Dioula
/ˈdʒuːlə/noun
Dioula is a Manding language of West Africa and a name for related Mande-speaking trading communities.
Did you know?Dioula developed as a major regional lingua franca because Mande-speaking traders used it across long-distance commercial networks, linking communities from the savanna to the forest zones.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial period
Mande
jula
“Merchant or trader; the source of the group and language name”
Medieval West Africa
Manding
jula
“A trader associated with the expanding Mande commercial networks”
18th–19th Century
Manding
dyula
“A Manding language and the people who spoke it, especially in trading communities”
19th Century
French
dioula
“French rendering of Dyula, used for the language and associated communities”
Modern English
English
Dioula
“A West African Manding language, also called Dyula or Jula”