krx ISO 639

Kuloonaay Autonyms

Karon

  • Geography

    SN Ziguinchor region: Bignona department, Kafountine area and north; Kalisseye inlet to Casamance river, to Gambian border, east to Dioloulou; Karon islands.
  • Language Cloud

A language of Senegal

krx
Jola-Karone, Kaloon, Karone, Karoninka, Kouloonaay, Kulonay
Kuloonaay
11,600 in Senegal (2017), increasing. A few hundred elderly monolinguals. Total users in all countries: 22,400.
Ziguinchor region: Bignona department, Kafountine area and north; Kalisseye inlet to Casamance river, to Gambian border, east to Dioloulou; Karon islands.
Senegal and The Gambia
6a (Vigorous).
Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Atlantic, Northern, Bak, Jola, Jola Proper, Karon-Mlomp
None known. Lexical similarity: 64% with Mlomp [mlo], the most similar (Jola) language.
Home, market. Used by all. Positive attitudes. Many also use French [fra], as the language of education and government (Diouf et al 2017). Many also use Wolof [wol], as the language of commerce and interethnic communication (Sarr and Thiaw 2012). Also use Jola-Fonyi [dyo]. Also use Mandinka [mnk].
Literature. Grammar. Bible portions: 2016–2019.
Latin script [Latn].
Strong desire to develop the language and preserve the culture.
OLAC resources in and about Karon
Karon
10,800 in Gambia (2016), increasing. No monolinguals. Ethnic population: 60,000.
West Coast division: south coast, from Senegal border north to Brikama.
6a (Vigorous)
Strong desire to preserve language and culture. Home, cultural events, local market. Used by all. Positive attitudes. Also use English [eng]. Also use Jola-Fonyi [dyo]. Also use Mandinka [mnk]. Also use Wolof [wol].
Non-indigenous. Most live among other ethnic groups in villages where they form a minority group, except Darsilami village on the border, where they form a large percentage. Gambian Karons maintain strong links with the ‘heartland’—Karon islands in south Senegal.
View other languages of Gambia