Gola language
| Gola | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Western Liberia & along the border with Sierra Leone |
| Ethnicity | Gola |
Native speakers | (110,000 cited 1989–1991)[1] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | gol |
| Glottolog | gola1255 |
Gola is an erstwhile Atlantic language of Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Classification
Gola is not closely related to other languages and appears to form its own branch of the Niger–Congo language family.[2] However, Ethnologue lists Gola as a Mel language. Fields (2004) classifies Gola as a Mel language most closely related to Bullom and Kisi.[3]
Distribution
According to Ethnologue, Gola is spoken in widespread regions across Liberia. It is spoken in Gbarpolu County, Grand Cape Mount County, and Lofa County (between the Mano River and Saint Paul River), as well as in inland areas of Bomi County and Montserrado County.
Dialects are Deng (Todii), Kongba, and Senje.
References
- ^ Gola at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
- ^ Guillaume Segerer & Florian Lionnet 2010. "'Isolates' in 'Atlantic'" Archived March 31, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Language Isolates in Africa workshop, Lyon, Dec. 4
- ^ Fields, Edda L. Before "Baga": Settlement Chronologies of the Coastal Rio Nunez Region, Earliest Times to c.1000 CE. In: The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 37, No. 2 (2004), pp. 229-253. Boston University African Studies Center.
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