Symbols
63Click a symbol to copy it and open its page.
Cebaara Senoufo alphabet
The Latin letters used in Côte d’Ivoire’s national-language spelling, capital and small: Ɛ follows E, Ŋ follows N, Ɔ follows O. Q and X are not used; long vowels are written double.
Punctuation
Texts printed in Côte d’Ivoire follow French punctuation: « guillemets » for quotes, ’ as the apostrophe, ' its typewriter form.
Where it's spoken
Northern Côte d’Ivoire, around Korhogo in the Poro Region. Prices are in CFA francs, which have no sign of their own: 5 000 FCFA.
Senoufo culture
The masks of the Poro society, the drums and balafons that play for its festivals, and the hornbill figure known as the Senufo bird.
On the map
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The Cebaara alphabet: Ɛ ɛ, Ɔ ɔ, Ŋ ŋ, ny and ʔ
Senoufo (Senufo in most English writing) is not one language but a cluster of related languages spoken from northern Côte d’Ivoire into Mali, Burkina Faso and a corner of Ghana. Cebaara, also known as Senari (language code sef), is the largest of them in Côte d’Ivoire, and it is the one people usually mean by "the Senoufo language" around Korhogo.
It is written in Latin letters with the spelling worked out for the national languages of Côte d’Ivoire. Next to the ordinary Latin letters, Cebaara uses Ɛ ɛ for the open e in English "bed", Ɔ ɔ for the open o in British "law", and Ŋ ŋ for the ng sound in "sing". The palatal nasal /ɲ/ is written ny (as in Spanish ñ or French gn), and the glottal stop is written ʔ. In alphabetical order, ɛ follows e, ny and ŋ follow n, and ɔ follows o. Q and x are not used, and the letter c stands for a sound close to English ch.
Vowel length changes meaning, so long vowels are written twice, as in the name Cebaara itself. Like other Senoufo languages, Cebaara is tonal: the pitch of a syllable can change the meaning of a word. The é and ou in names such as Sénoufo, Ferkessédougou or Sinématiali come from French spelling, not from the Senoufo alphabet.
How to type ɛ, ɔ, ŋ and ʔ
On a phone, the quickest way is to copy Ɛ ɛ, Ɔ ɔ and Ŋ ŋ from this page; spell the palatal nasal as ny and write the glottal stop as ʔ. Some keyboard apps made for African languages, on Android and iOS, offer ɛ, ɔ and ŋ.
On Windows, in Microsoft Word or WordPad, type the code and press AltX: 025B gives ɛ, 0190 Ɛ, 0254 ɔ, 0186 Ɔ, 014B ŋ, 014A Ŋ and 0294 ʔ. On a Mac, open the Character Viewer with ControlCommandSpace and search for "open e", "open o", "eng" or "Latin letter glottal stop". In HTML, write ɛ for ɛ, ɔ for ɔ, ŋ for ŋ and ʔ for ʔ.
Watch the look-alikes: ɛ is not the Greek ε, and Ɔ is not a reversed C (Ↄ). Only the characters in this grid sort, search and spell-check as Senoufo letters.
Where the Senoufo language is spoken
Cebaara is the language of the Senoufo heartland of northern Côte d’Ivoire, centred on Korhogo, the capital of the Poro Region, and the towns and villages around it. Unicode’s CLDR estimates about 1.3 million speakers. Other Senoufo languages are spoken further east and north: Nyarafolo around Ferkessédougou, Supyire, Mamara and Syenara in Mali, and more in Burkina Faso.
The Senoufo are known far beyond Côte d’Ivoire for their art: the masks and sculpture of the Poro society, the hornbill figure collectors call the Senufo bird, carved stools and beds, and the painted cotton cloth sold as toile de Korhogo. Their balafon music, shared with Senoufo communities in Mali and Burkina Faso, is on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage.
French is the official language of Côte d’Ivoire, and Dioula (Dyula) is the market language heard in Korhogo next to Cebaara. Related collections: Dyula, Baoulé and Dan for the country’s other large languages, French, and Côte d’Ivoire for the flag and the country’s emoji. Prices are written in West African CFA francs (XOF), commonly abbreviated FCFA: 5 000 FCFA.
How to use them
5 situationsClick to copySenoufo (Cebaara) Alphabet combos
7Worth knowing
- Senoufo is a cluster of languages, not a single one: Cebaara around Korhogo, Nyarafolo around Ferkessédougou, Supyire and Mamara in Mali, and Nafaanra as far east as Ghana.
- Linguists have long argued over where the Senoufo languages belong: they were once grouped with the Gur languages of Burkina Faso and Ghana, but many now treat them as a separate branch of Niger-Congo.
- The "Senufo bird" of museum catalogues is a hornbill figure, carved for the Poro society, and one of the best-known images of West African sculpture.
Questions people ask
6What language do the Senoufo speak?
A family of related Senoufo languages. In Côte d’Ivoire the largest is Cebaara, also called Senari, spoken around Korhogo by an estimated 1.3 million people; others are spoken in Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana. Many speakers also use French or Dioula.
What is the Senoufo alphabet?
Cebaara is written in the Latin script; its special letters are Ɛ ɛ, Ɔ ɔ and Ŋ ŋ. It spells the palatal nasal ny and writes the glottal stop ʔ; q and x are not used. Long vowels are written double.
Where is the Senoufo language spoken in Côte d'Ivoire?
In the north, centred on Korhogo and the Poro Region. Other Senoufo languages are spoken around Ferkessédougou and across the borders in Mali and Burkina Faso.
How to type ɛ on keyboard?
In Word, type 025B and press AltX (0190 gives Ɛ). In HTML use ɛ. On a phone, use a West African keyboard or copy ɛ from this page.
How to type ɔ?
In Word, type 0254 and press AltX (0186 gives Ɔ). In HTML use ɔ. On a phone, use a West African keyboard or copy ɔ from this page.
Is ɲ the same as ñ?
They represent the same palatal nasal sound but are different characters: ɲ is the IPA letter for that sound, while ñ is the Spanish letter n with tilde. Cebaara writes the sound as ny.
