# Dan language

Dan /ˈdæn/ is a Southern Mande language spoken primarily in Ivory Coast (~800,000 speakers) and Liberia (150,000–200,000 speakers). There is also a population of about 800 speakers in Guinea. Dan is a tonal language, with 9 to 11 contour and register tones, depending on the dialect.
Alternative names for the language include Yacouba or Yakubasa, Gio, Gyo, Gio-Dan, and Da. Dialects are Gio (Liberian Dan), Gweetaawu (Eastern Dan), Blowo (Western Dan), and Kla. Kla is evidently a distinct language.

## Phonology
### Vowels

Vowels$^{:451}$ :
| | Front | Central | Central | Back | Back |
| | Front | Unrd. | Rnd. | Unrd. | Rnd. |
| Close | i | | | ɯ | u |
| Near-close | ɪ | | | ɯ̽ | ʊ |
| Close-mid | e | | ɵ | ɤ | o |
| Mid | | ə | | | |
| Open-mid | ɛ | | | ʌ | ɔ |
| Open | æ | | | ɑ | ɒ |
| Syllabic | | ŋ̍ | ŋ̍ | | |
* 1 2 3 Only in Eastern Dan when in the position of extra-high tone
* 1 2 Only in Liberian Dan
Nasal sounds in Eastern Dan$^{:451}$ :
| | Front | Back | Back |
| | Front | Unrd. | Rnd. |
| Close | ĩ | ɯ̃ | ũ |
| Open-mid | ɛ̃ | ʌ̃ | ɔ̃ |
| Open | æ̃ | ɑ̃ | ɒ̃ |

### Consonants

Consonants$^{:451}$ :
| | | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Velar | Labial- velar | Glottal |
| | | Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | plain | lab. | Labial- velar | Glottal |
| Nasal | Nasal | m | n | ɲ | ŋ | ŋʷ | ŋ͡m | |
| Plosive | voiceless | p | t | | k | kʷ | k͡p | |
| Plosive | voiced | b | d | | ɡ | ɡʷ | ɡ͡b | |
| Implosive | Implosive | ɓ | ɗ | | | | | |
| Fricative | voiceless | f | s | | x | | | h |
| Fricative | voiced | v | z | | | | | |
| Approximant | Approximant | | | j | | w | | |
| Lateral | Lateral | | l | | | | | |
| Trill | Trill | | (r) | | | | | |
* ↑ Not in Liberian Dan
* ↑ Only in Liberian Dan
* ↑ Not in Western Dan
* /l/ is heard as [r] when preceded by alveolar or palatal consonants.
* Consonant combinations /sl, zl/ are heard as lateral fricative sounds [ɬ, ɮ].

## Writing system

The orthography of Liberia includes this alphabet:
Dan alphabet (Liberia) :
| A | B | Ɓ | D | Ɗ | E | Ɛ | F | G | GB | H | I | K | KP | KW | L | M | N | NW | NY | Ŋ | O | Ɔ | Ə | Ɵ | P | R | S | T | U | Ɥ | V | W | X | Y | Z |
| a | b | ɓ | d | ɗ | e | ɛ | f | g | gb | h | i | k | kp | kw | l | m | n | nw | ny | ŋ | o | ɔ | ə | ɵ | p | r | s | t | u | ɥ | v | w | x | y | z |
| IPA value ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| a | b | ɓ | d | ɗ | e | ɛ | f | ɡ | ɡ͡b | h | i | k | k͡p | kʷ | l | m | n | ŋʷ | ɲ | ŋ | o | ɔ | ə | ɵ | p | r | s | t | u | ɯ | v | w | x | j | z |
Dan West alphabet (Côte d'Ivoire) :
| A | AƆ | B | BH | D | DH | E | Ɛ | Ë | ƐA | F | G | GB | GW | I | K | KP | KW | L | M | N | NG | O | Ɔ | Ö | P | R | S | T | U | Ü | V | W | Y | Z |
| a | aɔ | b | bh | d | dh | e | ɛ | ë | ɛa | f | g | gb | gw | i | k | kp | kw | l | m | n | ng | o | ɔ | ö | p | r | s | t | u | ü | v | w | y | z |
| IPA value |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| a | ɒ | b | ɓ | d | ɗ | e | ɛ | ʌ | æ | f | ɡ | ɡ͡b | gʷ | i | k | k͡p | kʷ | l | m | n | ŋ | o | ɔ | ɤ | p | r | s | t | u | ɯ | v | w | j | z |
Dan East alphabet (Côte d'Ivoire), 1982 :
| A | AƆ | B | BH | D | DH | E | Ë | Ɛ | ƐA | F | G | GB | GW | H | I | Ɩ | K | KP | KW | L | M | N | O | Ö | Ɔ | P | R | S | T | U | Ü | Ʋ | Ʋ̈ | V | W | Y | Z |
| a | aɔ | b | bh | d | dh | e | ë | ɛ | ɛa | f | g | gb | gw | h | i | ɩ | k | kp | kw | l | m | n | o | ö | ɔ | p | r | s | t | u | ü | ʋ | ʋ̈ | v | w | y | z |
| IPA value ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| a | ɒ | b | ɓ | d | ɗ | e | ʌ | ɛ | æ | f | ɡ | ɡ͡b | gʷ | h | i | ɪ | k | k͡p | kʷ | l | m | n | o | ɤ | ɔ | p | r | s | t | u | ɯ | ʊ | ʉ | v | w | j | z |
Dan East alphabet (Côte d'Ivoire), 2014 :
| A | Œ | B | BH | D | DH | E | Ʌ | Ɛ | Æ | F | G | GB | GW | H | I | Ɩ | K | KP | KW | L | M | N | O | Ɤ | Ɔ | P | R | S | T | U | Ɯ | Ʋ | V | W | Y | Z |
| a | œ | b | bh | d | dh | e | ʌ | ɛ | æ | f | g | gb | gw | h | i | ɩ | k | kp | kw | l | m | n | o | ɤ | ɔ | p | r | s | t | u | ɯ | ʋ | v | w | y | z |
| IPA value ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| a | ɒ | b | ɓ | d | ɗ | e | ʌ | ɛ | æ | f | ɡ | ɡ͡b | ɡʷ | h | i | ɪ | k | k͡p | kʷ | l | m | n | o | ɤ | ɔ | p | r | s | t | u | ɯ | ʊ | v | w | j | z |
Tones are marked as follows: extra high tone: a̋; high tone: á; medium tone: ā; low tone: à; extra low tone: ȁ; high drop tone: â; extra low hanging tone: aʼ.
The digraphs ⟨bh, dh, gb gw, kp, kw⟩ keep the same values as in the spelling of 1982, and the nasal vowels are also indicated by appending the letter n after the letter of the vowel ⟨an, æn, ʌn, ɛn, in, ɔn, œn, un⟩.