Editing Gbe languages

{{Short description|Niger–Congo language cluster}}
{{Infobox language family
|name = Gbe
|region = [[West Africa]]<br />(parts of [[Ghana]], [[Togo]], [[Benin]], [[Nigeria]])
|familycolor = Niger-Congo
|fam2 = [[Atlantic-Congo languages|Atlantic-Congo]]
|fam3=[[Volta–Congo languages|Volta–Congo]]
|fam4 = [[Volta–Niger languages|Volta–Niger]]
|child1 = [[Ewe language|Ewe]]
|child2 = [[Gen language|Gen]]
|child3 = [[Fon language|Fon]]
|child4 = [[Adja language|Adja]]
|child5 = [[Phla–Pherá languages|Phla–Pherá]]
|protoname=[[Wiktionary:Appendix:Proto-Gbe reconstructions|Proto-Gbe]]
|glotto=gbee1241
|glottorefname= Gbe
|map = Gbe languages.png
|mapcaption = Map showing the distribution of the major Gbe dialect areas (after Capo 1988, 1991).
}}

The '''Gbe languages''' (pronounced {{IPA|ee|ɡ͡bè|}})<ref>The {{angbr|gb}} is a [[voiced labial–velar stop]], common in many West African languages.</ref> form a cluster of about twenty related [[language]]s stretching across the area between eastern [[Ghana]] and western [[Nigeria]]. The total number of speakers of Gbe languages is between four and eight million. The most widely spoken Gbe language is [[Ewe language|Ewe]] (10.3 million speakers in Ghana and [[Togo]]), followed by [[Fon language|Fon]] (5 million, mainly in [[Benin]]). The Gbe languages were traditionally placed in the [[Kwa languages|Kwa]] branch of the [[Niger–Congo languages]], but more recently have been classified as [[Volta–Niger languages]]. They include five major dialect clusters: [[Ewe language|Ewe]], [[Fon language|Fon]], [[Adja language|Aja]], [[Gen language|Gen]] (Mina), and [[Phla–Pherá languages|Phla–Pherá]].

Most of the Gbe peoples came from the east to their present dwelling-places in several migrations between the tenth and the fifteenth century. Some of the [[Phla–Pherá languages|Phla–Pherá]] peoples however are thought to be the original inhabitants of the area who have intermingled with the Gbe immigrants, and the Gen people probably originate from the [[Ga-Adangbe people]] in [[Ghana]]. In the late eighteenth century, many speakers of Gbe were enslaved and transported to the [[New World]]: it is believed that Gbe languages played some role in the genesis of several [[Caribbean]] [[creole language]]s, especially [[Haitian Creole]] and [[Sranan Tongo|Sranantongo]] (Surinamese Creole).

Around 1840, German missionaries started linguistic research into the Gbe languages. In the first half of the twentieth century, the Africanist [[Diedrich Hermann Westermann]] was one of the most prolific contributors to the study of Gbe. The first internal classification of the Gbe languages was published in 1988 by [[Hounkpati B Christophe Capo|H.B. Capo]], followed by a comparative [[phonology]] in 1991. The Gbe languages are [[tonal language|tonal]], [[isolating language]]s and the basic word order is [[subject–verb–object]].

==Languages==

===Geography and demography===
The Gbe language area is bordered to the west and east by the [[Volta River]] in Ghana and the [[Weme River]] in Benin. The northern border is between 6 and 8 degrees [[latitude]] and the southern border is the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] coast. The area is neighbored mainly by [[Kwa languages]], except for the east and north-east, where [[Yorùbá language|Yorùbá]] is spoken. To the west, [[Ga–Dangme languages|Ga–Dangme]], [[Guang language|Guang]] and [[Akan language|Akan]] are spoken. To the north, it is bordered by [[Adele language|Adele]], [[Awuna|Aguna]], Akpafu, Lolobi, and Yorùbá.

Estimates of the total number of speakers of Gbe languages vary considerably. Capo (1988) gives a modest estimate of four million, while SIL's [[Ethnologue]] (15th edition, 2005) gives eight million<!-- Note: number obtained by adding up speaker numbers of all individual Gbe languages -->. The most widely spoken Gbe languages are Ewe ([[Ghana]] and [[Togo]]) and Fon ([[Benin]], eastern Togo) at four million and 3 million speakers, respectively. Ewe is a language of formal education for secondary schools and universities in Ghana, and is also used in non-formal education in [[Togo]]. In Benin, Aja (740,000 speakers) and Fon were two of the six national languages selected by the government for adult education in 1992.

===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]]?)

===Naming===
The dialect continuum as a whole was called 'Ewe' by [[Diedrich Hermann Westermann|Westermann]], the most influential researcher on the cluster, who used the term 'Standard Ewe' to refer to the written form of the language. Other linguists have called the Gbe languages as a whole 'Aja', after the name of the local language of the Aja-Tado area in Benin. However, use of this single language's name for the language cluster as a whole was not only not acceptable to all speakers but also rather confusing. Since the establishment of a [[working group]] at the West African Languages Congress at [[Cotonou]] in 1980, H. B. Capo's name suggestion has been generally accepted: {{'}}''Gbe''{{'}}, which is the word for 'language/dialect' in each of the languages.<ref>In daily use, individual Gbe languages are referred to by their speakers as X-gbe, e.g. ''Ewegbe'' for Ewe, ''Fongbe'' for Fon, etc.</ref>

==History==

===Before 1600===
[[Ketu (Benin)|Ketu]], settlement in present-day Benin Republic (formerly known as Dahomey), might be an appropriate starting point for a brief history of the Gbe-speaking peoples. Ewe traditions refer to Ketu as ''[[Amedzofe (history)|Amedzofe]]'' ("origin of humanity") or ''Mawufe'' ("home of the Supreme Being"). It is believed that the inhabitants of Ketu were pressed westward by a series of wars between the tenth and the thirteenth century. In Ketu, the ancestors of the Gbe-speaking peoples separated themselves from other refugees and began to establish their own identity.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Attacks between the thirteenth and the fifteenth century drove a large section of the group still further westward. They settled in the ancient kingdom of [[Tado (state)|Tado]] (also Stado or Stádó) on the Mono river (in present-day [[Togo]]). The Tado kingdom was an important state in [[West Africa]] up to the late fifteenth century.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In the course of the thirteenth or fourteenth century, the [[Notsé|Notsie]] (or Notsé, Notsye, Wancé) kingdom was established by emigrants from the Tado kingdom; Notsie would later (around 1500) become the home of another group of migrants from Tado, the [[Ewe people]]. Around 1550, emigrants from Tado established the [[Allada]] (or Alada) kingdom, which became the center of the [[Fon people]]. Tado is also the origin of the [[Aja people]]; in fact, the name Aja-Tado (Adja-Tado) is frequently used to refer to their language.
Aja is considered the mother tribe by the rest of Gbe speaking people as many of the tribes trace their migration routes through Aja Tado(formerly known as Azame).{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Other peoples that speak Gbe languages today are the [[Gen people]] (Mina, Ge) around [[Anexo]], who are probably of Ga and [[Fante people|Fante]] origin, and the [[Phla–Pherá languages|Phla and Pherá]] peoples, some of whom consist of the traditional inhabitants of the area intermingled with early migrants from Tado.<ref>Capo 1991:10; see also the section on linguistic diversity in [[Phla–Pherá languages#Linguistic diversity|Phla–Pherá languages]].</ref>

===European traders and the transatlantic slave trade===
[[Image:Doctrina Christiana - Y explicacion de sus Misterios en nuestro idiom Español, y en lengua Arda (first page).png|thumb|right|First page of the Spanish/Gen version of the 1658 ''Doctrina Christiana'']]

Little is known of the history of the Gbe languages during the time that only Portuguese, Dutch and Danish traders landed on the [[Gold Coast (British colony)|Gold Coast]] (roughly 1500 to 1650). The trade of mostly gold and agricultural goods did not exercise much influence on social and cultural structures of the time. No need was felt to investigate the indigenous languages and cultures; the languages generally used in trade at this time were [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] and [[Dutch language|Dutch]]. Some [[loanword]]s remain from this period, for example ''atrapoe'' 'stairs'<ref>{{cite book| page=[https://archive.org/details/adictionaryasan00chrigoog/page/n635 603] |title=A Dictionary of the Asante and Fante Language Called Tshi (Chwee, Tw̌i): With a Grammatical Introduction and Appendices on the Geography of the Gold Coast and Other Subjects |author=Johann Gottlieb Christaller |publisher=Evangelical Missionary Society |year=1881 |via=New York Public Library, Internet Archive|url=https://archive.org/details/adictionaryasan00chrigoog}}</ref> from Dutch ''trap'' and ''duku'' '(piece of) cloth' from Dutch ''doek'' or Danish ''dug''. The few written accounts that stem from this period focus on trade. As more European countries established trade posts in the area, [[missionary|missionaries]] were sent out. As early as 1658, Spanish missionaries translated the ''[[Doctrina Christiana]]'' into the language of [[Allada]], making it one of the earliest texts in any West African language. The Gbe language used in this document is thought to be a somewhat mangled form of [[Gen language|Gen]].<ref>This catechism was reprinted in Labouret & Rivet 1929, who also document the history of the Spanish mission in Allada or Arda.</ref>

The relatively peaceful situation was profoundly changed with the rise of the [[History of slavery|transatlantic slave trade]], which reached its peak in the late eighteenth century when as many as 15,000 slaves per year were exported from the area around Benin as part of a [[triangular trade]] between the European mainland, the west coast of Africa and the colonies of the [[New World]] (notably the Caribbean). The main actors in this process were [[Netherlands|Dutch]] (and to a lesser extent [[England|English]]) traders; captives were supplied mostly by cooperating coastal African states.

The [[Bight of Benin]], precisely the area where the Gbe languages are spoken, was one of the centers of the slave trade at the turn of the eighteenth century. The export of 5% of the population each year resulted in overall population decline. Moreover, since the majority of the exported captives were male, the slave trade led to an imbalance in the female/male ratio. In some parts of the [[Slave Coast of West Africa|Slave Coast]] the ratio reached two adult women for every man. Several wars (sometimes deliberately provoked by European powers in order to [[divide and rule]]) further distorted social and economical relations in the area. The lack of earlier linguistic data makes it difficult to trace the inevitable linguistic changes that resulted from this turbulent period.

===Colonisation and onwards===
Around 1850, the transatlantic slave trade had virtually ceased. As the grip of European colonial powers strengthened, slave raiding became prohibited, trading focused on goods once more and the Europeans took it to be their calling to Christianize the colonized parts of Africa. In 1847 the Norddeutsche Missions-Gesellschaft (Bremen) started its work in [[Keta]].

In 1857, the first Ewe grammar, ''Schlüssel der Ewesprache, dargeboten in den Grammatischen Grundzügen des Anlodialekts'', was published by missionary [[J. B. Schlegel]] of the Bremen mission. Five different dialects of Gbe (at that time called the ''Ewé Language-Field'') were already distinguished by Schlegel, notes [[Robert Needham Cust]] in his ''Modern Languages of Africa'' (1883).<ref>Cust, ''The Modern Languages of Africa'', p. 204.</ref> The dialects listed by Cust do not map exactly onto the five subgroups now distinguished by Capo, which is not too surprising since Cust himself admits that he relies on a multitude of often conflicting sources. Fon is in fact listed twice (once as 'the dialect of the province of Dahomé' and once as 'Fogbe').

Where previous literature consisted mostly of travel journals sometimes accompanied by short word lists, Schlegel's work marked the beginning of a period of prolific lexicographic and linguistic research into the various Gbe languages. Important writers of this period include [[Johann Gottlieb Christaller]] (''Die Volta-Sprachen-Gruppe'', 1888), [[Ernst Henrici]] (''Lehrbuch der Ephe-Sprache'', 1891, actually the first comparative Gbe grammar), J. Knüsli (''Ewe-German-English Vocabulary'', 1892) and [[Maurice Delafosse]] (''Manuel Dahoméen'' (Fon), 1894).

In 1902 the missionary [[Diedrich Hermann Westermann]] contributed an article titled "Beiträge zur Kenntnis der Yewe-Sprachen in Togo" to ''Zeitschrift für Afrikanische und Oceanische Sprachen''. Westermann became one of the most productive and influential writers on the Gbe languages, and his output dominated the Gbe literature and analysis of the first half of the twentieth century. He wrote mainly on the Western Gbe languages, especially on [[Ewe language|Ewe]] (though he often used the term 'Ewe' to denote the Gbe dialect continuum as a whole). Among his most important works on Ewe are his ''A Study of the Ewe language'' (1930) and ''Wörterbuch der Ewe-Sprache'' (1954).

===''Renaissance du Gbe''===

From 1930 on, publications on various Gbe languages appeared rapidly, the vast majority of them dealing with individual Gbe languages. A significant exception is formed by the extensive [[comparative linguistics|comparative linguistic]] research of [[Hounkpati B Christophe Capo]], which resulted in an internal classification of the Gbe languages and a reconstruction of the proto-Gbe [[phonology]]. Much of the comparative research for Capo's classification of the Gbe languages was carried out in the 1970s, and partial results were published in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the form of articles on specific [[phonology|phonological]] developments in various branches of Gbe and, notably, in the form of a unified standard orthography of Gbe. In his ''Renaissance du Gbe'' (1988), the internal classification of Gbe was published in full for the first time. In 1991, Capo published a comparative phonology of Gbe. In this period, Capo also initiated ''Labo Gbe (Int.)'', the 'Laboratory for research on Gbe languages', based in Benin, which has since fostered research and published several collections of papers on the Gbe languages.

In the early 1990s, [[SIL International]] initiated a study to assess which Gbe communities could benefit from existing [[literacy]] efforts and whether additional literacy campaigns in some of the remaining communities would be needed. Synchronised linguistic research carried out in the course of this study shed more light on the relations between the various varieties of Gbe.<ref>Some of the results of this study were presented in Kluge (2000, 2005, 2006).</ref> In general, the SIL studies corroborated many of Capo's findings and led to adjustment of some of his more tentative groupings.

==Phonology==

===Consonants===
The following phonetic segments are attested in Gbe languages:

{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|-
|+Gbe languages consonants phonetic inventory (Capo 1991:39)
!colspan=2 rowspan=2|
!rowspan=2| [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
!rowspan=2| [[Labiodental consonant|Labio-<br />dental]]
!rowspan=2| [[Laminal consonant|Lamino]]<br />-[[Interdental consonant|interdental]]
!rowspan=2| Lamino-<br />[[Alveolar consonant|alveolar]]
!rowspan=2| [[Apical consonant|Apico]]-<br />[[Postalveolar consonant|post-alveolar]]
!rowspan=2| [[Alveolo-palatal consonant|Alveolo<br />-palatal]]
!colspan=2| [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
!colspan=2| [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
!colspan=2| [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
|-
! <small>plain</small>
! <small>[[Labialization|lab.]]</small>
! <small>plain</small>
! <small>[[Labial–velar consonant|lab.]]</small>
! <small>plain</small>
! <small>lab.</small>
|-
!colspan=2| [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPAlink|m}}
| ||
| {{IPAlink|n}}
| ||
| {{IPAlink|ɲ}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ŋ}}
| ŋ<sup>w</sup>
| ||
|-
! rowspan=2| [[Stop consonant|Plosive]] /<br />[[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
! <small>[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|p}}
|
| {{IPAlink|t̪|t}}
| {{IPAlink|ts}}
| 
| {{IPAlink|tʃ}}
| 
| 
| {{IPAlink|k}}
| {{IPAlink|k͡p}}
| 
| 
|-
! <small>[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| {{IPAlink|b}}
|
| {{IPAlink|d̪|d}}
| {{IPAlink|dz}}
| {{IPAlink|ɖ}}
| {{IPAlink|dʒ}}
| 
| 
| {{IPAlink|ɡ}}
| {{IPAlink|ɡ͡b}}
| 
| 
|-
! rowspan=2| [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
! <small>voiceless</small>
| {{IPAlink|ɸ}}
| {{IPAlink|f}}
|
| {{IPAlink|s}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ʃ}}
| || || ||
| {{IPAlink|χ}}
| χ<sup>w</sup>
|-
! <small>voiced</small>
| {{IPAlink|β}}
| {{IPAlink|v}}
|
| {{IPAlink|z}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ʒ}}
| || || ||
| {{IPAlink|ʁ}}
| ʁ<sup>w</sup>
|-
!rowspan=2| [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
! <small>plain</small>
| || || ||
| {{IPAlink|r}}
| || || || || || ||
|-
! <small>[[Nasalization|nasalized]]</small>
| || || ||
| r̃
| || || || || || ||
|-
!rowspan=2| [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
! <small>plain</small>
| || || ||
| {{IPAlink|l}}
|
| {{IPAlink|j}}
| {{IPAlink|ɥ}}
| {{IPAlink|ɰ}}
| {{IPAlink|w}}
| ||
|-
! <small>nasalized</small>
| || || ||
| l̃
|
| j̃
| ɥ̃
|
| w̃
| ||
|}
''Notes''
*The apico-[[postalveolar consonant]]s are generally written and transcribed with the symbols for the corresponding alveolar consonants, except for the voiced stop, which uses the symbol for the voiced retroflex stop {{IPA|[ɖ]}}. This is only to distinguish it from the lamino-dental voiced stop, and is not to be interpreted as the consonant being [[Subapical consonant|subapical]].
*The above table lists the attested ''phonetic'' segments. Some of the sounds listed here are in [[free variation]] with other sounds (e.g. '''r''' and '''r̃''' with '''l''' and '''l̃'''). The reader is referred to the individual languages for an overview of their phoneme inventory.

No Gbe language exhibits all of the above forty-two phonetic segments. According to Capo (1991), all of them have the following twenty-three consonants in common: '''b, m, t, d, ɖ, n, k, g, kp, gb, ɲ, f, v, s, z, χ, ʁ, r, r̃, l, l̃, y, w'''.

===Vowels===
The following vowels are found in Gbe languages:

{| class="wikitable" 
|+ <small>Phonetic inventory of vowels in Gbe languages</small>
!<small>Capo 1991:24</small>!![[Front vowel|Front]]!![[Central vowel|Central]]!![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|[[Close vowel|Close]]||{{IPA link|i}}•{{IPA link|ĩ}}|| ||{{IPA link|u}}•{{IPA link|ũ}}
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|[[Close-mid vowel|Close-mid]]||{{IPA link|e}}•{{IPA link|ẽ}}|| ||{{IPA link|o}}•{{IPA link|õ}}
|-
| || ||{{IPA link|ə}}•{{IPA link|ə̃}}||
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|[[Open-mid vowel|Open-mid]]||{{IPA link|ɛ}}•{{IPA link|ɛ̃}}|| ||{{IPA link|ɔ}}•{{IPA link|ɔ̃}}
|-
| style="text-align: right;"|[[Open vowel|Open]]|| ||{{IPA link|a}}•{{IPA link|ã}}||
|}

In general, each Gbe variety makes use of a subset of twelve vowels, seven [[Oral vowel|oral]] and five [[Nasal vowel|nasalised]]. The vowels {{IPA|/i ĩ u ũ e o ɛ̃ ɔ ɔ̃ a ã/}} are attested in all Gbe languages.

Nasalization plays an important role in the vowel inventory: every vowel in the Gbe languages occurs in a non-nasalized and a nasalized form. Capo (1991) observes that the degree of nasality of nasal vowels is less when they occur after nasal consonants than after non-nasal ones.

===Nasalization in Gbe===
Capo (1981) has argued that nasalization in Gbe languages should be analyzed phonemically as a feature relevant to vowels and not to consonants.<ref>Cf. Capo (1981).</ref> This means that nasal vowels are distinct from oral vowels, while nasal and voiced oral stops are treated as predictable variants. For example, non-syllabic nasal consonants are always followed by a nasal vowel, and syllabic nasal consonants are analyzed as reduced forms of consonant–vowel syllables. This analysis is in line with reconstructions of the [[Protolanguage|proto]]-[[Volta–Congo languages|Volta–Congo]] language, for which similar proposals have been made.<ref>Cf. Stewart, John (1985) 'Nasality patterns in the Volta–Congo foot.' Paper presented at the Colloquium on African Linguistics, Leiden, Sept. 1985.</ref>

===Tone===
The Gbe languages are [[Tone (linguistics)|tonal language]]s. In general, they have three tone levels, High (H), Mid (M), and Low (L), of which the lower two are not phonemically contrastive. Thus, the basic tonemes of Gbe are 'High' and 'Non-High', where the High toneme may be realised as High or Rising and the Non-High toneme may be realised as Low or Mid. The tones of Gbe [[noun]]s are often affected by the [[consonant]] of the noun stem. The [[phonation|voicing]] of this consonant affects the realisation of the Non-High toneme roughly as follows: If the consonant is a voiced [[obstruent]], the Non-High toneme is realised as Low (è-ḏà 'snake') and if the consonant is a voiceless obstruent or a [[sonorant]], the Non-High toneme is realised as Mid (ām̲ē 'person', à-f̱ī 'mouse'). The consonants that induce tonal alternations in this way are sometimes called [[depressor consonant]]s.

===Morphology===
The basic [[syllable]] form of Gbe languages is commonly rendered (C<sub>1</sub>)(C<sub>2</sub>)V(C<sub>3</sub>), meaning that there at least has to be a nucleus V, and that there are various possible configurations of consonants (C<sub>1-3</sub>). The V position may be filled by any of the vowels or by a syllabic nasal. It is also the location of the tone. While virtually any consonant can occur in the C<sub>1</sub>  position, there exist several restrictions on the kind of consonants that can occur in the C<sub>2</sub>  and C<sub>3</sub>  positions. In general, only [[liquid consonants]] may occur as C<sub>2</sub> , while only nasals occur in the C<sub>3</sub> position.

Most [[verb]]s in Gbe languages have one of the basic syllable forms. Gbe [[noun|nominals]] are generally preceded by a nominal prefix consisting of a vowel (cf. the Ewe word ''{{IPA|aɖú}}'', 'tooth'). The quality of this vowel is restricted to the subset of non-nasal vowels. In some cases the nominal prefix is reduced to [[schwa]] or lost: the word for 'fire' is ''izo'' in Phelá, ''{{IPA|ədʒo}}'' in Wací-Ewe and ''{{IPA|dʒo}}'' in Pecí-Ewe. The nominal prefix can be seen as a relic of a typical Niger–Congo [[noun class]] system.

The Gbe languages are [[isolating language]]s, and as such express many semantic features by lexical items. Of a more [[agglutinative language|agglutinative]] nature are the commonly used [[periphrasis|periphrastic]] constructions. In contrast to [[Bantu languages]], a major branch of the Niger–Congo language family, Gbe languages have very little inflectional morphology. There is for example no subject–verb [[agreement (linguistics)|agreement]] whatsoever in Gbe, no [[gender (linguistics)|gender]] agreement, and no inflection of nouns for number. The Gbe languages make extensive use of a rich system of tense/aspect markers.

[[Reduplication]] is a morphological process in which the root or stem of a word, or part of it, is repeated. The Gbe languages, like most [[Kwa languages]], make extensive use of reduplication in the formation of new words, especially in deriving nouns, adjectives and adverbs from verbs. Thus in Ewe, the verb ''lã́'', 'to cut', is nominalised by reduplication, yielding ''lãlã́'', 'the act of cutting'. Triplication is used to intensify the meaning of adjectives and adverbs, e.g. Ewe ''ko'' 'only' → ''kokooko'' 'only, only, only'.

==Grammar==
The basic word order of Gbe clauses is generally [[subject–verb–object]], except in the [[imperfective aspect|imperfective tense]] and some related constructions<!-- Note: Cf. Aboh (2004) -->. The Gbe languages, notably Ewe, Fon and Anlo, played a role in the genesis of several [[Caribbean]] creole languages—[[Haitian Creole]] for example is classifiable as having a [[French language|French]] vocabulary with the syntax of a Gbe language.<ref>Lefebvre (1985). A recent research project of the Leiden-based Research School [[CNWS]] on this topic concerns the relation between Gbe and [[Suriname]]se creole languages. The project is titled ''A trans-Atlantic [[Sprachbund]]? The structural relationship between the Gbe-languages of West Africa and the Surinamese creole languages''.</ref>

The Gbe languages do not have a marked distinction between tense and aspect. The only [[Grammatical tense|tense]] that is expressed by a simple morphological marker in Gbe languages is the ''future tense''. The future marker is ''ná'' or ''a'', as can be seen from the examples below.

Other tenses are arrived at by means of special time adverbs or by inference from the context, and this is where the tense/aspect distinction becomes blurred. For example, what is sometimes referred to as ''perfective aspect'' in Gbe blends with the notion of past tense since it expresses an event with a definite endpoint, ''located in the past'' (see example sentences below).

{{interlinear|indent=3|ŋútsu á '''a''' ɸlè xéxí|man DET FUT buy umbrella|'the man will buy an umbrella' (Ewegbe, future marker)}}
{{interlinear|indent=3|ŋútsu á ɸlè xéxí|man DET buy:PFV umbrella|'the man bought an umbrella' (Ewegbe, perfective)}}

[[Focus (linguistics)|Focus]], which is used to draw attention to a particular part of the utterance, to signify contrast or to emphasize something, is expressed in Gbe languages by leftward movement of the focused element and by way of a focus marker ''wɛ́'' (Gungbe, Fongbe), ''yé'' (Gengbe) or ''é'' (Ewegbe), suffixed to the focused element.

{{interlinear|indent=3|àxwé '''yé''' Kòfí tù|house FOC Kofi build:PFV|'Kofi built A HOUSE' (Gengbe, focus) <!-- Note: Source: Aboh (2004) -->}}

[[Question]]s can be constructed in various ways in Gbe languages. A simple declarative sentence can be turned into an interrogative utterance by the use of the question marker ''à'' at the end of the sentence. Another way of forming questions is by using question words. These so-called ''question word questions'' are much akin to focus constructions in Gbe. The question word is found at the beginning of the sentence, as is the focus marker. The close relationship to focus is also clear from the fact that in Gbe, a sentence cannot contain a question word and a focused element simultaneously.

{{interlinear|indent=3|Afua de Gɛ '''à'''?|Afua reach:PFV {{IPA|Gɛ}} Q|'Did Afua go to Accra?' &nbsp; (Ewegbe, question)}}
{{interlinear|indent=3|'''étɛ́''' Sɛ́ná xìá?|what Sena read:PFV|'What did Sena read?' (Gungbe, question word question) <!-- Note: Source: Aboh (2004) -->}}

[[Topic (linguistics)|Topicalization]], the signalling of the subject that is being talked about, is achieved in Gbe languages by the move of the topicalized element to the beginning of the sentence. In some Gbe languages, a topic marker is suffixed to the topicalized element. In other Gbe languages the topic has to be ''definite''. A topicalized element precedes the focused element in a sentence containing both.

{{interlinear|indent=3|...ɖɔ̀ '''dàn''' '''ɔ́''', Kòfí wɛ̀ hùì ~|that snake DET Kofi FOC kill:PFV it|'...that the snake, KOFI killed it' (Fongbe, topic) <!-- Note: Source: Aboh (2004) -->}}

[[Negation]] is expressed in various ways in the Gbe languages. In general, three methods of negation can be distinguished: Languages like Gungbe express negation by a preverbal marker ''má''; Fongbe-type languages express negation either like Gungbe, or with a sentence-final marker ''ã''; and languages like Ewegbe require both the preverbal marker ''mé'' and a sentence-final marker ''o''.

<div style="margin-left:18px">
{|
|+ style="border-bottom:2px dotted #CCCCCC; text-align:left" | ''Sentential negation'' &nbsp;<small>(examples adapted from Aboh 2003 unpublished handout)</small>
| style="padding-right:10px" | {{IPA|Kɔ̀jó '''má''' xɔ̀ kátikáti lɔ́}} ||style="padding-right:10px"| Kojo <small>NEG</small> buy kite <small>DET</small> ||style="padding-right:10px"| ''Kojo did not buy the kite'' ||style="padding-right:10px"| (Gungbe)
|-
| {{IPA|Kɔ̀kú '''má''' ná xɔ̀ àsɔ́n ɔ́}} || Koku <small>NEG FUT</small> buy crab <small>DET</small> || ''Koku will not buy the crab'' || (Fongbe)
|-
| {{IPA|Kɔ̀kú ná xɔ̀ àsɔ́n ɔ́ '''ã'''}} || Koku <small>FUT</small> buy crab <small>DET NEG</small> || ''Koku will not buy the crab'' || (Fongbe)
|-
| {{IPA|Kòfi '''mé''' ɖù nú '''ò'''}} || Kofi <small>NEG</small> eat thing <small>NEG</small> || ''Kofi did not eat'' || (Ewegbe)
|}
</div>

Gbe languages share an [[areal feature]] found in many languages of the Volta basin, the [[serial verb construction]]. This means that two or more verbs can be juxtaposed in one clause, sharing the same subject, lacking conjunctive markings, resulting in a meaning that expresses the consecutive or simultaneous aspect of the actions of the verbs.

{{interlinear|indent=3|Kofí '''trɔ''' '''dzo''' kpoo|Kofi turn:PFV leave:PFV quietly|'Kofi turned and left quietly' (Ewegbe, serial verb construction)}}

==See also==
*[[Wiktionary:Appendix:List of Proto-Gbe reconstructions|List of Proto-Gbe reconstructions]] (Wiktionary)

==Notes and references==

===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

===References===
*Aboh, O. Enoch (2004) ''The Morphosyntax of Complement-Head Sequences (Clause Structure and Word Order Patterns in Kwa)'' New York etc.: Oxford University Press.
*Amenumey, D.E.K. (2002) {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20041111133338/http://www.atidekate.com/Volta/Ewe.html History of the Ewe]}}. Retrieved May 11, 2005.
*[[Gilbert Ansre|Ansre, Gilbert]] (1961) ''The Tonal Structure of Ewe''. MA Thesis, Kennedy School of Missions of Hartford Seminary Foundation.
*[[Felix Ameka|Ameka, Felix Kofi]] (2001) 'Ewe'. In Garry and Rubino (eds.), ''Facts About the World's Languages: An Encyclopedia of the World's Major Languages, Past and Present'', 207–213. New York/Dublin: The H.W. Wilson Company.
*Blench, Roger (2006) ''Archaeology, Language, and the African Past.'' AltaMira Press.
*Capo, Hounkpati B.C. (1981) 'Nasality in Gbe: A Synchronic Interpretation' ''Studies in African Linguistics'', 12, 1, 1–43.
*Capo, Hounkpati B.C. (1988) ''Renaissance du Gbe: Réflexions critiques et constructives sur L'EVE, le FON, le GEN, l'AJA, le GUN, etc.'' Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag.
*Capo, Hounkpati B.C. (1991) ''A Comparative Phonology of Gbe'', Publications in African Languages and Linguistics, 14. Berlin/New York: Foris Publications & Garome, Bénin: Labo Gbe (Int).
*Cust, Robert Needham (1883) ''Modern Languages of Africa''.
*[[Alan Stewart Duthie|Duthie, A.S.]] & Vlaardingerbroek, R.K. (1981) ''Bibliography of Gbe – publications on and in the language'' Basel: Basler Afrika Bibliographien.
*Greenberg, Joseph H. (1966) ''The Languages of Africa'' (2nd ed. with additions and corrections). Bloomington: Indiana University.
*Greene, Sandra E. (2002) ''Sacred Sites: The Colonial Encounter''. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. {{ISBN|0-253-21517-X}} ([https://web.archive.org/web/20040919185213/http://iupress.indiana.edu/textnet/0-253-34073-X/025334073X.htm online version])
*Henrici, Ernst (1891) ''Lehrbuch der Ephe-Sprache (Ewe) Anlo-, Anecho- und Dahome-Mundart (mit Glossar und einer Karte der Sklavenküste)''. Stuttgart/Berlin: W. Spemann. (270 p.)
<!--*Henrici, Ernst (1888) ''Das Deutsche Togogebiet und meine Afrikaresie 1887 (mit einer Karte des Togogebietes und des unteren Volta und einere Tafel der Gebirgsprofile)''. Leipzig: Verlag von Carl Reiner. (145 p.) -->
<!-- *Hintze, Ursula (1959) ''Bibliographie der Kwa-Sprachen und der Sprachen der Togo-Restvölker (mit 11 zweifarbigen Sprachenkarten)''. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag. -->
*Labouret, Henir and Paul Rivet (1929) ''Le Royaume d'Arda et son Évangélisation au XVIIe siècle''. Paris: Institut d'Ethnologie.
*Lefebvre, Claire (1985) 'Relexification in creole genesis revisited: the case of Haitian Creole'. In Muysken & Smith (eds.) ''Substrate versus Universals in Creole Genesis''. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
*Kluge, Angela (2000) 'The Gbe language varieties of West Africa – a quantitative analysis of lexical and grammatical features'. [unpublished MA thesis, University of Wales, College of Cardiff].
*Kluge, Angela (2005) [http://journals.dartmouth.edu/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Journals.woa/1/xmlpage/1/article/281 'A synchronic lexical study of Gbe language varieties: The effects of different similarity judgment criteria'] ''Linguistic Discovery'' 3, 1, 22–53.
*Kluge, Angela (2006) [https://archive.today/20121206030835/http://www.atypon-link.com/WDG/doi/abs/10.1515/JALL.2006.004 'Qualitative and quantitative analysis of grammatical features elicited among the Gbe language varieties of West Africa'] ''Journal of African Languages and Linguistics'' 27, 1, 53–86.
*Pasch, Helma (1995) ''Kurzgrammatik des Ewe'' Köln: Köppe.
*Stewart, John M. (1989) 'Kwa'. In: Bendor-Samuel & Hartell (eds.) ''The Niger–Congo languages''. Lanham, MD: The University Press of America.
*Westermann, Diedrich Hermann (1930) ''A Study of the Ewe Language'' London: Oxford University Press.

{{Languages of Benin}}
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