| Kpelle | |
|---|---|
| Kpɛlɛwoo | |
| Spoken in | Liberia, Guinea |
| Native speakers | 795,000 (1991) |
| Language family |
Niger–Congo ?
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | kpe |
| ISO 639-3 | kpe – Macrolanguage individual codes: gkp – Guinea Kpelle xpe – Liberia Kpelle |
The Kpelle language is spoken by the Kpelle people and is part of the Mande family of languages. Guinean Kpelle [gkp] (also known as Guerze in French), spoken by half a million people, concentrated primarily, but not exclusively, in the forest regions of Guinea, whose capital, Nzérékoré, is the third largest city in Guinea and the largest city in the Guinée Forestière region of south-eastern Guinea bordering Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Sierra Leone. Liberian Kpelle, spoken by half again as many, is currently taught in schools in Liberia.