| Mel | |
|---|---|
| Southern (West) Atlantic [reduced] | |
| Geographic distribution: |
Guinea-Bissau through Liberia |
| Linguistic classification: | Niger–Congo
|
| Subdivisions: |
Temne
Sua–Kissi
|
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.
| Mel |
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Mel has traditionally been classified as the bulk of a southern branch of West Atlantic. However, that is a geographic rather than genealogical group; Serere (2010) shows that there is no exclusive relationship between Mel and the other southern languages, Gola and Limba.