However, these are geographic and typological rather than genealogical groups; Segerer (2010) shows that there is no exclusive relationship between Mel and the other southern languages, Sua (Mansoanka) and Gola.
[2] Fields (2008:83) proposes that the homeland of Proto-Mel is located in the north-central highlands of Sierra Leone just to the south of the Lesser Scarcies River, rather than on the coast.
The homeland of Proto-Highlands is located along the middle stretches of the Konkoure River in Guinea, just to the northeast of Conakry (Fields 2008:85).
[3] Comparison of basic vocabulary words in the Mel languages from Fields (2004):[2]
Comparison of basic vocabulary words in the Mel languages, and also Sua and Gola, from Wilson (2007):[4] Limba has also been added from Clarke (1922).