Experience the best of West Africa — the people — by learning a modern-day and historical trade language used across Mali, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire as well as the region more broadly.

Master More than French

The mutually intelligible Manding varieties of Bambara, Jula and Malinké are spoken by millions in households and marketplaces across West Africa.

Manding ›

Foster Deeper Connections

While French is useful for paperwork and civil servants in West Africa, speaking an African language opens the door to conversations with and dinner invitations with different kinds of people.

Connections ›

Learn from an Expert Linguist

Coleman has been speaking, studying and conducting research on Manding since 2009 as a Peace Corps volunteer, Fulbright scholar and doctoral student in Educational Linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania.

Coleman ›