Oti–Volta languages

Oti–Volta
Geographic distribution:	Burkina Faso, northern Ghana and Benin
Linguistic classification:	Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Savannas? Gur Northern Oti–Volta
Subdivisions:	—

The Oti–Volta languages form a subgroup of the Gur languages, comprising about 30 languages of northern Ghana, Benin, and Burkina Faso spoken by twelve million people. The most populous language is Mòoré, the national language of Burkina, spoken by five million people. The languages are largely mutually intelligible.

The family is named for the Oti and Volta rivers.

Languages

The internal classification of Oti–Volta, as worked out by Manessy 1975–79 (Williamson & Blench 2000) is as follows:

Oti–Volta	Buli–Koma: Buli, Konni Eastern (Somba): Biali, Mbelime, Tammari (Ditammari), Waama Western (Mole–Dagbani)  Nootre Northwest: Mòoré, Frafra, Safaliba, Wali, Dagaare–Birifor Southeast: Dagbani, Hanga, Kamara, Kusaal, Mampruli, Kantosi Gurma: Ngangam, Gourmanchéma, Moba (Bimoba), Ntcham (Akaselem), Nateni, Miyobe, Konkomba Yom–Nawdm: Nawdm, Yom

References