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
31 core words in Mampruli
Water
kuom
/kuom/
Fire
booma
/boːma/
Sun
wuntiri
/wuntiri/
Moon
gɔoŋ
/ɡɔːŋ/
Star
ŋmariga
/ŋmariɡa/
Mother
ma
/ma/
Father
ba
/ba/
I
mani
/mani/
You
fu
/fʊ/
Name
yuli
/juli/
Eye
nini
/nini/
Hand
nuusi
/nuːsi/
Heart
suuri
/suːri/
Love
paaba
/paːba/
Tree
tia
/tia/
House
yiri
/jiri/
Dog
baaga
/baːɡa/
Cat
nyusi
/ɲusi/
Eat
di
/di/
Drink
nyu
/ɲu/
One
yini
/jini/
Two
ayi
/ajɪ/
Hello
n na ti bʋɔ
/n na ti bʊɔ/
Thank you
barika
/barika/
Good
vɛla
/vɛla/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Niger-Congo languages
| Meaning | Mampruli | Dagbani | Mooré | Ngunnawal | Aymara | Donno So | Fang |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | kuom /kuom/ | kom /kɔm/ | koom /koːm/ | kungal /kuŋal/ | uma /uma/ | di /di/ | mendim /mendim/ |
| Fire | booma /boːma/ | buɣim /buɣim/ | bʋgʋm /bʊɡʊm/ | warba /waɻba/ | nina /nina/ | yɔ /jɔ/ | ndoa /ndoa/ |
| Sun | wuntiri /wuntiri/ | wuntaŋa /wuntaŋa/ | wəntinga /wəntiŋɡa/ | guma /ɡuma/ | inti /inti/ | naa /naː/ | zòp /zop/ |
| Moon | gɔoŋ /ɡɔːŋ/ | goli /ɡoli/ | kiuugu /kiuːɡu/ | birrang /biɻaŋ/ | phaxsi /pʰaχsi/ | ele /ele/ | ngɔn /ŋɡɔn/ |
| Star | ŋmariga /ŋmariɡa/ | saŋmariga /saŋmariɡa/ | ãdga /ãdɡa/ | dyurra /ɟura/ | warawara /waɾawaɾa/ | tolo /tolo/ | ótéteŋ /ótéteŋ/ |
| Mother | ma /ma/ | ma /ma/ | ma /ma/ | guni /ɡuni/ | mama /mama/ | na /na/ | nyia /ɲia/ |
| Father | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | ba /ba/ | pumba /pumba/ | tata /tata/ | ba /ba/ | tara /tara/ |
| I | mani /mani/ | mani /máni/ | mam /mãm/ | ngaya /ŋaja/ | naya /naja/ | mi /mi/ | me /me/ |
| You | fu /fʊ/ | nyini /ɲĩni/ | fo /fʊ/ | ngindu /ŋindu/ | juma /huma/ | u /u/ | wè /wè/ |
| Name | yuli /juli/ | yuli /juli/ | yʋʋre /jʊːre/ | yini /jini/ | suti /suti/ | boy /bɔj/ | djoè /dʒoɛ/ |
| Eye | nini /nini/ | nini /nini/ | nin /nin/ | mil /mil/ | nayra /najɾa/ | giré /ɡiɾe/ | dis /dis/ |
| Hand | nuusi /nuːsi/ | nuu /nuː/ | nug /nuɡ/ | mara /maɻa/ | ampara /ampaɾa/ | nu /nu/ | wɔ /wɔ/ |
| Heart | suuri /suːri/ | suhu /suhu/ | sũur /sũːr/ | gauar /ɡauar/ | chuyma /tʃujma/ | kɛɛla /kɛːla/ | nle /nle/ |
| Love | paaba /paːba/ | yu /ju/ | nong /noŋɡ/ | marmit /maɻmit/ | munasiña /munasiɲa/ | suuli /suːli/ | ndzem /ndzem/ |
| Tree | tia /tia/ | tia /tia/ | tɩɩg /tɪːɡ/ | warabi /waɻabi/ | quqa /quqa/ | ti /ti/ | eli /eli/ |
| House | yiri /jiri/ | yili /jili/ | roogo /roːɡo/ | kuni /kuni/ | uta /uta/ | gina /ɡina/ | nda /nda/ |
| Dog | baaga /baːɡa/ | baa /baː/ | baaga /baːɡa/ | mirri /miɻi/ | anu /anu/ | gɛɛ /ɡɛː/ | mvu /mvu/ |
| Cat | nyusi /ɲusi/ | jɛŋkuno /dʒɛŋkuno/ | yʋʋga /jʊːɡa/ | poosi /puːsi/ | phisi /pʰisi/ | monyi /moɲi/ | esin /esin/ |
| Eat | di /di/ | di /di/ | dɩ /dɪ/ | daring /daɻiŋ/ | manqʼaña /manqʼaɲa/ | kɔɔ /kɔː/ | di /di/ |
| Drink | nyu /ɲu/ | nyu /ɲu/ | yʋ /jʊ/ | nyu /ɲu/ | umaña /umaɲa/ | nɔ /nɔ/ | nyu /ɲu/ |
| One | yini /jini/ | yini /jini/ | a yɛmbɛr /a jɛmbɛr/ | guma /ɡuma/ | maya /maja/ | tum /tum/ | bok /bok/ |
| Two | ayi /ajɪ/ | ayi /aji/ | yiibu /jiːbu/ | bula /bula/ | paya /paja/ | lɛy /lɛj/ | bɛ̀ /bɛ̀/ |
| Hello | n na ti bʋɔ /n na ti bʊɔ/ | dasiba /dasiba/ | ne y yibeoogo /ne i jibeoːɡo/ | yumalundi /jumalundi/ | kamisaki /kamisaki/ | agandɛla /aɡandɛla/ | mbolo /mbolo/ |
| Thank you | barika /barika/ | mpaɣya /mpaɣja/ | barka /barka/ | miyamala /mijamala/ | yuspagara /juspaɣaɾa/ | biguƞ /biɡũ/ | akiba /akiba/ |
| Good | vɛla /vɛla/ | viɛla /viɛla/ | sõma /sõma/ | walunga /waluŋa/ | suma /suma/ | suuli /suːli/ | mbeng /mbeŋ/ |
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