Dagbani is a language spoken by some half million people in Ghana, where it is the most common language in the Northern regions. It's spoken mainly by people known as Dagomba, who have a tradition stretching back centuries, including their own government, the Dagbong state, as far back as the 15th century. The language is minimally tonal, but also inflective, with special endings modifying basic noun roots. It is a Gur language; a branch of the Niger-Congo language family, with 23 consonants and 7 vowels.