🇨🇮 What Language Do They Speak in Ivory Coast?
The short answer
Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) speaks French — it's the official language and, unusually for West Africa, a genuine lingua franca spoken across ethnic lines in the cities. Around 70 local languages are spoken alongside it, with Dioula serving as the market language of the north.
Worth knowing
- ●Abidjan is one of the world's largest French-speaking cities
- ●Nouchi, Abidjan's French-based street slang, constantly feeds new words into global French
- ●Dioula doubles as a trade language far beyond Ivorian borders
Going to Ivory Coast? Say your first words before you land.
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