Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 15, 2026

Esuma language

Esuma (Essouma) is an extinct undocumented language of uncertain classification within the Kwa branch of the Niger–Congo family, once spoken in the villages of Assinie (Asini) and Mafia in Ivory Coast. The Esuma were vassals of the Sanwi capital Krinjabo, and shifted to the Anyin and Nzima languages.

Last revised
Jul 15, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
108 w
Citations
3
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Esuma
Essouma
(unattested)
Native toIvory Coast
RegionAssinie-Mafia
Extinctca. 18001
Language codes
ISO 639-3esm
Glottologesum1241

Esuma (Essouma) is an extinct undocumented2 language of uncertain classification within the Kwa branch of the Niger–Congo family, once spoken in the villages of Assinie (Asini) and Mafia in Ivory Coast. The Esuma were vassals of the Sanwi capital Krinjabo, and shifted to the Anyin and Nzima languages.3

References

References

  1. Esuma at MultiTree on the Linguist List
  2. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2026). "Esuma". Glottolog 5.3. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  3. Actes du 8e Congrès international de linguistique africaine: Abidjan 24-28 mars 1969 (in French). Université d'Abidjan, Société linguistique de l'Afrique occidentale. 1971.