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Looking to learn your language? (UPDATED!!)

welovewestafrica:

The following are good  free online language  resources for learning different languages spoken in West Africa. Feel free to add on to the list if you know of another resource to help people.

Yoruba

Yorùbá Yé Mi

UPenn Yoruba Vocabulary

I Love Languages- Yoruba

My Languages- Yoruba

University of Georgia- Yoruba

LearnYoruba.com

Yoruba- Basic Course/ Tapes

Hausa

Rapport Hausa Course

Headstart Hausa Course

UCLA Hausa Resources

Byki Hausa Vocabulary List

UPenn Hausa Vocabulary

Boston University Hausa Resources

I Love Languages- Hausa

Hausa Tapes

Hausa- Basic Course

Wolof

UCLA Wolof Resources

UPenn Wolof Vocabulary

Boston University Wolof Resources

LAAF Wolof Lessons

Indiana University Wolof Folktales and Songs

Indiana University Wolof Lessons

Twi

UPenn Twi Vocabulary

Akan Pronunciation Game (helps you learn the tones)

Some Vocabulary 

Twi Tapes

Peace Corps Twi

Indiana University Twi Folktales and Songs

Indiana University Twi Lessons

Igbo

UPenn Igbo Vocabulary

Igbo Net

Some Igbo Vocabulary 

I Love Languages- Igbo

Igbo- Basic Course

Mandinka

LAAF Mandinka lessons

Bambara 

LAAF Bambara lessons

Peace Corps Bambara

Indiana University Bambara Lessons

Indiana University Folktales and Songs in Bambara

Mooré

LAAF Mooré lessons

Mooré Tapes

Mooré Basic Course

Fula(ni)/ Pulaar

Fula- Basic Course

Ewe

Some Vocabulary 

Ewe Greetings and Basics

Bade

University of California Bade

Bole

University of California Bole

Duwai

University of California Duwai

Karekare

University of California Karekare

Maka

University of California Maka

Ngamo

University of California Ngamo

Ngizim

University of California Ngizim

Miya

University of California Miya

I added some additional websites as well as languages. Also I would like to state that is in no way meant to be a comprehensive list of all of the languages of west Africa. There are literally hundreds upon hundreds of languages and I cannot find resources for them all. I will keep adding to this list.

beautiesofafrique:

 CENTRAL AFRICA

Civilisations and Kingdoms

  • The Sao civilisation [1 2 3]
  • Kanem-Bornu Empire ( located in the present countries of Chad, Nigeria and Libya) [1 2 3 4
  • Baguirmi Kingdom [1 2
  • Wadai Empire or Sultanate [1 2
  • Lunda Kingdom [1 2 3]
  • Luba Kingdom [ 1 2 3 4]
  • Luba-Lunda states [1 2]
  • Kongo Kingdom [1 2]
  • Kingdom of Ndongo (also known as Kingdom of Angola) [1 2]

I recommend that you do deeper research, these sources are only meant for light reading. Also there were other Kingdoms which is not on the list

Popular Music

Angola: Angolan modern music has been shaped both by wider musical trends and by the political history of the country. It has been described as a mix of Congolese, Portuguese, and Brazilian music. while Angolan music has also influenced the music of the other Lusophone countries. Gneres include: Angolan Merengue, Kilapanda, Zouk, Semba, Kizomba and Kuduro and Rebita [x]

Cameroon: The best-known Music of the Cameroon is makossa, a popular style that has gained fans across Africa, and its related dance craze bikutsi. In the 1960s, modern makossa developed and became the most popular genre in Cameroon. Makossa is a type of funky dance music. In the 1990s, both makossa and bikutsi declined in popularity as a new wave of genres entered mainstream audiences. These included Congolese-influenced new rumba and makossa-soukous, as well as more native forms like bantowbol, northern Cameroonian nganja and an urban street music called bend-skin. [x]

Central African Republic: The music of the Central African Republic includes many different forms. Western rock and pop music, as well as Afrobeat, Soukous and other genres have become popular nation-wide. Popular music in the Central African Republic generally comes from the music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo or elsewhere in Africa; however, Latin, European and American pop are also common.[x]

Chad: Following independence, Chad, like most other African countries, quickly began producing some popular music, primarily in a style similar to the Soukous music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.Styles of Chadian popular music include Sai, which used rhythms from the southern part of Chad—this style was popularized by a group called Tibesti. Other bands include the Sahel’s International Challal and African Melody, while musicians include the Sudanese-music-influenced guitarist Ahmed Pecos and Chadian-French musician Clément Masdongar [x]

Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Congo: Music of the Democratic Republic of the Congo varies in its different forms. Outside of Africa, most music from the Democratic Republic of Congo is called Soukous. Soukous is a genre of dance music that originated from Cuban Rumba music in the Belgian Congo and French Congo during the 1940s and gained popularity throughout the two Congos. Soukous is known as Congo in West Africa and Lingala in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania after the Lingala language of the lyrics. In Zambia and Zimbabwe, where Congolese music is also influential, it is still usually referred to as Rumba. Today, it mixes the kwasa kwasa with the fast tempo zouk style and Congolese rumba. It is also an individual dance. “Soukous”, a derivative of the French word “secousse” – “to shake" was originally the name of a dance and music popular in the Congos in the late 1960s. From the 1940s, Afro-Cuban son groups such as Septeto Habanero and Trio Matamoros had been played over Radio Congo Belge in Léopoldville (Kinshasa), and the Congo shared the widespread popularity of Cuban music during the late 1940s and 1950s. To Africans, Cuban popular music sounded familiar.  and Congolese bands started doing Cuban covers, singing the lyrics phonetically. Eventually they created original compositions with lyrics in French or Lingala [x x]

Equatorial Guinea:  Pan-African styles like soukous and makossa are popular, as are reggae and rock and roll. Acoustic guitar bands based on a Spanish model are the country’s best-known indigenous popular tradition, especially national stars Desmali y su Grupo Dambo de la Costa.Other musicians from Equatorial Guinea include Malabo Strit Band, Luna Loca, Chiquitin, Dambo de la Costa, Ngal Madunga, Lily Afro and Spain-based exiles like Super Momo, Hijas del Sol and Baron Ya Buk-Lu. [x]

Gabon: The history of modern Gabonese music did not begin until about 1974, when the blind guitarist and singer Pierre Akendengué released his first album. He was classically trained in Europe, and his compositions reflect the influence of Western classical music. By the 1970s, he was at the forefront of a wave of popular Francophone African music stars. Imported rock and hip hop from the US and UK are popular in Gabon, as are rumba, makossa and soukous.[x]

São Tomé and Príncipe: São Toméans are known for ússua and socopé rhythms, while Principe is home to the dêxa beat. Portuguese ballroom dancing may have played an integral part in the development of these rhythms and their associated dances. [x]

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