# Farefare language

Farefare or Frafra, also known by the regional name of Gurenne (Gurene), is a Niger–Congo language spoken by the Frafra people of northern Ghana, particularly the Upper East Region, and southern Burkina Faso. It is a national language of Ghana, and is closely related to Dagbani and other languages of Northern Ghana, and also related to Mossi, also known as Mooré, the national language of Burkina Faso.
Frafra consists of three principal dialects, Gurenɛ (also written Gurunɛ, Gudenne, Gurenne, Gudeni, Zuadeni), Nankani (Naane, Nankanse, Ninkare), and Boone. Nabit and Talni have been mistakenly reported to be Frafra dialects.

## Names

The general and accepted name for the language is Farefare or Frafra. The varieties in Ghana are usually called "Gurene", and those in Burkina-Faso are called "Ninkare".

## Orthography

The Frafra language uses the letters of the Latin alphabet except for c, j, q, x, and with the addition of ɛ, ɩ, ŋ, ɔ, and ʋ. The tilde is used for showing nasalization in Burkina Faso, but in Ghana it is shown using the letter n. The two nasal vowels /ɛ̃/ and /ɔ̃/ are spelt with ẽ and õ respectively. All long nasal vowels only get their tilde written on the first letter.
Acute, grave, circumflex, caron, and macron are sometimes used in grammar books to indicate tone, but not in general-purpose texts. The apostrophe is used to indicate the glottal stop.
Examples of Gurunɛ orthography :
| Sound | Representation | Example | Meaning |
| /a/ | a | ya /ja/ | houses |
| /a:/ | aa | gaarɛ /ga:ɹɛ/ | a type of bean cake |
| /ɛ/ | ɛ | ɛkɛ /ɛkɛ/ | to fly |
| /e/ | e | zoore /zo:ɹe:/ | mountain/hill |
| /ɛ̃/ | ẽ | tẽŋa | city |
| /ɪ/ | ɩ | taablɩ /ta:blɪ/ | table (French borrowing) |
| /i/ | i | piika /pi:ka/ | little |
| /ɔ/ | ɔ | ɔɔrɔ /ɔ:ɹɔ/ | cold |
| /o/ | o | toma toma /to:.ma.to:.ma/ | a greeting similar to "hi" |
| /ʊ/ | ʋ | teebʋl /te:bʊl/ | table (English borrowing) |
| /u/ | uu | buulika /bu:lika/ | morning |

## Phonology
### Consonants

Frafra has a system of 17 phonemes (or 19, counting /ɣ/, an allophone of /g/, and /ɾ/, an allophone of /d/):
| | | Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |
| Plosive | fortis | p | t | k | ʔ |
| Plosive | lenis | b | d | ɡ | ʔ |
| Tap | | | (ɾ) | | |
| Fricative | fortis | f | s | | h |
| Fricative | lenis | v | z | (ɣ) | h |
| Approximant | Approximant | w | j | | |
The sound /ŋ/ appears in front of some words starting with /w/, leading them to change into the /j/ sound. /h/ only appears in loanwords, exclamations, and as an allophone of /f/. An example of both of these sound changes are weefo and yeho (both meaning "horse"). The only consonants Frafra words may end in are the two nasals /m/ and /n/.

#### Glottal stop

Glottal stops appear at the initial vowel of a word, but are not transcribed. Word-medially, vowel nasalization continues over the glottal stop. In rapid speech, the glottal stop is usually dropped, similar to how vowel hiatus gets dropped in Spanish.
Word medial glottal stops must be marked in writing.

#### Allophones
##### Allophones of /r/

[d] and [ɾ] are two phonetic realizations of the same phoneme. [d] occurs at the beginning of words, and [ɾ] is its counterpart everywhere else.

##### Allophones of /g/

[ɣ] is an allophone of /g/ that occurs after certain vowels. It is mostly written "g." Usage of the letter "ɣ" is quite rare.

##### Allophones of /j/

[ɲ] is an allophone of /j/ that occurs before a nasal vowel. It is always written as "y."

#### Sandhi

This section will describe all the morpho-phonological sandhi processes that affect Frafra.

##### Nasals

Nasal consonants undergo assimilation, coalescence, and elision.

###### Assimilation at Point of Articulation

Nasals assimilate to the point of articulation of the occlusive the proceed.
* /m/ goes before /p/ and /b/
* /n/ goes before /t/ and /d/
* /ŋ/ goes before /k/

###### Coalescence

When a nasal is followed by /g/, the two consonants amalgamate.
* /n/ + /g/ = /ŋ/
This rule does not apply to compound words (e.g. tẽŋgãnnɛ "sacred land") or loanwards (e.g. maŋgo "mango")

###### Elision

Nasals disappear when they go before /f/
* /m/ + /f/ = /f/
* /n/ + /f/ = /f/

##### Stops

Two voiced stops become their unvoiced form. Remember that [ɾ] is the word-medial allophone of /d/
* /g/ + /g/ = /k/
* /r/ + /r/ = /t/

#### Sonorants
##### Vibrant assimilation

Vibrant consonants, also called taps, assimilate to a preceding lateral or nasal.
* /l/ + /r/ = /ll/
* /n/ + /r/ = /nn/
* /m/ + /r/ = either /nn/ or /mn/

##### Lateral assimilation

* /n/ + /l/ = /nn/
* /m/ + /l/ = /nn/

##### Combination of these processes

C designates any consonant, and N designates any nasal.
* Cm + r = Cn
* Cl + r = Cl

### Vowels

Frafra has 9 oral vowels and 5 nasal vowels.
| | Front | Front | Central | Back | Back |
| | lax | tense | Central | lax | tense |
| Close | ɪ | i, ĩ | | ʊ | u, ũ |
| Mid | ɛ, ɛ̃ | e | | ɔ, ɔ̃ | o |
| Open | | | a, ã | | |
| Diphthongs | | | | | |
All Frafra vowels have a long form.

#### Vowel harmony

Like many Mande languages, Frafra features vowel harmony. When suffixes are added to word roots, the vowel in the root selects whether the suffix will use the tense or lax form. The exception is suffixes ending in "-a" because /a/ is neutral in Frafra, meaning that it is only one form. Prefixes do not exist in Frafra.

##### Where all vowels must be in harmony

In disyllabic words, both vowels are always in harmony. The same applies in vowel sequences.

##### Mid vowels

The lax vowel -a in noun and verb endings will change the tense vowels /e/ and /o/ to lax vowels /ɛ/ and /ɔ/.

##### Close vowels

When a suffix's vowel is close, and stem's vowel is close and tense, it causes the suffix's vowel to become tense.
For example, the locative postposition "-ʋm" becomes "-um" after the vowels /i/, /ĩ/, /u/, and /ũ/.
* pʋʋrɛ ("belly") > pʋʋrʋm ("inside the belly")
* nifo ("eye") > nifum ("inside the eye")
However, tense vowels that are not close do not affect "ʋm". Therefore poore ("back") becomes poorʋm ("behind").
The particle "nɩ," which goes after a verbs to mark the incomplete aspect, becomes "ni" after /i/, /ĩ/, /u/, and /ũ/.

## Grammar
### Tone

Gurenɛ marks a high and a low tone. Changes in tone have an impact on either the lexical or grammatical function of a particular word.

#### Lexical Function

With low tones the word becomes a verb, whereas with high tones it is a noun.
vàlèŋà
vàlèŋà
„waist bead.“
váléŋá
váléŋá
„spider“

#### Grammatical Function

The low tone on the preverbal tense marker wà indicates future, while the high tone on the same element indicates aspect.
Átáŋá
Ataŋa
wà
FUT
nyù
drink
kò'òm
water
lá.
DEF
Átáŋá wà nyù kò'òm lá.
Ataŋa FUT drink water DEF
„Ataŋa will drink the water.“
Átáŋá
Ataŋa
wá
ASP
nyù
drink
kò'òm
water
lá.
DEF
Átáŋá wá nyù kò'òm lá.
Ataŋa ASP drink water DEF
„Ataŋa definitely drank the water.“

### Noun Classes

Nouns in Gurunɛ have different "classes" with regard to plurals:
Frafra Plurals :
| Genre | Class #s (sg./pl.) | Singular | Plural | Examples | Meaning |
| 1st | 1 / 2 | -a | -ba | nẽra > nẽrba | person > people |
| 1st | 1 / 2 | -a | -dõma | dɛɛma > dɛɛndõma naba > na'adõma yaaba > yaabdõma | in-law(s) chief(s) ancestor(s) |
| 1st | Loanwords | | -dõma | ãnkɔra > ãnkɔrdõma biki > bikidõma nõtɩ > nõtɩdõma sɛɛtɛ > sɛɛtɛdõma | water barrel(s) [Twi] ballpoint pen(s) [French] nut(s) [English] shirt(s) [English] |
| 2nd | 3 / 4 | -a | -sɩ | tɩa > tɩɩsɩ | tree(s) |
| 2nd | 3 / 4 | -ga | -sɩ | yɩbga > yɩbsɩ | younger sibling(s) |
| 3rd | 5 / 6 | -go | -ro | boko > bogro võogɔ > võorɔ wɔbgɔ > wɔbrɔ | hole(s) leaf > leaves elephant(s) |
| 3rd | 5 / 6 | -go | -to | deego > deto zuugo > zuto | room(s) / hut(s) / house(s) head(s) |
| 3rd | 5 / 6 | -ko | -gro | bɔkɔ > bɔgrɔ | shoulder(s) |
| 3rd | 5 / 6 | -lgo | -llo | bakolgo > bakollo | soothsayer's fetish(es) |
| 3rd | 5 / 6 | -ŋo | -nno | Filippiŋɔ > Filippinno sõŋɔ > sõnnɔ Tɩntɩŋɔ > Tɩntɩnnɔ | island in the Philippines > The Philippines mat(s) one of the Netherlands > The Netherlands |
| 4th | 7/8 | -le (if the stem ends in /l/) | -a | wille > wila zelle > zɛla | branch(es) egg(s) |
| 4th | 7/8 | -ne (if the stem ends in /m/ or /n/) | -a | bẽmnɛ > bẽma dũnne > dũma gɩgnɛ > gɩgma kãnnɛ > kãna mã'anɛ > mã'ana yẽnnɛ > yẽna | calabash drum(s) knee(s) lion(s) spear(s) piece(s) of okra tooth > teeth |
| 4th | 7/8 | -re | -a | busre > busa dĩire > dĩa gere > gɛa kũure > kũa loore > lɔa nõorɛ > nõa pʋʋrɛ > pʋa sore > sɔa sũure > sũa tʋbrɛ > tʋba | yam(s) forehead(s) thigh(s) hoe(s) vehicle(s) mouth(s) belly > bellies road(s) / trail(s) heart(s) ear(s) |
| 4th | 7/8 | -te (if the stem ends in /r/) | -a | tagtɛ > tagra watɛ > wara watɛ > wara | sandal(s) brick(s) cloud(s) |
| 5th (stem vowels change) | 9/10 | -fo | -i | lagfɔ > ligri mu'ufo > mũi naafɔ - niigi nifo > nini weefo/yeho > wiiri/yiri yoofo > yũuni | cowry shell > money rice grain > rice bovine(s) eye(s) horse(s) shea nut(s) |
| 5th (stem vowels change) | 9/10 | -fo | - | sĩfo > sĩm zũfo > zũma | bee(s) fish(es) |
| 6th (mostly animals and diminutives) | 11/12 | -la | -nto | bʋdibla > bʋdimto bʋtɩla > bʋtɩtɔ kɩɩla > kɩɩntɔ niila > niinto pɩɩla > pɩɩntɔ pugla > pugunto | boy(s) billy goat(s) guinea fowl(s) chick(s) lamb(s) girl(s) |
| (No distinction between plural and singular) | Class 13 | -bo | -bo | kɩ'ɩbɔ bo'obo / bɔ'a | soap gift |
| Uncountable nouns | Class 14 | -m | -m | bɛglʋm bĩ'isũm dãam dabeem dõndʋ'ʋrʋm gẽem ɩɩlʋm kaam ko'om kɔm kũm mẽelʋm nõŋlʋm nõtõorʋm tɩɩm valʋm yaarʋm yɛm zẽem zɩɩm zom | mud breastmilk beer, alcohol fear urine sleep milk oil water hunger death dew love saliva medicine, remedy shame salt intelligence potash blood flour |

### Pronouns

Source:

#### Personal Pronouns

| Person | Subject/Possessor | Object | Emphatic | | | |
| | SG | PL | SG | PL | SG | PL |
| 1st | ma/n | tu | ma | tu | mam | tumam |
| 2nd | fu | ya | fu | ya | fum | yamam |
| 3rd | a | ba | e | ba | eŋa | bamam |

#### Emphatic Pronouns

Only emphatic pronouns can appear in focus positions, whereas all other pronouns cannot appear in those positions. Emphatic pronouns are used in exclusive contexts, in which the speaker indicates that only one thing is true and not the other.
Mam
1SG.EMPH
ti
FOC
a
1SG
dikɛ
take
bo.
give
Mam ti a dikɛ bo.
1SG.EMPH FOC 1SG take give
„It is me that he gave it to.“
Yamam
2PL.EMPH
n
FOC
sagum
destroy
loore
lorry
lá.
DEF
Yamam n sagum loore lá.
2PL.EMPH FOC destroy lorry DEF
„It is you guys (not us) who destroyed the lorry.“

#### Reciprocal Pronoun

The reciprocal pronoun is taaba and occurs postverbally.
Budaa
man
lá
DEF
pɔka
woman
lá
DEF
nɔŋɛ
love
taaba
RECP
mɛ.
FOC
Budaa lá pɔka lá nɔŋɛ taaba mɛ.
man DEF woman DEF love RECP FOC
„The man and the woman love each other.“

#### Reflexive Pronouns

To form a reflexive pronoun in Gurenɛ the morphem -miŋa for singular or -misi for plural is attached to a particular personal pronoun. While in other Gur languages, the reflexive morphem is not sensitive to number, in Gurenɛ there exist two forms, one for each number.
| Person | Reflexive Morphem SG | Personal Pronoun SG | Reflexive Pronoun SG | Reflexive Morphem PL | Personal Pronoun PL | Reflexive Pronoun PL |
| 1st | -miŋa | n | nmiŋa | -misi | tu | tumisi |
| 2nd | -miŋa | fu | fumiŋa | -misi | ya | yamisi |
| 3rd | -miŋa | a | amiŋa | -misi | ba | bamisi |
Amaa
but
mami
1SG
daa
PST
guri
hold.PST
nmiŋa.
1SG.REFL
Amaa mami daa guri nmiŋa.
but 1SG PST hold.PST 1SG.REFL
„But I restrained myself.“
Ba
3PL
ka
NEG
le
again
ŋmɛ
beat
bamisi.
3PL.REFL
Ba ka le ŋmɛ bamisi.
3PL NEG again beat 3PL.REFL
„They will not beat themselves again.“

#### Relative Pronouns

There are two relative pronouns, ti and n. The former relativizes subjects, while the latter is used to relativize objects. Both pronouns are not sensitive to number or animacy, while this is the case in other Gur languages such as Dagbani for instance.
Budaa
man
lá
DEF
n
REL
wa'am
come
kalam
here
de
COP
là
FOC
ma
1SG
sɔ.
father
Budaa lá n wa'am kalam de là ma sɔ.
man DEF REL come here COP FOC 1SG father
„The man who came here is my father.“
Budaa
man
lá
DEF
ti
REL
fu
2SG
nyɛ
see
là
FOC
de
COP
là
FOCɛ
ma
1SG
sɔ.
father
Budaa lá ti fu nyɛ là de là ma sɔ.
man DEF REL 2SG see FOC COP FOCɛ 1SG father
„The man that you saw is my father.“

#### Interrogative Pronouns

Interrogative pronouns can either occur sentence-initially or sentence-finally.
Ani
who
n
FOC
di
eat.PFV
dia
food
lá?
DEF
Ani n di dia lá?
who FOC eat.PFV food DEF
„Who ate the food?“
Sukuu
school
kɔma
children
lá
DEF
siŋɛ
do
là
FOC
bɛ?
where
Sukuu kɔma lá siŋɛ là bɛ?
school children DEF do FOC where
„Where did the students go?“
Beni
what
dia
food
ti
that
ba
3PL
kɔɔsa
sell
da'a?
market
Beni dia ti ba kɔɔsa da'a?
what food that 3PL sell market
„What food are they selling at the market?“
Naafu
cow
lá
DEF
de
COP
là
FOC
alɛ?
how.much
Naafu lá de là alɛ?
cow DEF COP FOC how.much
„How much is the price of the cow?“

#### Demonstrative Pronouns

Each demonstrative pronoun refers to a single noun class.
| Number | Gurenɛ | Gloss |
| SG | ina (CL1) | that/this |
| | kana (CL4) | that/this |
| | dina (CL5) | that/this |
| | kuna (CL7) | that/this |
| PL | bana (CL2) | these/those |
| | sina (CL4) | these/those |
| | tuna (CL8) | these/those |
| | buna (CL9) | these/those |

## Syntax
### Word Order

The word order in Gurenɛ is strictly SVO.
N
1SG
wan
FUT
kule
go.home
beere.
tomorrow
N wan kule beere.
1SG FUT go.home tomorrow
„I will go home tomorrow.“
Dɔgeta
doctor
lá
DEF
wan
FUT
lu
inject
ma.
1SG
Dɔgeta lá wan lu ma.
doctor DEF FUT inject 1SG
„The doctor will inject me.“
À
3SG
bo
give
ma
1SG
ligeri
money
lá.
DEF
À bo ma ligeri lá.
3SG give 1SG money DEF
„S/he gave me the money.“

### Verb Phrase

The verb phrase (VP) consists of pre- and postverbal particles surrounding the verb. Preverbal particles encode aspect, tense, negation, and mood, such as imperative and conditional. Postverbal particles also encode aspect and tense, but in addition to that they can also encode focus. The order of particles within the VP is strictly organized as shown below. Moreover, the maximal amount of pre- and postverbal particles is also strictly defined. There can be at maximum five preverbal and two postverbal particles within one clause in Gurenɛ.
Time > Tense > Conditional > Aspectual > Future > Negation > Emphatic > Epistemic > Purpose > Verb > Tense > Focus/Affirmative/Completive/Directional
Nɛreba
people
lá
DEF
zaamtext$_1$
yesterday
nyaa$_2$
then
kɔ'ɔm$_3$
just
sirum$_4$
surely
ta$_5$
in.order
iŋɛ
do
ba'asum$_1$
certainly
gaŋɛ
more
mɛ$_2$.
AFF
Nɛreba lá zaamtext$_1$ nyaa$_2$ kɔ'ɔm$_3$ sirum$_4$ ta$_5$ iŋɛ ba'asum$_1$ gaŋɛ mɛ$_2$.
people DEF yesterday then just surely in.order do certainly more AFF
„The people yesterday certainly did more than what was just expected.“

#### Particles

There are a lot of particles in Gurenɛ, such that the total number is not fully clear. The following table provides an overview of the most common particles.
| Aspect | Gurenɛ |
| now, after this | nyaa |
| in a determined way | wa |
| intention | ta |
| an action/event still lasts | naŋ |
| only | kɔ'ɔm |
| even | pugum |
| again | le |
| already | pìlum |
| just | kɔ'ɔm |
| rather | tugum |
| necessairly | yɛrum |
| instead | yi |
| ever | tabelɛ |
| as usual | ya'am |
| habitual | ná |
| Tense | |
| past | daa |
| two days ago | daarɛ |
| three days ago | datata |
| years ago | yuum |
| the next day | dagi |
| Imperative | |
| must | ta |
| need | wa |
| Conditional | |
| if | san |

#### Verb

The verb in Gurenɛ consists of an obligatory stem or root, that can take one or more morphemes. Verbs appear either in the perfective or imperfective form, depending on its aspect. The perfective expresses actions in the present, whereas the imperfective denotes actions in the past or progressive.
| Root/Stem/Infinitive | | Perfective -ri | Imperfective -ra |
| | | (single) closed event | open event |
| Gurenɛ | Gloss | follows Object/Adverb | follows Pronominal |
| nyu | drink | nyuuri | nyuura |
| da' | buy | da'ari | da'ara |
| lebe | return | leberi | lebera |
| dikɛ | take | dikɛri | dikɛra |
| pagesɛ | imitate | pagesɛri | pagesɛra |
| pa'alɛ | teach | pa'ali | pa'ala |
| di | eat | diti | dita |
| darɛ | disturb | dati | data |
| parɛ | be a lot | pati | pata |
| kiŋɛ | go | kini | kina |
| siŋɛ | walk | sini | sina |
| sigum | come down | sigeni | sigena |

### Question Formation

There are several ways of forming a question in Gurenɛ, but importantly the strict word order SVO is always to obey.

#### Ex situ

In subject questions the question word occurs as the first element of the clause and can either function as the subject or as the agent of the clause.
Ani
who
n
FOC
tum?
work.PFV
Ani n tum?
who FOC work.PFV
„Who worked?“
Ani
who
n
FOC
tun-i?
work-IPFV
Ani n tun-i?
who FOC work-IPFV
„Who is working?“

#### In situ

In general, questions are formed by raising intonation of the final tone. Questions without an explicit question word have a clause-final question marker -ì.
Fʊ
2SG
nyɛ
see
ʔí-ì?
3SG-Q
Fʊ nyɛ ʔí-ì?
2SG see 3SG-Q
„Did you see him?“
Fʊ
2SG
n
FOC
nyɛ
see
ʔí.
3SG
Fʊ n nyɛ ʔí.
2SG FOC see 3SG
„You saw him.“

#### Embedded

Questions can be embedded and are then preceded by the complementizer tí.
Má
1SG
m
FOC
sokè
ask
ʔì
3SG
tí
SUBR
3SG
3SG
nyɛ
see
Ádʊŋɔ.
Adongo
Má m sokè ʔì tí 3SG nyɛ Ádʊŋɔ.
1SG FOC ask 3SG SUBR 3SG see Adongo
„I asked him whether he had seen Adongo.“
Má
1SG
m
FOC
sokè
ask
ʔì
3SG
lá-à
TOP-Q
ánɪ
whom
tì
SUBR
à
3SG
nyɛ-ɛ`.
see-Q
Má m sokè ʔì lá-à ánɪ tì à nyɛ-ɛ`.
1SG FOC ask 3SG TOP-Q whom SUBR 3SG see-Q
„I asked him whom he saw.“

#### Multiple Questions

Question can also be formed by more than one question word. In these cases one question word occurs ex situ and the other(s) in situ. Again, a question word can only appear ex situ, if it replaces the subject or agent of the clause.
Ani
who
n
FOC
da
buy.PFV
(*là)
FOC
beni?
what
Ani n da (*là) beni?
who FOC buy.PFV FOC what
„Who bought what?“
*Beni
what
ti
FOC
ani
who
da?
buy.PFV
*Beni ti ani da?
what FOC who buy.PFV
„*What bought who?“
Napari
Napari
*(n)
FOC
da
buy.PFV
yire.
house
Napari *(n) da yire.
Napari FOC buy.PFV house
„Napari bought a house..“

#### Long distance extraction

Question words in Gurenɛ can also cross clause boundaries, such that they originated in the embedded clause and have been fronted to the clause-initial position.
Beni
what
ti
FOC
Ama
Ama
soke
ask
ti
SUBR
John
John
kõregɛ
slaughter
ya
COMPL
*(là).
FOC
Beni ti Ama soke ti John kõregɛ ya *(là).
what FOC Ama ask SUBR John slaughter COMPL FOC
„What did Ama ask that John slaughtered?“
Beni
what
ti
FOC
Ama
Ama
spoke
ask
ti
SUBR
John
John
kõregɛ-ri/-*ra
slaughter-IPFV
ya
COMPL
*(là)?
FOC
Beni ti Ama spoke ti John kõregɛ-ri/-*ra ya *(là)?
what FOC Ama ask SUBR John slaughter-IPFV COMPL FOC
„What did Ama ask that John is slaughtering?“
Beni
what
ti
FOC
Ama
Ama
bɔta
want
ti
SUBR
John
John
kõregɛ?
slaughter
Beni ti Ama bɔta ti John kõregɛ?
what FOC Ama want SUBR John slaughter
„What did Ama ask that John slaughtered?“

## Greetings

| Gurunɛ | Phonetic | English |
| Bulika | /bulika/ | morning (Greeting in the morning) |
| Wuntɛɛŋa | /wʊn.tɛ:.ŋa/ | sun (Greeting around noon) |
| Zaanuurɛ | /za:jʋɻɛ/ | Evening (Greeting in the evening) |
| Zaare | /za:r̝e/ | Welcome |
| Tooma Tooma | /to:.ma.to:.ma/ | a greeting similar to "Hello" (every time of the day) |
| Nambaa | /ˈnaːm.ba:/ | Response to these greetings |

## Geography

Continents :
| English | Gurunɛ |
| Africa | Afrika |
| America | Amerika |
| Antarctica | Antartika |
| Asia | Asia |
| Australia | Australia |
| Europe | Europa |
| Oceania | Okeania |
Solemitẽŋa means "land of the white man" and is used to refer to all non-African countries.
Soleminɛ is theoretically referring to all non-African languages, however it is only used to refer to English.