Mel languages

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Branch of Niger–Congo spoken in Guinea-Bissau through Liberia

title: "Mel languages" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mel-languages", "atlantic-languages"] description: "Branch of Niger–Congo spoken in Guinea-Bissau through Liberia" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_languages" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Branch of Niger–Congo spoken in Guinea-Bissau through Liberia ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox language family"]

Field	Value
name	Mel
altname	Southern (West) Atlantic [reduced]
region	Guinea-Bissau through Liberia
familycolor	Niger-Congo
fam2	Atlantic–Congo
child1	Temne
child2	Bullom–Kissi
glotto	mela1257
glottorefname	Mel
::

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) and Gola.

Mel
- Temne
  - Temne
  - Baga languages
- Bullom–Kissi
  - Bullom languages
  - Kissi

Fields (2004) splits Mel into a Highlands group originating in Guinea, and also a Bullom-Kisi-Gola group.

Mel
- Bullom-Kisi-Gola
  - Gola
  - Bullom-Kisi
    - Bullom
    - Kisi
- Highlands
  - Temne
  - Landuma
  - Sitem

Fields (2008:83) proposes that the homeland of Proto-Mel is located in the north-central highlands of Sierra Leone just to the south of the Lesser Scarcies River, rather than on the coast. The homeland of Proto-Highlands is located along the middle stretches of the Konkoure River in Guinea, just to the northeast of Conakry (Fields 2008:85).

Comparative vocabulary

Comparison of basic vocabulary words in the Mel languages from Fields (2004):

::data[format=table]

Language	eye	ear	nose	tooth	tongue	mouth	blood	bone	tree	water	eat	name
Sitemu	dɔ-fɔr	lʊŋʊs	a-lolYm	de-sek	te-mera	ku-su	me-tyir	kʊ-bɛnt	kʊ-tɔk	dɔ-mun	ki-di	te-we / me-we
Landuma	da-fɔr	a-lʊnʊs, a-rʊns	ta-soth, ta-suth	da-sek	da-mera	kʊ-suŋ	ma-tsir, ma-cir	kʊ-bʊnt	ke-tog, kʊ-tɔɔk	da-mun, m-anc	ki-di	tayif
Temne	for	a-lʊns, a-lʊs	a-suth, a-sot	sek	ra-mer	saŋ	tsir	bant, kʊ-bonth	n-anʈ	m-ant	di; som	bonʈ; n-es
Bullom	foll	nui	min	ɛ-chang	mulliŋ, li–mɛliŋ	ɲɛn	nkong	pah	rum	men	dyo	ilillɛ
Kisi	hɔlten	nileŋ	miŋndo	ciŋnde	diɔ-muleŋ	sondoo	koowaŋ	paa	yɔmndo	mɛŋndaŋ	dio	diolaŋ
Gola	e-fe	nu	e-mia	sia	me-miel, o-mie, meer-o	o-na, ɲa	sa, ma-sei, ma-sen	ke-kpa	ke-kul, kulu	mai, mande, mandi	dze, dzɛ	e-del
::

Comparison of basic vocabulary words in the Mel languages, and also Sua and Gola, from Wilson (2007): Limba has also been added from Clarke (1922).

::data[format=table]

Language	eye	ear	nose	tooth	tongue	mouth	blood	bone	tree	water	name; surname
Baga Maduri	da-fɔr / i- / sə-	a-läŋgäs / i-	ta-sot / ma-	da-sek / i-	da-mer / sə-	ku-suŋ / cu-	koonɛ	ke-bant	kə-tɔɔk / i-	ba-mun	ta-we / ma-; lambe (d-)
Baga Sitemu	dɔ-fɔr / Ø- / sə-	a-laŋəs / sə- / Ø-	a-loləm / Ø-	de-sek / Ø-	te-mer / me-	ku-su / cu-	mɛ-tsir		ko-tɔk / tsə-	da-mun
Baga Koba	da-fɔr / ɛ-	a-rəns / ɛ-	ta-sot / ma-	da-sek / ɛ-	da-mɛr	ku-soŋ / tsə-	ma-tsir	ke-bant / tsə-	kə-tɔk	na-mun	kə-teŋk
Landuma	da-fɔr / ɛ- / sə-	a-ləŋəs / yɛ-	ta-soot / ma	da-sek / ɛ-	da-mera / sə-	kə-suŋ / cə-	ma-cir		kə-tɔɔʐ / yɛ-	da-mun; m-ancs	ta-yif / ma-
Temne	rə-fɔr / ɛ-	ä-ləns / ɛ-	ä-sot̪ / mə-	rə-sek / ɛ-	rə-mer	kə-səŋ / tə-	mə-tir	kə-bänt̪	ŋ-ənt / y-; ä-tɔk 'firewood'	m-änt	ŋ-es / m-
Sherbro	hɔ́l / ti-	nṵ́ɪ́ / ti-	mín / si-	caŋ / n-	(li)màlíŋ / ti-	sùm	ŋkɔ̀ŋ	pak	tɔ̀k	mɛ́n	(i)líl / n-, si-
Mmani	fɔl / thifɔl	nyu / thinyu	min / thimin	caŋ /ncaŋ	di-miliŋ / mamiliŋ	eñɛn / nñɛn	kòó-wáŋ	pak / thipak	yɔ̀m-ndó	m̄ɛn	i–lɛlu / n-lɛlu
Kisi	hɔ̀l-téŋ	nì-léŋ	mǐŋ-ndó	cìŋ-ndé	dìɔ̀mù-léŋ	sòndò-ó	nkong	pàà-	o-thɔk	mɛ̀ŋ-ndáŋ	dìò-
Sua	(n)-fɔn / i-	n-nihi	(r)-seeny / m-	(r)-wɛy / m-	(n)-dɛmɛtɛ / i-	k-tumbu / i-	m-siin	ŋ-wuh	(ŋ)-taany / i-	m-miny	n-wey / i-; n-konto / i-
Gola	éfè	kénû	é-mḭa	késia̰	ómiè, kémiè, kémièl	óńá̰	másḛ̀i, másɛ̀n	kégòa, kégwà	kekuu, kekul	mamal, mamæ	edel
Limba	foya, hoya ha;
pl. taya ta	kuluha ko;
pl. ŋaliha ŋa	hutini ha;
pl. ta ta	hutiti ha;
pl. ta ta	filiŋ ha;
pl. tafiliŋ ta	foti ha;
pl. ta ta	marēŋ ma, masini ma	kutoli ko;
pl. ŋa ŋa, ba ba	kuieŋ ko;
pl. ŋa ŋa	mandi ma	kēn ko;
pl. ŋakēn ŋa
::

References

[[Guillaume Segerer]] & Florian Lionnet 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120331180907/http://25images.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr/player/player.php?id=72&id_sequence=431 "'Isolates' in 'Atlantic'"]. ''Language Isolates in Africa'' workshop, Lyon, Dec. 4.
Fields, Edda L. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/4129008 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.
Fields-Black, Edda L. 2008. ''Deep Roots: Rice Farmers in West Africa and the African Diaspora''. (Blacks in the Diaspora.) Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. ''Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification''. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Clarke, Mary Lane. 1922 [1971]. ''A Limba-English Dictionary or Tampeṅ Ta Ka Taluṅ Ta Ka Hulimba Ha In Huiṅkilisi Ha''. Westmead, Farnborough: Gregg International Publishers Limited. (1971 reprint of 1922 book published by Houghton.)

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