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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. *Mel **Temne *** Temne *** Baga languages **Bullom–Kissi *** Bullom languages *** Kissi 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 Univ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau border, its southeast. 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 had been 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, when its pacification campaigns solidified Portuguese sovereignty in the area. The final Portuguese victory over the last remaining bastion of mainland resistance came in 1915, with the conquest of the Papel people, Papel-ruled Kingdom of Bissau by the Portuguese military officer João Teixeira Pinto, Teixeira Pinto and the Wolof people, Wolof mercenary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baga Language
Baga, or Barka, is a dialect cluster spoken by the Baga people of coastal Guinea. The name derives from the phrase ''bae raka'' Slaves trading place ( a mispronounced bae=Arabic for sellers and Raka= Arabic for slaves)and understood by the local as 'people of the seaside' outcast people. 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 16/1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Moribund refers to a literal or figurative state near death. Moribund may refer to: * ''Moribund'' (album), a 2006 album by the Norwegian black metal band Koldbrann * " Le Moribond", a song by Jacques Brel known in English as "Seasons in the Sun .... History According to Childs, the Mani once oc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 of the Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British Anglican mission society working with Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as ... (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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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'' Slaves trading place ( a mispronounced bae=Arabic for sellers and Raka= Arabic for slaves)and understood by the local as 'people of the seaside' outcast people. 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 16/1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 (; pronounced like Kiss-eh-dow-goo) is a city in southern Guinea. It is the capital of in the Kissidougou Prefecture. As of 2014 it had a population of 102,675 people. The town is served by Kissidougou Airport, and the Niandan ri ... and Guéckédou and their préfectures. Phonology Vowels can also approximate to the sounds . Consonants Kissidougou dialects preserve a distinction between /r/ and /l/ phonemes that have been merged as allophones in dialects south of Guéckédou. For instance, means exactly the same as . Also, "thank you" is realized as around Kiss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Landuma Language
Landoma also called Landouman, Landuma, or Cocoli (Cikogoli), is a language of western Guinea. It is the most populous of the Baga languages The Baga languages are languages of the Mel family spoken in the coastal region of Guinea. The total number of speakers is about 30,000, of which Landoma speakers make up almost half. Languages The varieties apart from Landoma are sometimes con ..., 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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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'' Slaves trading place ( a mispronounced bae=Arabic for sellers and Raka= Arabic for slaves)and understood by the local as 'people of the seaside' outcast people. 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 16/1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
