The Soninke language (Soninke: Sooninkanxanne), also known as Serakhulle or Azer is a Mande language spoken by the Soninke people of Africa. The language has an estimated 2.1 million speakers, primarily located in Mali, and also (in order of numerical importance of the communities) in Senegal, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Ghana. It enjoys the status of a national language in Mali, Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania. The language is relatively homogeneous, with only slight phonological, lexical, and grammatical variations.