Mampruli
Niger-Congo
Mampruli is a Gur language of the Niger-Congo family, spoken by around 330,000 people in the Northern Region of Ghana, primarily by the Mamprusi people. The Mamprusi trace their ancestry to the medieval Mamprussi Kingdom (founded in the 13th century by the legendary Tohazie/Naa Gbewaa), which is considered the parent kingdom from which the Dagomba and Nanumba kingdoms split off in the 14th century — making Mampruli the historically senior Mole-Gurma language. The Mamprusi paramount chief Naa Yamoogu rules from Nalerigu, and his court is one of the most prestigious traditional kingships of northern Ghana. Linguistically, Mampruli is closely related to Mooré (mos) of Burkina Faso and Dagbani of Ghana, with shared phonological features (vowel harmony, complex tone system) but distinct lexicon and morphology.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Mampruli
Water
kuom
/kuom/
Fire
booma
/boːma/
Sun
wuntiri
/wuntiri/
Moon
gɔoŋ
/ɡɔːŋ/
Mother
ma
/ma/
Father
ba
/ba/
Eat
di
/di/
Drink
nyu
/ɲu/
Love
paaba
/paːba/
Heart
suuri
/suːri/
Tree
tia
/tia/
House
yiri
/jiri/
Dog
baaga
/baːɡa/
Cat
nyusi
/ɲusi/
Hand
nuusi
/nuːsi/
Eye
nini
/nini/
Hello
n na ti bʋɔ
/n na ti bʊɔ/
Thank you
barika
/barika/
One
yini
/jini/
Good
vɛla
/vɛla/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo languages
| Meaning | Mampruli | Dagbani | Mooré | Donno So | Ngunnawal | Konabéré | Fang |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | kuom /kuom/ | kom /kɔm/ | koom /koːm/ | di /di/ | kungal /kuŋal/ | ji /dʒi/ | mendim /mendim/ |
| Fire | booma /boːma/ | buɣim /buɣim/ | bʋgʋm /bʊɡʊm/ | yɔ /jɔ/ | warba /waɻba/ | ta /ta/ | ndoa /ndoa/ |
| Sun | wuntiri /wuntiri/ | wuntaŋa /wuntaŋa/ | wəntinga /wəntiŋɡa/ | naa /naː/ | guma /ɡuma/ | tile /tile/ | zòp /zop/ |
| Moon | gɔoŋ /ɡɔːŋ/ | goli /ɡoli/ | kiuugu /kiuːɡu/ | ele /ele/ | birrang /biɻaŋ/ | kalo /kalo/ | ngɔn /ŋɡɔn/ |
| Mother | ma /ma/ | ma /ma/ | ma /ma/ | na /na/ | guni /ɡuni/ | ba /ba/ | nyia /ɲia/ |
| Father | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | pumba /pumba/ | fa /fa/ | tara /tara/ |
| Eat | di /di/ | di /di/ | dɩ /dɪ/ | kɔɔ /kɔː/ | daring /daɻiŋ/ | don /don/ | di /di/ |
| Drink | nyu /ɲu/ | nyu /ɲu/ | yʋ /jʊ/ | nɔ /nɔ/ | nyu /ɲu/ | min /min/ | nyu /ɲu/ |
| Love | paaba /paːba/ | yu /ju/ | nong /noŋɡ/ | suuli /suːli/ | marmit /maɻmit/ | kana /kana/ | ndzem /ndzem/ |
| Heart | suuri /suːri/ | suhu /suhu/ | sũur /sũːr/ | kɛɛla /kɛːla/ | mara /maɻa/ | dusu /dusu/ | nle /nle/ |
| Tree | tia /tia/ | tia /tia/ | tɩɩg /tɪːɡ/ | ti /ti/ | warabi /waɻabi/ | yiri /jiri/ | eli /eli/ |
| House | yiri /jiri/ | yili /jili/ | roogo /roːɡo/ | gina /ɡina/ | kuni /kuni/ | so /so/ | nda /nda/ |
| Dog | baaga /baːɡa/ | baa /baː/ | baaga /baːɡa/ | gɛɛ /ɡɛː/ | mirri /miɻi/ | fugo /fuɡo/ | mvu /mvu/ |
| Cat | nyusi /ɲusi/ | jɛŋkuno /dʒɛŋkuno/ | yʋʋga /jʊːɡa/ | monyi /moɲi/ | poosi /puːsi/ | nyukuma /ɲukuma/ | esin /esin/ |
| Hand | nuusi /nuːsi/ | nuu /nuː/ | nug /nuɡ/ | nu /nu/ | mara /maɻa/ | bolo /bolo/ | wɔ /wɔ/ |
| Eye | nini /nini/ | nini /nini/ | nin /nin/ | gi /ɡi/ | mil /mil/ | ɲɛ /ɲɛ/ | dis /dis/ |
| Hello | n na ti bʋɔ /n na ti bʊɔ/ | dasiba /dasiba/ | ne y yibeoogo /ne i jibeoːɡo/ | agandɛla /aɡandɛla/ | yumalundi /jumalundi/ | ka kɛ /ka kɛ/ | mbolo /mbolo/ |
| Thank you | barika /barika/ | mpaɣya /mpaɣja/ | barka /barka/ | biguƞ /biɡũ/ | miyamala /mijamala/ | baraka /baɾaka/ | akiba /akiba/ |
| One | yini /jini/ | yini /jini/ | a yɛmbɛr /a jɛmbɛr/ | tum /tum/ | guma /ɡuma/ | kelen /kelen/ | bok /bok/ |
| Good | vɛla /vɛla/ | viɛla /viɛla/ | sõma /sõma/ | suuli /suːli/ | walunga /waluŋa/ | ɲuman /ɲuman/ | mbeng /mbeŋ/ |
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