Description

The Mossi people are the largest ethnic group in Burkina Faso, a landlocked western African nation. The language of the Mossi is Mooré (also known as Moré), which is spoken by about 5 million people in Burkina Faso and by smaller numbers in neighboring Togo and Mali. Burkina Faso is a former French colony, which became the independent state of Upper Volta in 1960. In 1984 the country adopted its present name, meaning “Land of Incorruptible People.” This English–Mooré phrasebook, from the Africa collections of the Library of Congress, was prepared by an American Protestant mission, the Assemblies of God, in Ougadougou in the late 1950s to 1961. Each phrase is given its direct English meaning, the transliterated Mooré equivalent, and the literal English translation of the Mooré. Subjects covered include how to clean a house, making the beds, and gardening. The last three pages are an English–Mooré dictionary of biblical terms.