Languages in Benin

We've started seven weeks ago to learn Monkolé. Monkolé is one of the local languages in Benin. Monkolé is spoken in the North of Benin in a rural area. There are between 40,000 and 100,000 speakers.

There are around fifty different languages spoken in Benin. Some of these languages (like Fon or Dendi) are widely spoken and some are less (like Monkolé). Some other languages are spoken in Benin and in other West African countries (Fulani for instance).
It should be noted that some of these languages are related but most of them are not. In the case of Monkolé there are similarities between Monkolé, Yoruba, Ife and Idatcha and these four languages come from Nigeria. So when we will be fluent in Monkolé, we could always try to learn one of the other three in our spare time!

Monkolé is a tonal language which means that a sound can be pronounced with three different tones which change the meaning.
Understandbly it makes things slightly complicated because I first have to get used to hear different tones and then I have to try reproducing these tones to get my message across.
But, despite this difficulty we have a great language helper and we enjoy the learning!