Search results
The Nilo-Saharan languages are a proposed family of African languages spoken by somewhere around 70 million speakers, [1] mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers, including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of the Nile meet. The languages extend through 17 nations in the northern half of Africa: from Algeria to ...
- None
- ca. 70 million for all branches listed below.
- Proposed language family
- Overview
- Writing
For most Nilo-Saharan languages, there is no ancient literary tradition. A notable exception is Old Nubian, which was probably in use among Christian communities between the 8th and the 11th centuries. This writing system, attested in manuscripts and inscriptions, was derived from that of Coptic, which was adapted mainly from the Greek alphabet, and to a lesser extent from the Meroitic script. Old Nubian was abandoned after Islam spread to this area of northern Sudan. Nubian languages occasionally have been written in Arabic script.
Although several Nilo-Saharan languages are used primarily as a means of oral communication, there is a widespread tendency among governments of modern African states to integrate these into the educational system, next to official (European) languages such as English (in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda) and French (in Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Such a policy may be combined with the use of a national language (Amharic in Ethiopia or Swahili in Kenya). Nilotic languages such as Luo, Masai, and Turkana are taught in primary schools in Kenya together with English and Swahili. The official policy of Sudan with respect to the use of vernacular languages along with Arabic and English has fluctuated during the decades after its independence in 1956. In Ethiopia, Amharic remained the sole medium for public communication and education until the reign of the emperor Haile Selassie was terminated in 1974. Thereafter several other languages (e.g., the Nilotic language Anywa) were introduced into the official educational system. Similarly, in Eritrea, which became an independent state in 1993, the use of Nilo-Saharan languages such as Kunama and Nera has been encouraged in educational policy at the primary level. Eritrea thereby followed the modern African trend of combining the use of official or national languages with that of regional and local languages.
For most Nilo-Saharan languages, there is no ancient literary tradition. A notable exception is Old Nubian, which was probably in use among Christian communities between the 8th and the 11th centuries. This writing system, attested in manuscripts and inscriptions, was derived from that of Coptic, which was adapted mainly from the Greek alphabet, and to a lesser extent from the Meroitic script. Old Nubian was abandoned after Islam spread to this area of northern Sudan. Nubian languages occasionally have been written in Arabic script.
Although several Nilo-Saharan languages are used primarily as a means of oral communication, there is a widespread tendency among governments of modern African states to integrate these into the educational system, next to official (European) languages such as English (in Kenya, Nigeria, and Uganda) and French (in Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo). Such a policy may be combined with the use of a national language (Amharic in Ethiopia or Swahili in Kenya). Nilotic languages such as Luo, Masai, and Turkana are taught in primary schools in Kenya together with English and Swahili. The official policy of Sudan with respect to the use of vernacular languages along with Arabic and English has fluctuated during the decades after its independence in 1956. In Ethiopia, Amharic remained the sole medium for public communication and education until the reign of the emperor Haile Selassie was terminated in 1974. Thereafter several other languages (e.g., the Nilotic language Anywa) were introduced into the official educational system. Similarly, in Eritrea, which became an independent state in 1993, the use of Nilo-Saharan languages such as Kunama and Nera has been encouraged in educational policy at the primary level. Eritrea thereby followed the modern African trend of combining the use of official or national languages with that of regional and local languages.
People also ask
What are the top facts and stats about Nilo-Saharan languages?
What are Nilotic languages?
Why are Nilo-Saharan languages so diverse?
Which Nilo-Saharan language is a lingua franca?
Nilo-Saharan languages - African, Diverse, Endangered: The considerable typological diversity that characterizes the Nilo-Saharan languages corresponds to their wide geographic spread. Structural properties—for example, with respect to sound systems and word order—often are shared with unrelated neighbouring language groups. Thus, rich and complex consonant systems with universally rare ...
The diffusion of Nilo-Saharan languages. The original expansion of the Nilo-Saharan family may have been associated with the Aquatic industry. This industry, which dates to the 8th millennium bce, is a conglomeration of cultures that exploited the food resources of lakes, rivers, and surrounding areas from Lake Rudolf in East Africa to the bend of the Niger River in West Africa during a long ...
Komuz languages, a branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family formed by a group of related languages spoken in the border area that separates Ethiopia from Sudan and South Sudan. The Komuz group consists of Koma, Twampa (Uduk), Kwama, and Opo (Opo-Shita). Another variety of Komuz, known as Gule (Anej), may be extinct because its speakers have ...
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Nilotic languages are usually divided into a Western group (containing such languages as Acholi, Burun, Dinka, Lango, Luo, Mabaan, Nuer, and Shilluk), an Eastern group (including Bari, Karimojong, Lotuxo, Maa [the language of the Maasai people], Teso, Toposa, and Turkana), and a Southern group (including Omotik, Datooga [Tatoga], and ...
The Nilo-Saharan languages are a proposed family of African languages spoken by somewhere around 70 million speakers, mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers, including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of the Nile meet. The languages extend through 17 nations in the northern half of Africa: from Algeria to Benin in the west; from Libya to the Democratic ...
