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Zarma dialect

Zarma

Also known as: Djerma, Zerma, Zaberma

The Songhay-Zarma variety of south-western Niger, centred on Niamey and the Tillabéri–Dosso belt. The second national language of Niger after Hausa, with around 3.7 million speakers; treated by most descriptive work as a distinct standardized language within the wider Songhay cluster.

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Frequently asked questions

What language is Zarma?

Zarma is a dialect of the Zarma language.

Where is Zarma spoken?

Zarma is primarily spoken in Niger.

Which region is Zarma associated with?

Zarma is part of the West & Central Africa region on DialectAtlas.

Is Zarma known by other names?

Yes — Zarma is also referred to as Djerma, Zerma, Zaberma.

Nearby dialects

See on the atlas →
Niger Hausa

0 km away

The Hausa of the Republic of Niger, used alongside French as a national language. Differs from Nigerian Hausa in spelling conventions and contact lexicon.

Sokoto Hausa

342 km away

The Hausa of Sokoto in north-western Nigeria. Carries the historical prestige of the Sokoto Caliphate and a distinct lexicon of religious and political terms.

Songhay

384 km away

A Nilo-Saharan language cluster of the Niger river bend, the language of the medieval Songhay empire. Around 4 million speakers across Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso.

Mòoré

414 km away

A Gur Niger-Congo language and the largest language of Burkina Faso, spoken by the Mossi people on the Ouagadougou plateau. Around 8 million speakers.

Tamasheq

582 km away

The Berber variety of the Tuareg confederations across the central Sahara. Written historically in the Tifinagh script, which Tuareg communities have preserved continuously.

Dogon

624 km away

A Niger-Congo branch of around twenty deeply differentiated varieties on and around the Bandiagara escarpment in central Mali, with smaller populations in north-western Burkina Faso. Around 600,000 speakers total; descriptive work since the 2000s treats several Dogon varieties (Toro So, Tomo Kan, Jamsay, others) as separate languages rather than dialects of a single Dogon language.

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