Sigismund Wilhelm Koelle first mentions twelve Gur languages in his 1854
Polyglotta Africana, which represent ten languages in modern classification. Notably, he correctly identified these languages as being related to one another; his 'North-Eastern High Sudan' corresponds to Gur in modern classification. { "type": "FeatureCollection", "features": [ { "type": "Feature", "properties": { "fill": "#42BE00", "fill-opacity": 0.5, "stroke": "#000000", "stroke-width": 1, "stroke-opacity": 1 , "title": "
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Gurene Language"}, "geometry": { "type": "Polygon", "coordinates":[-1.0144501,10.6469855,0],[-0.9615784,10.6004191,0],[-0.8740311,10.5582333,0],[-0.7916337,10.5531706,0],[-0.7500916,10.5778082,0],[-0.7157593,10.6135799,0],[-0.6965333,10.6571077,0],[-0.6903534,10.7056896,0],[-0.6900101,10.7721397,0],[-0.7167893,10.8776875,0],[-0.770691,10.9353352,0],[-0.7799607,11.0101595,0],[-0.8043366,11.0674444,0],[-0.8445054,11.0684553,0],[-0.898407,11.05801,0],[-0.963295,11.0519449,0],[-1.0065537,11.0317269,0],[-1.0401993,10.9909496,0],[-1.0182267,10.9599417,0],[-0.9928208,10.9285934,0],[-0.9646683,10.908704,0],[-0.963295,10.8577947,0],[-0.9790879,10.8405982,0],[-0.9976273,10.798783,0],[-1.0189133,10.7532518,0],[-1.0367661,10.7151352,0],[-1.0298996,10.6915207,0],[-1.0216599,10.6668922,0],[-1.0144501,10.6469855,0]}} , { "type": "Feature", "properties": { "fill": "#00ACA7", "fill-opacity": 0.5, "stroke": "#000000", "stroke-width": 1, "stroke-opacity": 1 , "title": "
Kusaal Language"}, "geometry": { "type": "Polygon", "coordinates":[-0.5009216,10.9976351,0],[-0.4693359,10.8789811,0],[-0.3938049,10.7413913,0],[-0.1507324,10.6968634,0],[-0.0655883,10.7629781,0],[-0.0175232,10.8182875,0],[-0.0175232,10.9099975,0],[0.0319153,10.9814578,0],[0.0236756,11.0636832,0],[-0.021643,11.1148938,0],[-0.0628418,11.0825513,0],[-0.1424926,11.105461,0],[-0.1383728,11.155317,0],[-0.2551025,11.1809154,0],[-0.2688354,11.1270214,0],[-0.3320068,11.1108512,0],[-0.3594726,11.0744651,0],[-0.380072,11.1324112,0],[-0.4240173,11.1189364,0],[-0.4267639,11.0488573,0],[-0.4583496,11.0272912,0],[-0.5009216,10.9976351,0] } } ] } The Gur family was previously called
Voltaic, following the French name
(langues) Voltaïques (named after the
Volta River). It was once considered to be more extensive than it is often regarded today, including the
Senufo languages and a number of small language isolates. The inclusion of Senufo within Gur has been rejected by many linguists, including
Tony Naden. Williamson and Blench place Senufo as a separate branch of
Atlantic–Congo, while other non-Central Gur languages are placed somewhat closer as separate branches within the
Savannas continuum. Kleinewillinghöfer (2014) notes that the closest relatives of Gur appear to be several branches of the obsolete
Adamawa family, since many "Adamawa" languages in fact share more similarities with various (Central) Gur languages than with other Adamawa languages. He proposes that early Gur-Adamawa speakers had cultivated
guinea corn and millet in a wooded savanna environment. == Classification ==