Editing Gbe languages (section)

===Classification===
[[Joseph Greenberg|Greenberg]], following Westermann (1952), placed the Gbe languages in the [[Kwa languages|Kwa]] family of the [[Niger–Congo languages]].<ref>Greenberg (1966), ''[[The Languages of Africa]]''.</ref> The extent of the Kwa branch has fluctuated through the years, and [[Roger Blench]] places the Gbe languages in a Volta–Niger branch with former East Kwa languages to their east.

Gbe is a [[dialect continuum]]. Based on comparative research, Capo (1988) divides it into five clusters, with each cluster consisting of several mutually intelligible dialects. The borders between the clusters are not always distinct. The five clusters are:<ref>Sources: for the classification, Capo (1991) & Aboh (2004); for speaker numbers, [http://www.ethnologue.com Ethnologue, 15th edition].</ref>

{| class="wikitable" 
!Name!!Alternate names!!Speakers!!Some dialects!!Region
|-
| [[Ewe language|Ewe]]||Vhe, Ɛ̀ʋɛ̀&nbsp;gbè||ca. 3,600,000||Anlo-(Keta area)Along the coast, Ewedome, (Ho area) Hill country, Tongu (Sogakope area) along the Volta River||lower half of Ghana east of the [[Volta River]]; southwest Togo
|-
|[[Gen language|Gen]]||Gẽ, Mina, Gɛn&nbsp;gbe||ca. 400,000||Gliji, Anexo, Agoi||[[Lake Togo]], around [[Anexo]]
|-
|[[Aja language (Niger–Congo)|Aja]]||Aja&nbsp;gbe, Adja||ca. 500,000 ||Dogbo, Sikpi||Togo, [[Benin]] area, inland along the [[Mono River]]
|-
|[[Fon language|Fon]]||Fɔn&nbsp;gbè||ca. 1,700,000||[[Gun language|Gun]], Kpase, Agbome, Maxi||southeast Togo, Benin west of the [[Weme River]] and along the coast
|-
|[[Phla–Pherá languages|Phla–Pherá]]||Fla, Offra, Xwla&nbsp;gbe||ca. 400,000||Alada, Toli, Ayizo||Togo and Benin along the coast and around [[Lake Ahémé]]
|}

Kluge (2011)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sil.org/resources/publications/entry/41567|title=A sociolinguistic survey of the Gbe language communities of Benin and Togo: Gbe language family overview|website=SIL International}}</ref> proposes that the Gbe languages consist of a [[dialect continuum]] that can be split into three large clusters.

*'''Western Gbe''' varieties ([[Ewe language|Ewe]], [[Gen language|Gen]], and Northwestern Gbe): Adan, Agoi/Gliji, Agu, Anexo, Aveno, Awlan, Be, Gbin, [[Gen language|Gen]], Kpelen, Kpési, Togo, Vhlin, Vo, Waci, Wance, Wundi (also [[Aguna language|Awuna]]?)
*'''Central Gbe''' varieties: [[Aja language (Niger–Congo)|Aja]] (Dogbo, Hwe, Sikpi, Tado, Tala)
*'''Eastern Gbe''' varieties ([[Fon language|Fon]], Eastern [[Phla–Pherá languages|Phla–Pherá]], and Western [[Phla–Pherá languages|Phla–Pherá]]): Agbome, Ajra, [[Alada language|Alada]], Arohun, [[Ayizo language|Ayizo]], Ci, Daxe, [[Fon language|Fon]], Gbekon, Gbesi, Gbokpa, [[Gun language|Gun]], Kotafon, Kpase, Maxi, Movolo, [[Saxwe language|Saxwe]], Se, Seto, [[Tofin language|Tofin]], Toli, Weme, [[Pherá language|Xwela]], [[Phla language|Xwla]] (Eastern), [[Phla language|Xwla]] (Western) (also [[Wudu language|Wudu]]?)