Baoulé (native name: wawle), also known as Baule or Bawule, is a language spoken in central and southern Ivory Coast, including in the regions of Lacs, Lagunes, Gôh-Djiboua, Sassandra-Marahoué, Vallée du Bandama, Woroba, and Yamoussoukro, by approximately 5.3 million people. It is a Kwa language of the Central Tano branch, forming a dialect continuum with Anyin and closely related to Nzema and Sehwi. It is the common language of the Baoulé people, the largest ethnic group in Ivory Coast.

Translations of the Bible

In 1946, portions of the Bible translated into Baoulé were first published; the full New Testament followed in 1953. The complete Bible was published first in 1998, by the Bible Society in Abidjan.

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

Of these vowels, five may be nasalized: /ĩ/, /ɛ̃/, /ã/, /ũ/, and /ɔ̃/.

Tones

Baoulé has five tones: high, low, mid, rising, and falling.

Orthography

Baoulé uses the following letters to indicate the following phonemes: