Mprɛ or Mpra is an extinct language spoken in the village of Butei () in central Ghana, located between the towns of Techiman and Tamale near the confluence of the Black and White Voltas. Mprɛ has been difficult to classify due to its divergent vocabulary. It is known from two word lists given in a 1931 article, and the other collected in 1956. Roger Blench considered it to be a possible language isolate, or alternatively a Kwa language.
A poorly attested language spoken in the nearby village of Tuluwe and "Kusawgu Division", Mpur, may also turn out to be yet another language isolate. Both Butei and Tuluwe are located near the village of Mpaha.
Painter (1967) briefly states that " has died" and that the ethnic group ("the Nnyamase-mprɛ") have "become Nnyamase-Gonja"; he appears to regard it as having been a dialect of Gonja. However, this is based only on the numerals, which are clearly related to Gonja. The rest of the vocabulary is "hard to recognise". Blench presented it initially as a language isolate, but also as a possible Kwa language; he later notes that it "may either be an isolate with [Kwa] borrowings or a highly divergent branch of Kwa".
Vocabulary Allan Wolsey Cardinall collected 106 words of Mpra, which are presented below. +Mpra vocabularyglossMpraGodagbemit rainsagbem abaearthsunkoearth owner or tindanasuko kawuseggi1ekpe2enyo3eta4ena5enu6grume7ngpa8nenengene9gokpa10edu11edu bili mpe12edu bili nyo13edu bili ta20ado nyo30ado ta100kelafa200lefanyo1000agbucowrieamuseragahouseesocownoghafowlkohorguinea-fowlaiyilimaniichonangsiwomanejochildnzuifatherchichimotheremosonnkemnzuidogtebegoatadewaternkawbowetawaarrownchofireejait rainsagbemabayamampimilletavuecassavawanchicornaboyinbeansazanosemasumaeyesanisiteethatetonguenchumahairnminhandenoarmebopalegeputofooteputo nasifingersatazatoeatazaiclothbusatreeeyiakapok treeejininative jumperskaleloinclothdakorelephantewogobush cowzingilzinoghalionjikpajikpakoseggihartebeestjungaroankolwaterbuckbrugunibushbuckchankpalareedbuckkurunkuoribiwulokobvoloduikerkukrured-duikerpumpubush pigjurohippopotamuschajihorsevemadonkeykwimiblackziriwhitefuliredejuliironepolebonahoeenwonaaxeetilefarmebazabushzingelzavillageadebanzafishenchinisnakeewoascorpionlemmalocusttintumbabeezinwihoneybyunkonkonbirdboboanimalabrimapreleopardjankammahyenajingachibush-catbatatobaccoasarataileduheadzekpaskinekulimouthnchumushea nutgwizishea butternguMoonnnopavosunezolstarsachepreza References
Bibliography Blench, Roger. 2010. "Why is Africa so Linguistically Undiverse?". Language Isolates in Africa workshop, Lyon, December 3–4
External links Blench, Roger (1999) Recent Field Work in Ghana: Report on Dompo and a note on Mpre.