Wali language (Gur)

Wali
Waali, Waale, Waalii
Native toGhana
RegionUpper West Region, Northern Region
EthnicityWala
Native speakers
85,000 (2013)
Dialects
  • Fufula
  • Yeri Waali
  • Cherii
  • Bulengee
  • Dolimi
Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3wlx
Glottologwali1263

Wali (Waali, Waale, Waalii) is a Mabia or Gur language of Ghana that is spoken mainly in and nearby the town of Wa, the capital town of the Upper West Region, Ghana. In the Upper West Region, there are two predominant ethnic groups, the Mole Dagbon (75.7%) and the Grusi (18.4%). The Wala (16.3%) of the Mole Dagbon and the Sissala (16%) of the Grusi are the major subgroupings in the region.

The people of Wa are believed to have migrated from The Ancient Mali to settle in today's Wa, the western part of the Upper Region of Ghana.

On 14 October 2026, the Waali-language edition of Wikipedia went live.

Orthography

Wali is written in the Latin alphabet using three orthographies: by the Ghana Institute of Languages, by the Ghana Institute of Linguistics, Literacy and Bible Translation (GILLBT), and by the Baptist Mid-Missions. The Baptist Mid-Missions system uses the basic alphabet with the addition of the apostrophe to mark different vowel quality, and the other two systems use the special letters ε, ɩ, ɔ, ʋ, and ŋ.

References

  1. ↑ Wali at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023) Closed access icon
  2. 1 2 Abdul-Moomin, Abdul-Aziz (2015-01-01). ASPECTS OF WAALI PHONOLOGY (Thesis). doi:10.13140/RG.2.2.18741.23523.
  3. ↑ Faruk, Saeed A. (2020). Zanne fo kɔkɔre (dagaare / waale) (in Wali). Taufique and Brothers Secretarial Service.
  4. ↑ Wali language (Gur) at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  5. ↑ "Ghana Upper West Region".
  6. ↑ Tunsung, Zakaria; Asiya, Yaw tubaand Umar (2026-10-21). "Waali Language Goes Live on Wikipedia". Diff. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  7. ↑ "Waalii Dictionary » Phonology". Retrieved 2025-03-27.