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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 name was introduced 1895 by Gottlob Krause and derives from the word for 'people' (Kwa) in many of these languages, as illustrated by Akan names.
Ga is a Kwa language spoken in Ghana, in and around the capital Accra. There are also some speakers in Togo, Benin and Western Nigeria. It has a phonemic distinction between three vowel lengths.
Dagbani, also known as Dagbanli and Dagbanle, is a Gur language spoken in Ghana and Northern Togo. Its native speakers are estimated around 3,160,000. This number increases to more than 6,000,000 if mutually intelligible languages such as mamprusi are added. It is a compulsory subject in primary and junior high school in the Dagbon Kingdom, which covers the north eastern part of Ghana. Dagbani is the most widely spoken language in northern Ghana, especially among tribes overseen by the King of Dagbon, the Yaa-Naa.
The Dangbe language, also Dangbe or Adaŋgbi, is a Kwa language spoken in south-eastern Ghana by the Dangbe People (Dangbeli). The Dangbeli are part of the larger Ga-Dangbe ethnic group. Klogbi is a variant, spoken by the Kloli. Kropp Dakubu (1987) is the most thorough grammar of the language.
Logba is a Kwa language spoken in the south-eastern Ghana by approximately 7,500 people. The Logba people call themselves and their language Ikpana, which means ‘defenders of truth’. Logba is different from Lukpa of Togo and Benin, which is also sometimes referred to as Logba.
Kusaal is a Gur language spoken primarily in northern Ghana, and Burkina Faso. It is spoken by about 120,000 people and takes its name from the Kusaal people, or Kusaasi. Kusaal is closely related to Mampruli, the language of the Mamprussi, who live to the south, and to Dagbani. There is a major dialect division between Agole, to the east of the Volta river, and Toende, to the West. Agole has more speakers. The 6 district capital; Bawku West with Zebilla as capital and the rest; Binduri, Bawku, Tempane, Garu and Pusiga districts mostly Agole dialect speakers. The complete Bible translation is in the Agole dialect.
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Tamprusi is a Gur language of Ghana.
Walewale is a town and the capital of Mamprusi West Municipal in the Northeast Region of Ghana. It lies on the main road from Bolgatanga to Tamale, at the junction of the road west to Nalerigu, the capital of the newly created Northeast Region. It was founded by the Mamprusis. The language spoken by the people of Walewale is largely Mampruli, which is followed by kassim. The dominant religion is Islam but a lot of churches are emerged in recent times. Walewale prides itself of four standard banks which are; Ghana Commercial Bank, Agricultural Development Bank, Bangmarigu Community Bank and GN Bank which is currently defunct. The town has about ten standard guest houses with two five star hotels located along the main road leading to Bolgatanga, the Upper East Regional capital. There are six fuel filling stations in the community, namely; Total Fuel Station, Nasona Fuel Station, Zen Fuel Station, Goil Fuel Station, and Petrosol, It also has a gas station located along the Nalerigu road.
Tony Naden is a British lexicographer who specializes on Western Oti-Volta subgroup of Gur languages. He has compiled dictionaries in the following languages: Dagbanli, Mampelle, Mõõré, Nabt, Talene, KaMara and Yarsi.
The North East Region is one of the sixteen regions of Ghana. It is located in the north of the country and was created in December 2018 after a referendum was voted upon to break it off of the Northern region. The region's capital is Nalerigu.
References
- ↑ Mampusi at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ↑ Tony, Naden. Gur Languages. London: Kegan Paul International for I.A.I. /W.A.L.S. pp. 12–49.
- ↑ Dakubu, Mary Esther Kropp [ed.] (1988). The Languages of Ghana. London: Kegan Paul International for I.A.I. /W.A.L.S.
{{cite book}}:|first=has generic name (help) - ↑ Plissart, Xavier (1983). Mampruli Proverbs. Tervuren: Musée Royale de l'Afrique.
- ↑ n/a, n/a (2001). Naawunni Kunni Palli (God's New Volume). Tamale: GILLBT.
- ↑ "Matiu 1".
- ↑ "Red Mountain Mampruli Project". Archived from the original on 2020-07-01.
- ↑ Naden, Di / Tony (2003). Community involvement in orthography design. Legon, Ghana: Linguistics Dept., University of Ghana. pp. 218–221.
- ↑ Dakubu, M.E. Kropp / E.K.Osam [eds.] (2003). Studies in the Languages of the Volta Basin 1. Legon, Ghana: Linguistics Dept., University of Ghana.
{{cite book}}:|first=has generic name (help) - ↑ "Tony Naden,A Sketch of Basic Grammar in Mampruli,1997".
- ↑ Arana, Evangelina, / Mauricio Swadesh (1967). Diccionario analitico del mampruli. Mexico D.F.: Museo de las Culturas, , Instituto Nacional de Anthropologia e Historia.
- ↑ Naden, Tony [ed.] (1997). Mampruli Vocabulary / Ŋmampulli Yɛla. Gbeduuri, N.R.: Mamprint (mimeo).
{{cite book}}:|first=has generic name (help) - ↑ "Aardvarks Mampruli".
- ↑ "Mampruli". Archived from the original on 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
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