Koman languages
Family of languages used along the Sudan–Ethiopia border
title: "Koman languages" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["koman-languages", "language-families", "komuz-languages"] description: "Family of languages used along the Sudan–Ethiopia border" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koman_languages" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Family of languages used along the Sudan–Ethiopia border ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox language family"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Koman |
| region | Ethiopia–Sudan border region |
| map | Komuz.png |
| familycolor | Nilo-Saharan |
| fam2 | Komuz? |
| glotto | koma1264 |
| glottorefname | Koman |
| speakers | 50,000 |
| child1 | Uduk |
| child2 | Kwama |
| child3 | Komo |
| child4 | Opo |
| child5 | Dana |
| child6 | Gule? |
| protoname | Proto-Koman |
| date | no date |
| :: |
| name = Koman | region = Ethiopia–Sudan border region | map = Komuz.png | familycolor = Nilo-Saharan | fam2 = Komuz? | glotto = koma1264 | glottorefname = Koman | speakers = 50,000 | child1 = Uduk | child2 = Kwama | child3 = Komo | child4 = Opo | child5 = Dana | child6 = Gule? | protoname = Proto-Koman | date = no date
The Koman languages are a small, close-knit family of languages located along the Ethiopia–Sudan border with about 50,000 speakers. They are conventionally classified as part of the Nilo-Saharan family. However, due to the paucity of evidence, many scholars treat it as an independent language family. Among scholars who do accept its inclusion within Nilo-Saharan, opinions vary as to their position within it.
Koman languages in Ethiopia are in close contact with the Omotic Mao languages. In Ethiopia, some Koman-speaking groups also consider themselves to be ethnically Mao.
Internal classification
The Koman languages are:
- Koman
- Uduk, or T’wampa, (formerly in South Sudan) — about 20,000 speakers, most at a large refugee camp at Bonga, near Gambela
- Kwama (Ethiopia) — about 15,000 speakers, mainly in Benishangul-Gumuz
- Komo (Sudan) — about 12,000 speakers mainly in An Nil al Azraq
- Opuuo (Opo), or Shita (Ethiopia) — spoken in 5 villages north of the Nuer by about 5,000 people
- Dana, a newly discovered language located near Opo
- ?Gule (Sudan) — extinct
The poorly known Shabo language (600 speakers) shows strong Koman influence, and it has been suggested (on little evidence) that it may be a Koman language. Gule is generally classified as Koman, but the evidence is as yet insufficient.
Otero (2019)
Otero's (2019: 28) internal classification of Koman:
- Koman
External classification
Dimmendaal (2008) notes that mounting grammatical evidence has made the Nilo-Saharan proposal as a whole more sound since Greenberg proposed it in 1963 but that such evidence has not been forthcoming for Songhay, Gumuz, and Koman: "very few of the more widespread nominal and verbal morphological markers of Nilo-Saharan are attested in the Coman languages plus Gumuz ... Their genetic status remains debatable, mainly due to lack of more extensive data." (2008:843) And later, "In summarizing the current state of knowledge, ... the following language families or phyla can be identified: ... Mande, Songhai, Ubangian, Kadu, and the Coman languages plus Gumuz." (2008:844) However, Ahland (2010) reports that with better attestation, both Koman and Gumuz do appear to be Nilo-Saharan, and perhaps closest to each other.
Reconstruction
Proto-Koman has been reconstructed by Lionel Bender (1983) and Otero (2019).
Numerals
Comparison of numerals in individual languages:
::data[format=table]
| Language | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Komo (1) | ɗɛ́ | sʊ | dìʃ | dɔɡɔ̀n | bùsʼ | káná ɡɪ ɗɛ́ (? + 1) | káná á sʊ (? + 2) | káná á dìʃ (? + 3) | káná á dɔɡɔ̀n (? + 4) | kʼɔ́ʃ kʼɔ̀lɔ̀ |
| Komo (2) | ɗe(d) / ɗɛʔ (SIL) | suʔin / sʊʔ (SIL) | dícin / dǐʃǐn (SIL) | dōɡɔne(n) / dɔ̄ɣɔ́n (SIL) | busín / bʊ̀sʼín (SIL) | kɛnɡɪɗe / kàːnaɡǐɗɛ́ (SIL) | kɛnnɛsɔ / kàːnàsʊʔ (SIL) | kɛnnɛdiʃ / kàːnàdɪʃ (SIL) | kɛnnɛdɔɡɔn / káːndɔ̀ɡɔ̀n (SIL) | kɔʃinkwolo / kʼɔ́ʃkʼɔ̀lɔ̀ (SIL) |
| Gwama (Kwama) (1) | sóndò /sɛ́ːnɛ́ /sɛ́ːsʼkìn | sùjá | twásɛ̀n | béːsʼìn | kúːmùtʼ | kúbà-sèːn ('takes/lends/brings one') | kúbá-sùjá ('takes/lends/brings two') | kúbà-twásɛ̄n ('takes/lends/br. three') | kúb-béːsʼín ('takes/lends/brings four') | kʼúːzí (lit: 'fingers') |
| Gwama (Kwama) (2) | sɛ́ɛ́kʼín | swíjá | twàsɛ́n | béésʼín | kómòtʼ | kúpà-sɛ́n (litː ? + 1) | kúpà-swíjá (litː ? + 2) | kúpà-twàsɛ̄n (litː ? + 3) | kúpà-béésʼín (litː ? + 4) | kʼoosʼi |
| Kwama (Asosa) (3) | seːko ~ se:ndo / ʔāˈsɛ́n~ ʔāsɛ́l (SIL) | siːya / ˈsíjá (SIL) | twazan ~ twasan / ˈtʷāsán (SIL) | mbisiːna ~ beːsen / bēːsīn (SIL) | kʷʊmbut ~ kombɔt / ˈkʰūːmùt (SIL) | kʊmpasɛnde / ˈkōbāsín (SIL) | kʊmpa-siːya / kōbə̄ˈsìa (SIL) | kʊmpa-twasən / kōbə̄ˈtʷàsɪn (SIL) | kʊmpa-n-beːsina / kōˈbeːéːsīn (SIL) | kʊʃʊmbiːt ~kwuːzia / ˈkūːzi (SIL) |
| Opuuo (Tʼapo) (3) | ɗɛ̄n~dɛ̄ (contraction) | sʊ̄kʼá | tùsù | ʍàn | mùtá-kʼʊ̄j (litː 'be.full-hand') | kān-ɪ́-ɗɛ̄, contraction, (lit: five-ASC-one / five-ASC-one) | kān-ɪ́-sʊ̄kʼá (litː' five-ASC-two') | kān-ɪ́-tùsù (litː' five-ASC-three') | kān-ɪ́-ʍàn (litː' five-ASC-four') | kʼʊ̄j-ā-sʊ̄kʼ-ɛ́n (litː 'hand-LOC-two- 3N.POSS') |
| Opuuo (Shita) (4) | ɗán / ɗíán | sùkʼá | tùsú | hwán | mùtá-kʼʷèj (litː 'one hand') | kánè-ɗéé | kánè-sùkʼá | kánè-tùsú | kánè-hʷán | mútá-kʼʷùjá-sùkʼén ('two hands') |
| Opuuo (Shita) (5) | diʃeɗe | ʃuka / cuka | tuʃu / tusu | hwan / ŋwan | mutaːkwei (one hand) ? | kane-ɗe | kane-ʃuka | kane-tūʃū | kane-hwān | muta-kweya-ʃuka-yen (two hands) ? |
| Uduk (Twampa) (1) | ɗéʔ | súʔ | kʷārā | dòŋ(ɡ)òn | múd̻èɗ (lit: 'hand closed') | múd̻èɗ pé ɗéʔ (5+ 1) | múd̻èɗ pé súʔ (5+ 2) | múd̻èɗ pé(ŋ) kʷārā (5+ 3) | múd̻èɗ pé dòŋ(ɡ)òn (5+ 4) | ʼkúmèɗ |
| Uduk (2) | ɗe | suʔ | kwara | doŋon | mudheɗ (lit: hand closed) | (mudheɗ) peɗe (5+ 1) | (mudheɗ) pesuʔ (5+ 2) | (mudheɗ) pekwara (5+ 3) | (mudheɗ) pedoŋon (5+ 4) | kumeɗ |
| :: |
References
- Colleen Ahland, 2010. "The Classification of Gumuz and Koman Languages" presented at the Language Isolates in Africa workshop, Lyons, December 4, 2010
- Lionel Bender, 2000. "Nilo-Saharan". In Bernd Heine and Derek Nurse, eds., African Languages: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press.
- Gerrit Dimmendaal, 2008. "Language Ecology and Linguistic Diversity on the African Continent", Language and Linguistics Compass 2/5:842.
References
- Küspert, Klaus-Christian. (2015). "The Mao and Komo Languages in the Begi–Tongo area in Western Ethiopia: Classification, Designations, Distribution". Linguistic Discovery.
- Bender, Lionel. 1983. "Proto-Koman Phonology and Lexicon." ''Afrika und Übersee'' 66: 259–298.
- Otero, Manuel Alejandro. 2019. ''A Historical Reconstruction of the Koman Language Family''. Doctoral thesis. Department of Linguistics, University of Oregon.
- Chan, Eugene. (2019). "The Nilo-Saharan Language Phylum". Numeral Systems of the World's Languages.
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