About three-quarters of all Africans, including most West Africans, speak one of the languages in the sub- Saharan Niger-Congo family. With similar words for many common objects and actions, this family includes the following branches and languages:

• Mandinka (Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Cote d'lvoire)
• Bambara (Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Cote d'lvoire)
• Dyula (Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Cote d'lvoire)
• Mende (Sierra Leone)
• Kpelle (Liberia)

• Bantu languages
  • Zulu (South Africa)
  • Xhosa (South Africa)
  • Fang (Cameroon)
  • Bulu (Cameroon)
  • Yoruba (Nigeria, Benin; Togo)
  • Igbo (Nigeria)
  • Edo (Nigeria)

• Ewe (Togo, Ghana)
• Anyi (Cote d'lvoire)
• Baule (Cote d'lvoire)
• Akan languages
  • Ashanti (Ghana)
  • Fante (Ghana)

• Mossi (Nigeria, Cote d'lvoire, Burkina Faso)
• Bariba (Nigeria, Cote d'lvoire, Burkina Faso)
• Gurma (Nigeria, Cote d'lvoire, Burkina Faso)

Kru branch (Cote d'lvoire and southern Liberia)

Atlantic branch

• Temne (Sierra Leone)
• Wolof (Senegal)
• Fulani (Guinea, Nigeria, Cameroon)

Dogon...