Gola language

Gola
Gola
Native to	Western Liberia & along the border with Sierra Leone
Ethnicity	Gola
Native speakers	200,000 (2019–2020)[1]
Language family	Niger–Congo? Atlantic–Congo Gola; ;
Writing system	Latin script, Vai script, Gola script
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] Previously, Fields (2004) had classified 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.

Writing system

Multiple writing systems have been used to transcribe the Gola language. Until recently, the Vai script was used across Liberia and Sierra Leone.[4]

References

Gola at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
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.
Warren L. D'Azevedo (March 1962). "Uses of the Past in Gola Discourse". The Journal of African History. 3 (1): 29. doi:10.1017/S0021853700002711. ISSN 0021-8537. JSTOR 179797. Wikidata Q86531772.

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[e25-1] Gola at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)

[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.

[dazavedo1962-4] Warren L. D'Azevedo (March 1962). "Uses of the Past in Gola Discourse". The Journal of African History. 3 (1): 29. doi:10.1017/S0021853700002711. ISSN 0021-8537. JSTOR 179797. Wikidata Q86531772.