The Dogon languages are a small, closely related family spoken by the Dogon people of Mali, comprising around 26 languages and roughly 600,000 speakers concentrated in the Bandiagara region of southeastern Mali. Their exact relationship to Niger-Congo is debated: the languages are tonal with subject-object-verb word order, and linguist Roger Blench notes they lack the noun classes typical of Niger-Congo, suggesting either an early split from that family or independent status.
Facts
Disputed
Proto-Language StatusExternal affiliation to Niger-Congo is unresolved: Dogon lacks the noun-class system typical of that family and shows very few lexical cognates, leading Roger Blench to conclude it likely diverged very early, if it is related at all. 1 RegionWest Africa: the Bandiagara escarpment area and surrounding plains of Mali 1 Speaker Count Sources
1. Wikipedia: Dogon languages
WikipediaIntroduction, first sentence
The Dogon languages are a small closely related language family that is spoken by the Dogon people of Mali and may belong to the proposed Niger-Congo family.
Introduction, second sentence
There are about 600,000 speakers of its dozen languages.
External relationships section, quoting Roger Blench
It could equally well be an independent language family.
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