Mooré

Mooré, also spelled Moré or More, is a Gur language of the Niger-Congo family spoken by the Mossi people in central Burkina Faso. It is the most widely spoken language in Burkina Faso after French and is used as a lingua franca in many communities. There are Mooré-speaking communities in neighboring countries and within diaspora populations.

Mooré belongs to the Oti-Volta branch of the Gur languages, within the Mossi cluster, and is related to other Moré varieties. It is commonly referred to as Mooré or Moré by speakers.

The language is primarily spoken in Burkina Faso, particularly in the central, eastern, and northern regions around the capital. Estimates place the number of speakers in the millions. Mooré has official recognition as a national language of Burkina Faso and is used in local media and education at various levels, alongside the official language, French.

Linguistic features and writing system: Mooré is a tonal language with nasal vowels and other phonological distinctions typical of West African languages. It is written using a Latin-based script, with standardized orthography used in education, literature, and media.

See also: Mossi people; Burkina Faso; Dioula language.