Protonigercongo must have been a language spoken quite deep in prehistory. The nilosaharan languages are presumed to be descended from a common ancestral language and, therefore, to be genetically related. Nilosaharan languages, a group of languages that form one of the four language stocks or families on the african continent, the others being afroasiatic, khoisan, and nigercongo. Kenyan luo also known as dholuo belongs to the luo grouping within the western nilotic grouping of the nilo saharan language family. The ethiopian languages are divided into four major language groups. The nilosaharan languages stretch across the eastern sahara, the upper nile valley, and the regions surrounding east africas lake victoria. In chad it is spoken mainly in the djurab desert and borkou regions in the north of the country. However, due to the paucity of evidence, many scholars treat it as an independent language family. Many languages constituting about 206 in number are members of the nilo saharan family in the east and central africa ethnologue some of.
The presence of the core of nilo saharan languages in the confluence of the two nile rivers suggests that the sudanese region is the place of origin of the nilo saharan linguistic family despite their fragmented distribution, as shown by the location of the nubian language 21,22. The languages extend through 17 nations in the northern half of africa. These are semitic, cushitic, omotic, and nilo saharan. In the north, following the saharan routes of trade and travel are the afroasiatic linguistic groups. African languages fall into four basic families following ancient migratory patterns of influence. Ethiopian languages semitic, cushitic, omotic and nilo. This page was last edited on 15 august 2018, at 18.
It is interesting to note that nuba populations constitute an. It is spoken by the luo people of kenya and tanzania, numbering about 3 million, who occupy parts of the eastern shore of lake victoria and areas south of there. Niger saharan and the problem of panafrican roots this paper was originally presented at the viith nilo saharan conference in vienna, 26th september, 1998 and has been revised for publication. While komans affiliation to the purported nilo saharan super family is still under debate, the overarching aim of this dissertation is to provide a conservative reconstruction of protokoman which will hopefully serve future koman scholars as well as those interested in higherlevel genetic classifications of east african languages. The nilosaharan language family includes 204 extremely diverse languages. As for proto nilo saharan, i am doubtful theres enough evidence to suggest such a language ever existed. As is obvious from the name of the family, it covers the nile basin and the central sahara desert. In the far southwest and along the countrys western border live several peoples speaking nilosaharan languages. Mid saharan and extending southward into north central africa are the nilo saharan languages. Most nuer are found in sudan, whereas the anuak live almost entirely in ethiopia. Kunama is spoken by the kunama people of the gashbarka region in western eritrea and just across the ethiopian border.
It was sent to the editor, norbert cyffer in 1999 and proofed in 2000. Technological and cultural innovations as well as climate changes are thought to have influenced the diffusion of major language phyla in sub saharan. This page was last edited on 7 november 2019, at 02. Chad basin, lying within the bidirectional corridor of african sahel, is one of the most populated places in sub saharan africa today. Pdf on stable and unstable features in nilosaharan. Its nonappearance is a mystery and there is s strong suspicion it wont be. A language family of sub saharan africa spoken in the interior from nigeria to kenya and including kanuri, nubian, and the nilotic languages. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. They are spoken by around 50 million people, who mainly live in the upper parts of the chari and nile rivers. However, today, most of them accept the genetic unity of the nilo saharan languages as proposed in 1963 by joseph greenberg, an american anthropologist and linguist. The most numerous of these are the nuer and anuak, both members of the east sudanic family.
The semitic languages are spoken in northern, central and eastern ethiopia mainly in tigray, amhara, harar and northern part of the southern peoples state regions. The languages in the family are spoken in seventeen african nations. Are there reasonably accepted estimates of when proto. Nilosaharan synonyms, nilosaharan pronunciation, nilosaharan translation, english dictionary definition of nilosaharan. Scholars have argued for over 100 years about the best way to classify them. Pages in category nilosaharan languages the following 4 pages are in this category, out of 4 total. Pdf a typological perspective on the morphology of nilo. A theoretical major language family spoken mostly along the nile river and in large parts of the sahara. Number marking and noun categorization in nilo saharan languages. Members of the nilo saharan family are also found in northeastern congo kinshasa, west to the chari river, and south to. The koman languages are a small closeknit family of languages located along the sudanethiopia border with about 50,000 speakers. The feature of atr and atr harmony in nilo saharan.
The most important language family in sub saharan africa is. The nilosaharan languages are a family of african languages. The easternmost representatives of nilo saharan, a language family spread over much of central and eastern africa, extend into ethiopia and eritrea map 1. The kunama language has been included in the proposed nilo saharan language family, though it is distantly related to the other languages, if at all. The origin of its settlement appears connected with holocene climatic ameliorations aquatic resources that started 10,000 years before present ybp. Nilo saharan languages consist of a hundred diverse languages. A historical reconstruction of the koman language family. Stirtz a grammar of gaahmg, a nilosaharan language of sudan this thesis investigates the grammar of gaahmg, a nilo saharan, eastern sudanic language spoken in the blue nile province of north sudan. The area in which these languages are spoken stretches from dakar, senegal, at the. The family has a speech area that stretches from the nile valley to northern tanzania and into nigeria and dr congo, with the songhay languages along the middle reaches of the niger river as a geographic outlier. The most important language family in sub saharan africa is a khoisan b nigercongo c nilo saharan d afroasiatic e altaic. Pdf number marking and noun categorization in nilo. A dictionary of so, a nilosaharan language of ne uganda bernd heine and eithne carlin. The nilo saharan language phylum remains one of the most controversial global linguistics, with outsiders expressing doubt as to its reality e.
The nigercongo language family is one of the largest language families in the world and the largest one in africa in terms of its geographical spread across most of sub saharan africa, number of speakers, and the number of languages 1514. Barka, marda, aimara, odasa, tika, lakatakura, sokodasa, takazzeselit and tigray. Daza is a member of the western saharan branch of the nilo saharan language family. A languages survival depends on a its similarity to other languages b the ease foreign speakers. There are 61 distinct indigenous languages spoken in kenya today. The university of nairobi journal of language and linguistics.
This family formed the core of the nilo saharan phylum as hypothesized in greenberg 1963, where a number of groups were added which had been treated as isolated units. It is spoken by approximately 45,000 people in the rift valley of central kenya. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. The nilosaharan language family includes 204 extremely diverse languages spoken by roughly 35 million people in the interior of northern africa, including the greater nile basin and its tributaries, as well as the central region of the sahara desert scholars have argued for over 100 years about the best way to classify nilo saharan languages. Gwama, a littleknown endangered language of ethiopia. So has a typical nilo saharan threeterm number system, where the middle term is often unmarked and. The nilosaharan languages are a proposed family of african languages spoken by some 5060 million people in the upper parts of the chari and nile rivers, including historic nubia, north of where the two tributaries of the nile meet.
Migration of chadic speaking pastoralists within africa. The nilo saharan languages are a proposed family of african languages spoken by some 5060 million people, mainly in the upper parts of the chari and nile rivers, including historic nubia, north of where the two tributaries of the nile meet. A grammar of gaahmg, a nilosaharan language of sudan timothy m. Afroasiatic languages, languages of common origin found in the northern part of africa, the arabian peninsula, and some islands and adjacent areas in western asia.
Genetic linkage between these languages has not been conclusively. A dictionary of so, a nilosaharan language of ne uganda. It is spoken mainly in chad and niger by about 380,000 people in 2007. Nilo saharan languages are spoken in eastern africa stretching to the central and northernhalf part with the speakers of about 60 million nilotic people 2010 figure. A grammar of gaahmg, a nilosaharan language of sudan.
They are conventionally classified as part of the nilo saharan family. Endo is a nilo saharan language of the southern nilotic family. Although both nilo saharan and nigercongo language families are encountered here, the most. There are plenty of sub divisions of the group but none of them are considered valid by linguists. Nilotic and surmic languages nilo saharan can affect speech. The languages go through 17 countries in the northern half of africa. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page.
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