Mel languages

Mel
Mel
Southern (West) Atlantic [reduced]
Geographic; distribution	Guinea-Bissau through Liberia
Linguistic classification	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Mel; ;
Subdivisions	Temne; Sua–Kissi;
Glottolog	mela1257

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, Sua (Mansoanka), Gola and Limba.

Mel

Temne

	Temne

	Baga languages

Bullom–Kissi

	Bullom languages

	Kissi

Footnotes

References

Guillaume Segerer & Florian Lionnet 2010. "'Isolates' in 'Atlantic'". Language Isolates in Africa workshop, Lyon, Dec. 4

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