Region Liberia, Guinea | ISO 639-2 kpe | |
Native speakers (1.3 million cited 1991–2012) Language family Niger–Congo
Mande
Western Mande
Southwestern
Kpelle Writing system Kpelle syllabary, African reference alphabet ISO 639-3 kpe – inclusive code
Individual codes:
gkp – Guinea Kpelle
xpe – Liberia Kpelle
knu – Kono | ||
The Kpelle /kəˈpɛlə/ language (endonym: "Kpɛlɛɛ") is spoken by the Kpelle people and is part of the Mande family of languages. Guinean Kpelle (known as Guerze in French), 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 the largest city in the Guinée forestière region of south-eastern Guinea bordering Liberia, Ivory Coast, and Sierra Leone. Liberian Kpelle, spoken by half again as many, is currently taught in schools in Liberia.
Sample
The Lord's Prayer in Kpelle:
Kunâŋ gáa ŋele sui, Tɔɔ ku iláai siɣe a maa waa. Tɔɔ Ikâloŋ-laai é pá, Tɔɔ ínîa-mɛni é kέ, Nɔii ma ɓɛ yɛ̂ɛ berei gáa la Ɣâla-taai. I kukɔ sâa a kuɣele-kuu tɔnɔ-tɔnɔ mii-sɛŋ; I ipôlu fe kutɔ̂ŋ-karaa-ŋai dîa, Yɛ̂ɛ berei kwa kupôlu fè la kuɓarâai ditɔ̂ŋ-karaa-ŋai dîai; Tɔɔ kutúɛ kufe pili yee-laa-maa su, Kέlɛ, i kukúla mɛni nyɔ́mɔɔ su.References
Kpelle language Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA