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Niger–Congo is a hypothetical language family spoken over the majority of sub-Saharan Africa. It unites the Mande languages, the Atlantic–Congo languages, and possibly several smaller groups of languages that are difficult to classify. If valid, Niger–Congo would be the world's largest in terms of member languages, the third-largest in terms of speakers, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area. Austronesian has almost as many member languages, although this is complicated by the ambiguity about what constitutes a distinct language; the number of named Niger–Congo languages listed by Ethnologue is 1,540.
The Senufo or Senufic languages comprise around 15 languages spoken by the Senufo in the north of Ivory Coast, the south of Mali and the southwest of Burkina Faso. An isolated language, Nafaanra, is also spoken in the west of Ghana. The Senufo languages constitute their own branch of the Atlantic–Congo sub-family of the Niger–Congo languages. Anne Garber estimates the total number of Senufos at some 1.5 million; the Ethnologue, based on various population estimates, counts 2.7 million.
The Gur languages, also known as Central Gur or Mabia, belong to the Niger–Congo languages. They are spoken in the Sahelian and savanna regions of West Africa, namely: in most areas of Burkina Faso, and in south-central Mali, northeastern Ivory Coast, the northern halves of Ghana and Togo, northwestern Benin, and southwestern Niger. A few Gur languages are spoken in Nigeria. Additionally, a single Gur language, Baatonum, is spoken in Benin and in the extreme northwest of Nigeria. Three other single Gur languages, the Tusya, Vyemo and Tiefo languages, are spoken in Burkina Faso. Another unclassified Gur language, Miyobe, is spoken in Benin and Togo. In addition, Kulango, Loma and Lorhon, are spoken in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. Additionally, a few Mossi speakers are in Senegal, and speakers of the Dagaare language are also found in Cameroon. The Samu languages of Burkina Faso are Gur languages.
The Kwa languages, often specified as New Kwa, are a proposed but as-yet-undemonstrated family of languages spoken in the south-eastern part of Ivory Coast, across southern Ghana, and in central Togo. The Kwa family belongs to the Niger-Congo phylum. The name was introduced in 1895 by Gottlob Krause and derives from the word for 'people' (Kwa) in many of these languages, as illustrated by Akan names. This branch consists of around 50 different languages spoken by about 25 million people. Some of the largest Kwa languages are Ewe, Akan and Baule.
Abé is a language of uncertain classification within the Kwa branch of the Niger–Congo family. It is spoken in Ivory Coast.
Mpra, or Mpre, is an extinct language spoken in the village of Butei in central Ghana, located between the towns of Techiman and Tamale near the confluence of the Black and White Voltas. Mpra has been difficult to classify due to its divergent vocabulary. It is known only from a 70-word list given in a 1931 article. Blench (2007) considers it to be a possible language isolate. A poorly attested language spoken in the nearby village of Tuluwe, Mpur, may also turn out to be yet another language isolate. Both Butie and Tuluwe are located near the village of Mpaha.
Nafaanra, also known as Nafanan or Nafana, is a Senufo language spoken in northwest Ghana, along the border with Ivory Coast, east of Bondoukou. It is spoken by approximately 90,000 people. Its speakers call themselves Nafana, but others call them Banda or Mfantera. Like other Senufo languages, Nafaanra is a tonal language. It is somewhat of an outlier in the Senufo language group, with the geographically-closest relatives, the Southern Senufo Tagwana–Djimini languages, approximately 200 kilometres (120 mi) to the west, on the other side of Comoé National Park.
The Akan people are a Kwa group living primarily in present-day Ghana and in parts of Ivory Coast and Togo in West Africa. The Akan speak languages within the Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano subfamily of the Niger–Congo family. Subgroups of the Akan people include: the Agona, Akuapem, Akwamu, Akyem, Anyi, Ashanti, Baoulé, Bono, Chakosi, Fante, Kwahu, Sefwi, Wassa, Ahanta, and Nzema, among others. The Akan subgroups all have cultural attributes in common; most notably the tracing of royal matrilineal descent in the inheritance of property, and for succession to high political office. All Akans are considered royals in status, but not all are in royal succession or hold titles.
Volta–Congo is a major branch of the Atlantic–Congo family. It includes all the Niger-Congo languages and subfamilies except the families of the erstwhile Atlantic and Kordofanian branches, Mande, Dogon, and Ijo. It thus only differs from Atlantic–Congo in that it excludes the Atlantic languages and, in some conceptions, Kru and Senufo.
Ghana is a multilingual country in which about eighty languages are spoken. Of these, English, which was inherited from the colonial era, is the official language and lingua franca. Of the languages indigenous to Ghana, Akan is the most widely spoken in the south. Dagbani, Dagare, Sisaala, Waale, and Gonja are among the most widely spoken in the northern part of the country.
Ivory Coast is a multilingual country with an estimated 69 languages currently spoken. The official language is French. This language is taught in schools and serves as a lingua franca in the country, along with Dioula.
Nzema, also known as Nzima or Appolo, is a Central Tano language spoken by the Nzema people of southwestern Ghana and southeastern Ivory Coast. It is partially intelligible with Jwira-Pepesa and is closely related to Baoulé.
The Volta–Niger family of languages, also known as West Benue–Congo or East Kwa, is one of the branches of the Niger–Congo language family, with perhaps 70 million speakers. Among these are the most important languages of southern Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and southeast Ghana: Yoruba, Igbo, Bini, and Gbe.
The Potou–Tano or Potou–Akanic languages are the only large, well-established branch of the Kwa family. They have been partially reconstructed historically by Stewart in 1989 and 2002.
The Oti–Volta languages form a subgroup of the Gur languages, comprising about 30 languages of northern Ghana, Benin, and Burkina Faso spoken by twelve million people. The most populous language is Mooré, the national language of Burkina Faso, spoken by over 55% of Burkina Faso’s 20 million population and an additional 1 million in neighboring countries such as Ghana, Ivory Coast, Niger, and Mali.
The Agnis people are an Akan people living in West Africa. There are approximately 1,200,000 of them, mainly in the Ivory Coast. They also live in Ghana. They were the first people in this region to have come into contact with the European colonizers during the 18th century.
Kulango is a Niger–Congo language spoken in Ivory Coast and across the border in Ghana. It is one of the Kulango languages, and it may be classified as a Gur language. There are two principal varieties distinct enough to be considered separate languages: the Kulango of Bondoukou (Bonduku), also known as Goutougo locally, and that of Bouna (Buna). Ethnologue reports that Bouna-dialect speakers understand Bondoukou, but not the reverse. Bouna, in addition, has the subdialects Sekwa and Nabanj. In Ghana, the principal towns in which the language is spoken are Badu and Seikwa, both in the Tain District, and Buni in the Jaman North district, all in the Bono region of Ghana. In addition, there are smaller towns and villages closer to Wenchi in the Bono region and Techiman in the Bono East region where this language is spoken. Among these are Asubingya (Asubinja) and Nkonsia. The Koulango are matrilineal like the Akans and possess similar cultural practices.
Sefwi, also known as Sefwi, Esahie, and Asahyue, is a Niger-Congo language spoken by 305,000 across southwestern Ghana, principally in the Western Region. It is the common language of the Sehwi people.
Mbato, also known as Mbatto, Nghlwa, Potu or Gwa, is a Kwa language spoken in Ivory Coast and in Ghana. It is one of two Potou languages, along with Ebrié. The Mbato people primarily live in the La Mé region of Ivory Coast, particularly in the sub-prefecture of Oghlwapo in the Alépé department.
The Abbé, are an Akan people who live predominantly in the Ivory Coast, and number 580,000. Abbés speak the Akan dialect Abé.
References
- ↑ Ameka, Felix K.; Dakubu, Mary Esther Kropp (2008). Aspect and Modality in Kwa Languages. John Benjamins Publishing. ISBN 978-90-272-0567-4., p. 4
- ↑ Stewart, John M. 1989. Kwa. In Bendor-Samuel, John (ed.), The Niger-Congo Languages, 216-245. University Press of America & SIL. p. 225.
- ↑ Dolphyne, Florence Abena (1986) The languages of the Akan peoples. Research review. Vol. 2 No. 1, Pages 1-22 University of Ghana. p. 15.
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