Gola language

Gola
Gola
Native to	Western Liberia & along the border with Sierra Leone
Ethnicity	Gola
Native speakers	(110,000 cited 1989–1991)
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Gola; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	gol
Glottolog	gola1255

Gola is a language of Liberia and Sierra Leone. It was traditionally classified as an Atlantic language, but this is no longer accepted in more recent studies.

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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[e18-1] Gola at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)

[2] Guillaume Segerer & Florian Lionnet 2010. "'Isolates' in 'Atlantic'" Archived March 31, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Language Isolates in Africa workshop, Lyon, Dec. 4

[3] 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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