Languages of Liberia
Encyclopedia
Liberia
is a multilingual country where more than thirty languages are spoken by the local population. English is the de facto official language. None of the languages group forms a distinctive majority. These languages can be grouped in three language families: Manding
, Kru
and Atlantic
languages.
Limba–Mel languages
Manding languages
Kru languages
Atlantic languages
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
is a multilingual country where more than thirty languages are spoken by the local population. English is the de facto official language. None of the languages group forms a distinctive majority. These languages can be grouped in three language families: Manding
Manding languages
The Manding languages are a fairly mutually intelligible group of dialects or languages in West Africa, belonging to the Mande languages. Their best-known members are Bambara, the most widely spoken language in Mali; Mandinka, the main language of Gambia; Maninka or Malinké, a major language of...
, Kru
Kru languages
-References:* Westerman, Diedrich Hermann Languages of West Africa . London/New York/Toronto: Oxford University Press.-External links:* at Ethnologue*...
and Atlantic
Atlantic languages
The Atlantic or West Atlantic languages of West Africa are an obsolete proposed major group of the Niger–Congo languages. They are those languages west of Kru which have the noun-class systems characteristic of the Niger–Congo family; in this they are distinguished from their Mande neighbors, which...
languages.
Language groups
EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
- Liberian EnglishLiberian EnglishLiberian English is a term used to refer to the varieties of English spoken in the African country of Liberia. There are four such varieties:* Standard Liberian English or Liberian Settler English;* Kru Pidgin English;...
- Liberian Kreyol languageLiberian Kreyol languageKreyol is an English-based creole language spoken in Liberia. It is spoken by 1,500,000 people as a second language . It is historically and linguistically related to Merico, another creole spoken in Liberia, but is grammatically distinct from it...
(Vernacular Liberian English) - Merico languageMerico languageMerico or Americo-Liberian is an English-based creole language spoken until recently in Liberia by Americo-Liberians, descendants of the Settlers, freed slaves and African-Americans who immigrated from the southern US between 1819 and 1860...
(Americo-Liberian)
Limba–Mel languages
- KisiKissi languageKissi is a language split into two parts, northern and southern. The northern dialect is spoken in Guinea and in Sierra Leone. In its northern form, it often uses loanwords from the Malinke and the Mende language....
Manding languages
Manding languages
The Manding languages are a fairly mutually intelligible group of dialects or languages in West Africa, belonging to the Mande languages. Their best-known members are Bambara, the most widely spoken language in Mali; Mandinka, the main language of Gambia; Maninka or Malinké, a major language of...
- BandiBandi languageThe Bandi language, also known as Bande, Gbande, Gbandi and Gbunde, is a Mande language. It is spoken primarily in Lofa County in northern Liberia by the Bandi people....
- DanDan languageDan is a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoire and Liberia . There is also a population of about 800 speakers in Guinea. Dan is a tonal language, with three main tones and two glide/contour tones....
- KpelleKpelle languageThe Kpelle language is spoken by the Kpelle people and is part of the Mande family of languages. Guinean Kpelle [gkp] , spoken by half a million people, concentrated primarily, but not exclusively, in the forest regions of Guinea, whose capital, Nzérékoré, is the third largest city in Guinea and...
- LomaLoma languageLoma is a Mande language spoken by the Loma people of Liberia and Guinea.Dialects of Loma proper in Liberia are Gizima, Wubomei, Ziema, Bunde, Buluyiema...
- ManinkaManinka languageManinka, or more precisely Eastern Maninka, is the name of several closely related languages and dialects of the southeastern Manding subgroup of the Mande branch of the Niger–Congo languages...
- MannMann languageThe Mann language, also known as Maa, Mah, Mano and Mawe, is a significant Mande language of Liberia and Guinea. It is spoken primarily in Nimba County in north-central Liberia by 188,000 and by 71,000 in Nzérékoré, Lola and Yomou Prefectures in Guinea....
- Manya
- MendeMende languageMende is a major language of Sierra Leone, with some speakers in neighboring Liberia. It is spoken by the Mende people and by other ethnic groups as a regional lingua franca in southern Sierra Leone....
- VaiVai languageThe Vai language, alternately called Vy or Gallinas, is a Mande language, spoken by roughly 104,000 in Liberia and by smaller populations, some 15,500, in Sierra Leone. It is noteworthy for being one of the few sub-Saharan African languages to have a writing system that is not based on the Latin...
Kru languages
Kru languages
-References:* Westerman, Diedrich Hermann Languages of West Africa . London/New York/Toronto: Oxford University Press.-External links:* at Ethnologue*...
- BassaBassa languageThe Bassa language is a Kru language spoken by about 350,000 people in Liberia and 5,000 in Sierra Leone by Bassa people.It has an indigenous script, Vah, developed before 1907 by Thomas Narvin Lewis while he was studying at Syracuse University in the United States. The first primer was printed...
- DewoinDewoin languageThe Dewoin language, also known as De, Dey, or Dei, is a Kru language of the Niger–Congo language family. It is spoken primarily near the coastal areas of Montserrado County in western Liberia, including the capital Monrovia. It has a lexical similarity of .72 with the Bassa language., Dewoin was...
- GbiiGbii languageThe Gbii language, also known as Gbee or Gbi-Dowlu, is a Kru language of the Niger–Congo language family. It is spoken in northern Liberia, primarily in Nimba County. Its dialects include Dorbor and Kplor. It has a lexical similarity of 0.78 with the Bassa language, and so might be considered a...
- Glaro-TwaboGlaro-Twabo languageGlaro and Twabo are two largely mutually intelligible dialects of the Wee languages which are divergent other. Ethnologue reports that Twabo has slight intelligibility with some dialects of Eastern Krahn....
- Glio-OubiGlio-Oubi languageThe Glio-Oubi language is a Kru language of the Niger–Congo language family. It is spoken in northeast Liberia, where it is known as Glio, and in western Ivory Coast, where it is known as Oubi or Ubi. It has a lexical similarity of .75 with the Glaro-Twabo language., Glio-Oubi was spoken by 3,500...
- GreboGrebo languageGrebo is dialect cluster of the Kru languages, spoken by the Grebo people of Liberia and the Krumen of Ivory Coast.-Definition:Since the first group contacted by European explorers and Americo-Liberian colonists reaching the area of Cape Palmas were the Seaside Grebo, or Glebo, their speech came to...
- KlaoKlao languageKlao is a Kru language of the Niger–Congo language family, spoken primarily in Liberia, with some speakers also in Sierra Leone. It uses SVO word order for main clauses and SOV for embedded clauses. A Klao translation of the Bible by missionary Nancy Lightfoot was released in 2000. The language...
- KrahnKrahnKrahn is an ethnic group of Liberia; it is also the language traditionally spoken by these people.- History :The Krahn Arrived in the area known as Ivory Coast and Liberia from Northern Africa shortly before the slaves trade. Most of these people were taken as slaves to the United States and the...
- KrumenKrumen languageKrumen is a dialect continuum spoken by the Krumen people of Liberia and Ivory Coast . It is a branch of the Grebo languages, a subfamily of the Kru languages and ultimately of the Niger–Congo languages. It had 48,300 speakers as of 1993...
- KuwaaKuwaa languageThe Kuwaa language, also known as Belle, Belleh, Kowaao, and Kwaa, is a Kru language of the Niger–Congo language family. It is spoken in northwestern Liberia, primarily in Lofa County. The speech of the Lubaisu and Gbade, the two Kuwaa clans, is differentiated only by minor variations in...
- SapoSapo languageThe Sapo language, also known as Sarpo or Southern Krahn, is a Kru language of the Niger–Congo language family. It is spoken in eastern Liberia, primarily in Grand Gedeh County and Sinoe County, by the Sapo people. Its dialects include: Juarzon, Kabade , Nomopo , Putu, Sinkon , and Waya .As of...
- TajuasohnTajuasohn languageThe Tajuasohn language, also known as Tajuason, Tajuoso, and Tajuosohn, is a Kru language of the Niger–Congo language family. It is spoken primarily in Sinoe County in eastern Liberia by members of five local clans....
Atlantic languages
Atlantic languages
The Atlantic or West Atlantic languages of West Africa are an obsolete proposed major group of the Niger–Congo languages. They are those languages west of Kru which have the noun-class systems characteristic of the Niger–Congo family; in this they are distinguished from their Mande neighbors, which...
- GolaGola (ethnic group)The Gola or Gula are a tribal people living in western Liberia. The Gola language is part of the Southern branch of the West Atlantic language family; , it is spoken by approximately 107,000 people....