Bambara

American  

[bahm-bahr-ah, -bahr-uh] / bɑmˈbɑr ɑ, -ˈbɑr ə /

noun

1. a Mande language that is used as a trade language in the upper Niger drainage basin in Africa.

2. a member of an agricultural, Mande-speaking people of Mali.

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Bambara British  

/ bɑːmˈbɑːrə /

noun

1. a member of a Negroid people of W Africa living chiefly in Mali and by the headwaters of the River Niger in Guinea

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Mande branch of the Niger-Congo family

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Example Sentences

Djigui - whose name means "hope" in Mali's Bambara language - said he had been called "gorilla" and "monkey" by police officers during ID checks.

From BBC

The lyrics, in Bambara and English, are about gratitude to her family; the spirit is centered and fierce.

From New York Times

Koité’s songs, with lyrics in Bambara, French and occasionally English, are built on rippling African polyrhythms, but such lilting tunes as “Baro” also feature vocal harmonies akin to California folk rock.

From Washington Post

Back in the hall, many audience members agreed that the manuscripts could help bring peace, but some pointed out that translations into languages spoken by more Malians, like Bambara, would be more useful than French.

From New York Times

“What Sheikh Omar Tall did to bring peace to Borno and Sokoto — people from Segou can use these same tactics to talk to people from Mopti, and Bandiagara, and so on,” his descendant said, referring to areas of Mali, and switching between French and Bambara, the country’s most widely spoken language.

From New York Times