Mel languages
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mel | |
|---|---|
| Southern (West) Atlantic [reduced] | |
| Geographic distribution: | Guinea-Bissau through Liberia |
| Linguistic classification: | Niger–Congo |
| Subdivisions: |
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| Ethnologue codes: | 17-1230, 17-1253 |
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, Gola and Limba.
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References
- Guillaume Segerer & Florian Lionnet 2010. "'Isolates' in 'Atlantic'". Language Isolates in Africa workshop, Lyon, Dec. 4
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