Mel Languages
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Mel Languages
The Mel languages are a branch of Niger–Congo languages spoken in Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. The most populous is Temne, with about two million speakers; Kissi is next, with half a million. Languages Mel has traditionally been classified as the bulk of a southern branch of a West Atlantic branch of Niger–Congo. However, these are geographic and typological rather than genealogical groups; Segerer (2010) shows that there is no exclusive relationship between Mel and the other southern languages, Sua (Mansoanka) and Gola. Fields (2004) splits Mel into a ''Highlands'' group originating in Guinea, and also a ''Bullom-Kisi-Gola'' group.Fields, Edda LBefore "Baga": Settlement Chronologies of the Coastal Rio Nunez Region, Earliest Times to c.1000 CE In: ''The International Journal of African Historical Studies'', Vol. 37, No. 2 (2004), pp. 229-253. Boston University African Studies Center. *Mel **Bullom-Kisi-Gola *** Gola ***Bullom-Kisi **** Bullom **** ...
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Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 1,726,000. It borders Senegal to the north and Guinea to the south-east. Guinea-Bissau was once part of the kingdom of Kaabu, as well as part of the Mali Empire. Parts of this kingdom persisted until the 18th century, while a few others were under some rule by the Portuguese Empire since the 16th century. In the 19th century, it was colonised as Portuguese Guinea. Portuguese control was restricted and weak until the early 20th century with the pacification campaigns, these campaigns solidified Portuguese sovereignty in the area. The final Portuguese victory over the remaining bastion of mainland resistance, the Papel ruled Kingdom of Bissau in 1915 by the Portu ...
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Scarcies River
The Little Scarcies River is a river in west Africa that begins in Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ... and flows into Sierra Leone, after which it empties into the Atlantic Ocean. It is surrounded by extensive marshlands. The river is also known as the Kaba River. The Great Scarcies River flows into the same bay of the Atlantic Ocean (), just to the north of the mouth of the Little Scarcies River. This area was settled by the Temne people who migrated from Futa Jalon to the north. An earlier alternative form of the name was Scassos; the English name is derived from the Portuguese ''Rio dos Carceres''.P. E. H. Hair (ed.), ''Hawkins in Guinea, 1567-1568'' (Leipzig: Institut fur Afrikanistik, Universitat Leipzig, 2000; ), p. 57: "The 'Causserus' is River ...
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Rio Nunez Languages
The Rio Nunez (Rio Nuñez) or Nunez River languages constitute a pair of Niger–Congo languages, Mbulungish and Baga Mboteni. They are spoken at the mouth of the Nunez River in Guinea, West Africa. The Rio Nunez languages have been studied by Fields (2001),Fields, Edda. 2001. ''Rice farmers in the Rio Nunez region: A social history of agricultural technology and identity in coastal Guinea, ca. 2000 BCE to 1880 CE''. Doctoral dissertation. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania. but otherwise remain sparsely documented. Classification The two Rio Nunez languages do not subgroup with the Nalu language, contrary to prior classifications. Previously, Fields had proposed a ''Coastal'' group consisting of Mbulungish, Mboteni, and Nalu that she considered to be distinct from the surrounding Mel languages. The grouping in its current scope was proposed by Güldemann (2018). The Rio Nunez languages are currently unclassified within Niger-Congo, and whether or not they are part of ...
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Mmani Language
The Bullom So language, also called Mmani,Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. ''Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification''. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. Mani, or Mandingi, is an endangered language currently spoken in a few villages in Samu region of Sierra Leone's Kambia District, near the border of Guinea. It belongs to the Mel branch of the Niger–Congo language family and is particularly closely related to the Bom language. Intermarriage between Bullom So speakers and speakers of Temne and Susu is common. As the few remaining speakers of Bullom So are all over 60, the language is considered moribund. History According to Childs, the Mani once occupied an area far greater than where the language is spoken today. At the start of the 18th century, the Mani kingdom stretched from Sierra-Leone to Guinea. They were later replaced along the coastal region by Temne-Baga speakers, and later by the So ...
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Sherbro Language
The Sherbro language (also known as Southern Bullom, Shiba, Amampa, Mampa, and Mampwa) is an endangered language of Sierra Leone. It belongs to the Mel branch of the Niger–Congo language family. While Sherbro has more speakers than the other Bullom languages, its use is declining among the Sherbro people, in favor of Krio and English. The first recorded publication in Sherbro is a selection of seven parables from Matthew and Luke in the New Testament. This was translated by James Schön James Frederick Schön (1802, in Ober Weiler – 30 March 1889, in Chatham) was a German missionary and linguist who was active in Sierra Leone. He also participated in the Niger expedition of 1841. After attending the Basel Seminary, Schön atte ... of the Church Missionary Society (CMS) and published in 1839. References External links Sherbro entry in the UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages Bullom languages Endangered languages of Africa Languages of Sierra Leone ...
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Baga Koba Language
Baga, or Barka, is a dialect cluster spoken by the Baga people of coastal Guinea. The name derives from the phrase ''bae raka'' 'people of the seaside'. Most Baga are bilingual in the Mande language Susu, the official regional language. Two ethnically Baga communities, Sobané and Kaloum, are known to have abandoned their (unattested) language altogether in favour of Susu. Varieties The varieties as distinct enough to sometimes be considered different languages.W.A.A.Wilson, ''Temne, Landuma and the Baga Languages'' in: ''Sierra Leone Language Review, No. 1, 1962'' published by Fourah Bay College, Freetown. They are: :Baga Koga (Koba) :Baga Manduri (Maduri, Mandari) :Baga Sitemu (Sitem, Sitemú, Stem Baga, Rio Pongo Baga) The extinct Baga Kaloum and Baga Sobané peoples had spoken Koga and Sitemu, respectively.Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices Neighboring Baga Pokur is not closely related. Geographical distribution ...
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Baga Sitemu Language
Baga, or Barka, is a dialect cluster spoken by the Baga people of coastal Guinea. The name derives from the phrase ''bae raka'' 'people of the seaside'. Most Baga are bilingual in the Mande language Susu, the official regional language. Two ethnically Baga communities, Sobané and Kaloum, are known to have abandoned their (unattested) language altogether in favour of Susu. Varieties The varieties as distinct enough to sometimes be considered different languages.W.A.A.Wilson, ''Temne, Landuma and the Baga Languages'' in: ''Sierra Leone Language Review, No. 1, 1962'' published by Fourah Bay College, Freetown. They are: :Baga Koga (Koba) :Baga Manduri (Maduri, Mandari) :Baga Sitemu (Sitem, Sitemú, Stem Baga, Rio Pongo Baga) The extinct Baga Kaloum and Baga Sobané peoples had spoken Koga and Sitemu, respectively.Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices Neighboring Baga Pokur is not closely related. Geographical distribution ...
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Baga Maduri Language
Baga, or Barka, is a dialect cluster spoken by the Baga people of coastal Guinea. The name derives from the phrase ''bae raka'' 'people of the seaside'. Most Baga are bilingual in the Mande language Susu, the official regional language. Two ethnically Baga communities, Sobané and Kaloum, are known to have abandoned their (unattested) language altogether in favour of Susu. Varieties The varieties as distinct enough to sometimes be considered different languages.W.A.A.Wilson, ''Temne, Landuma and the Baga Languages'' in: ''Sierra Leone Language Review, No. 1, 1962'' published by Fourah Bay College, Freetown. They are: :Baga Koga (Koba) :Baga Manduri (Maduri, Mandari) :Baga Sitemu (Sitem, Sitemú, Stem Baga, Rio Pongo Baga) The extinct Baga Kaloum and Baga Sobané peoples had spoken Koga and Sitemu, respectively.Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices Neighboring Baga Pokur is not closely related. Geographical distribution ...
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Limba Language
The Limba language, ''Hulimba'', is a Niger-Congo language of Sierra Leone and Guinea. It is not closely related to other languages and appears to form its own branch of the Niger–Congo family. Dialects include ''Tonko, Sela, Kamuke'' (or ''Ke''), ''Wara-wara, Keleng, Biriwa,'' and ''Safroko''. The eastern variety, spoken primarily in Guinea, is quite distinct. Limba has a system of noun classes, marked by an old, eroded set of prefixes augmented by a newer set of enclitics. Distribution ''Ethnologue'' lists the following two varieties of Limba, spoken in Guinea and Sierra Leone. East Limba is spoken in Ouré-Kaba, Guinea. West-Central Limba is spoken in northern Sierra Leone. It is spoken in the Little Scarcies River area in east Bombali District and northeast Kambia District, as well as north of Makeni. Phonology Like neighboring Temne, Limba has an unusual contrast among its consonants. It distinguishes dental and alveolar, but the dental consonants are apical and th ...
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Kisi Language
Kissi (or Kisi) is a Mel language of West Africa, There are two dialects, northern and southern, and both are tonal languages. The northern dialect is spoken in Guinea and in Sierra Leone. The southern dialect is spoken in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The two dialects are notably different, but are closely related. In Guinea, the main places Kissi is spoken are the cities of Kissidougou Kissidougou ( N’ko: ߞߛߌ߬ߘߎ߯; pronounced like Kiss-eh-dow-goo) is a city in southern Guinea. It is the capital of in the Kissidougou Prefecture. Following intensified conflicts in Sierra Leone and Liberia during the fall and winter of 2 ... and Guéckédou and their préfectures. Phonology Vowels Consonants Kissidougou dialects preserve a distinction between /r/ and /l/ phonemes that have been merged as allophones in dialects south of Guéckédou. For instance, "la huŋ" means exactly the same as "ra huŋ". Also, "Thank you" is realized as "barika" around Kissidougou a ...
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Landuma Language
Landoma also called Landouman, Landuma, or Cocoli (Cikogoli), is a language of western Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we .... It is the most populous of the Baga languages, in the Mel branch of the Niger–Congo language family. It is related to Temne of Sierra Leone. There are two different varieties, namely Landoma (Landuma) and Cikogoli (Cocoli). Cikogoli is being replaced by Fula.Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. ''Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification''. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. The language sometimes goes by the name of one of its dialects, Tiapi, Tyapi, Tyopi a.k.a. Tapessi. Wilson (2007) reports that it is a derogatory name. References Languages of Guinea B ...
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Sitemu Language
Baga, or Barka, is a dialect cluster spoken by the Baga people of coastal Guinea. The name derives from the phrase ''bae raka'' 'people of the seaside'. Most Baga are bilingual in the Mande language Susu, the official regional language. Two ethnically Baga communities, Sobané and Kaloum, are known to have abandoned their (unattested) language altogether in favour of Susu. Varieties The varieties as distinct enough to sometimes be considered different languages.W.A.A.Wilson, ''Temne, Landuma and the Baga Languages'' in: ''Sierra Leone Language Review, No. 1, 1962'' published by Fourah Bay College, Freetown. They are: :Baga Koga (Koba) :Baga Manduri (Maduri, Mandari) :Baga Sitemu (Sitem, Sitemú, Stem Baga, Rio Pongo Baga) The extinct Baga Kaloum and Baga Sobané peoples had spoken Koga and Sitemu, respectively.Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices Neighboring Baga Pokur is not closely related. Geographical distribution ...
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