambara-French Dictionary (about 11,500 entries by the end of 2014), with a French-Bambara index, linked with the Corpus Bambara de Référence
* An ka taa's [http://dictionary.ankataa.com Mobile-friendly Bambara-English dictionary] that includes French and Jula.
* [[wikt:fr:Catégorie:bambara|Bambara entries (mouse) (>2300) in the French Wiktionary]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081004120230/http://www.bambara.org/en/ Bambara-French-English dictionary] online and downloadable lexicons for language learners
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081108005847/http://www.bisharat.net/Demos/jiriwso.htm Bambara tree names (scientific name -> common name)]

=== Learning materials ===
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20181226225516/http://www.iub.edu/~celtie/bambara.html Online Bambara Course from the Indiana University]
* {{cite web |url=http://www.peacecorp.gov/wws/multimedia/language/transcripts/ML_Bambara_Language_Lessons.pdf |title=AN INTRODUCTION TO BAMBARA |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721061045/http://www.peacecorp.gov/wws/multimedia/language/transcripts/ML_Bambara_Language_Lessons.pdf |archive-date=21 July 2011 }}&nbsp;{{small|(168&nbsp;KB)}} on peacecorps.gov

=== Other ===
* [http://cormand.huma-num.fr/ Corpus Bambara de Référence] Corpus Bambara de Référence, an electronic corpus of Bambara texts (about 2,000,000 words end 2014)
* Maliyiri.com's [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ml.maliyiri.bambaradictionary&hl=en_US Android application], with thousands of daily users, provides English-Bambara-French translations and users can choose to get daily/weekly word notifications for continuous learning.
* [http://cormand.huma-num.fr/biblio/index.jsp Bambara Electronic Library, AMALAN – LLACAN]
* [https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2024/24248-masaba.pdf Proposal for encoding the Masaba script], Unicode
* [http://www.ankataa.com An ka taa]: a website with a dictionary, resources and media for learning Bambara and Manding more generally.
* [http://fr.wikibooks.org/wiki/Bambara Bambara at French Wikibooks] contains more material
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140703141254/http://www.vjf.cnrs.fr/clt/php/va/Page_revue.php?ValCodeRev=MDK Mandenkan Journal]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130516204859/http://www.panafril10n.org/wikidoc/pmwiki.php/PanAfrLoc/Manding PanAfriL10n page on Manding] (includes information on Bambara)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090916112516/http://www.maneno.org/bam/ Maneno in Bambara] (a blogging platform with a full Bambara interface)

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[[Category:Bambara language| ]]
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