Notes on the Gweabo Language of Liberia

In the eastern part of Liberia, both along the coast and for a considerable distance into the interior, is spoken the ' gw e 4 a 4 bo 3 language. The tribes that use it, with slight dialectic differences, live some distance west of the Cavalla River, which is the dividing line between Liberia and the Ivory Coast, a French dependency, though some of the interior tribes extend also into French territory. These peoples are divided into five tribes: the ña,bo 1 (with six divisions), the n 1 “ w e , (English 'Nimiah', with three divisions), the ' bo 4 lo 3 kwę· 32 (with three divisions), the dr∈ 3 bo (English 'Tremble'), and the ' g b w 4 l 3 ' gw lobo. These five tribes, collectively known as ∗ gw e 4 a 4 bo 3 , are generally, but incorrectly, classed as 'Grebo', which should be reserved for a coast tribe lying just east of the coast Gweabo and at the mouth of the Cavalla. The true ‘Grebo’ are subdivided into six divisions and speak a language which is quite different from Gweabo, though closely related to it, being intermediate between it and Kru. The ‘Grebo’ are known as ' g b w 4 bo 3 by the Gweabo-speaking tribes. West of the Grebo proper are found the Kru.