Guere language

Guéré
Wè
Native to	Ivory Coast
Region	Dix-Huit Montagnes, Moyen-Cavally
Native speakers	320,000 (1998–1999)
Language family	Niger–Congo Atlantic–Congo Kru Western Kru Wee Guere–Krahn Guéré
Language codes
ISO 639-3	Either:  – Central Gere (Southern Wee)  – Neyo (Western Wee)
Glottolog	guer1240
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Guéré (Gere), also called Wè (Wee), is a Kru language spoken by over 300,000 people in the Dix-Huit Montagnes and Moyen-Cavally regions of Ivory Coast.

The phonology of Guere (here the Zagna dialect of Central Guere / Southern Wè) is briefly sketched out below.

The consonant phonemes are as follows:

Allophones of some of these phonemes include:

In addition, while the nasal consonants /m, n/ and contrast with /ɓ/ and /l/ before oral vowels, and are thus separate phonemes, before nasal vowels only the nasal consonants occur. /ɓ/ and /l/ do not occur before nasal vowels, suggesting that historically a phonemic merger between these sounds and the nasals /m, n/ may have occurred in this position.

Like many West African languages, Guere makes use of a contrast between vowels with advanced tongue root and those with retracted tongue root. In addition, nasal vowels contrast phonemically with oral vowels.

Guere is a tonal language and contrasts ten tones:

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