The official language in Guinea is French. French is linguistically part of the Indo-European family of languages. It is famous for being a Romance Language. It derives its being from Latin whose alphabet consists of 26 letters. The French language has two orthographic ligatures as well as five diacritics. In Guinea, the French language is used as a language of instruction in schools. It is also the common mode of communication within the business circles, media houses, politics, and in government.


The vernacular languages spoken in Guinea include Fula (36%), Mandinka (37%), Susu (13%), Kissi (5%), Kpelle (5%), and others (5%). Most of the Mandinka speakers inhabit the eastern part of Guinea, especially around the Kankan and Kissidougou. On the other hand, most Fulas-also called Fulanis-live within the Futa Djallon region. The Susu speaking Guineans live near the capital Conakry and in other cities such as Kindia and Forecariah.

Some common Fula phrases include “Miyotti sosai" for "Thank you very much, “Mihofnima" for "Hello" and “Noi wakkati man?" to ask "What time is it?”

The minority languages spoken in Guinea make up about 14% of the population of Guinea. They include Zialo, Kissi, and Kpelle.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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