Saharan languages
Small language family in the East Sahara desert
title: "Saharan languages" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["saharan-languages", "language-families"] description: "Small language family in the East Sahara desert" topic_path: "linguistics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saharan_languages" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Small language family in the East Sahara desert ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox language family"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Saharan |
| region | Chad, Nigeria, Niger, Sudan, Cameroon |
| familycolor | Nilo-Saharan |
| child1 | Eastern Saharan |
| child2 | Western Saharan |
| glotto | saha1256 |
| glottorefname | Saharan |
| map | Saharan languages.png |
| mapcaption | Range of the Saharan languages (in orange) |
| :: |
|name=Saharan |region=Chad, Nigeria, Niger, Sudan, Cameroon |familycolor=Nilo-Saharan |child1=Eastern Saharan |child2=Western Saharan |glotto=saha1256 |glottorefname=Saharan |map=Saharan languages.png |mapcaption=Range of the Saharan languages (in orange)
The Saharan languages are a small family of languages across parts of the eastern Sahara, extending from northwestern Sudan to southern Libya, north and central Chad, eastern Niger and northeastern Nigeria. Noted Saharan languages include Kanuri (9.5 million speakers, around Lake Chad in Chad, Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon), Daza (700,000 speakers, Chad), Teda (60,000 speakers, northern Chad), and Zaghawa (350,000 speakers, eastern Chad and Sudan). They have been classified as part of the hypothetical but controversial Nilo-Saharan family.
A comparative word list of the Saharan languages has been compiled by Václav Blažek (2007).
Internal classification
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/Сахарские-языки.png" caption="[[Václav Blažek]]'s 2007 classification of the Saharan languages"] ::
- Saharan
External classification
Roger Blench argues that the Saharan and Songhay languages form a Songhay-Saharan branch with each other within the wider Nilo-Saharan linguistic phylum.
Reconstruction
Cyffer (2020:385) gives the following Proto-Saharan reconstructions:
::data[format=table]
| Gloss | Proto-Saharan | Kanuri | Teda-Daza | Beria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mouth | *kai | cî | kai | āā |
| tongue | *tiram | tə́lam | tirmẽ́su | tàmsī |
| ear | *simo | sə́mo | šímo | |
| liver | *masin | kəmáttən | maasen | màī |
| knee | *kurum | ngurumngurum | kórú | |
| person | *am | âm (pl.) | amo | ɔ̄ɔ̄ |
| leaf | *kur | kálú | kólú | ɔ́gʊ́r |
| big | *kut | kúra | kɔra | ʊ́gʊ́rī |
| that | *tu | túdu | te̥ye | tɔ̄ |
| to die | *nu | nú | nus | nʊ́í |
| to come | *it | ís | ri | tíí |
| to see | *tu | rú | ru | ír̥ì |
| to drink | *sa | yá, sá | ya | yá |
| to say | *n | n | n | n |
| :: |
Comparative vocabulary
Sample basic vocabulary of Saharan languages from Blažek (2007):
::data[format=table]
| Language | eye | ear | nose | tooth | tongue | mouth | blood | bone | tree | water | eat | name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kanuri | shîm | sə́mò | kə́nzà | tímì; shélì | tə́làm | cî | bû | shíllà | kə̀ská | njî | bù | cû |
| Tubu | *samo sómo sao / sā /sa | súmo/šímo sĩ/šiĩ /si/ši | kya / ca | tomai / tẽ̱ | tirmḗsu tirišī́ / tərše tərhi | kai kī ci | gẹrε | súru / súrki | akkέ, pl. akká / εkέ | iyī́ / yi | bo / bu | súro / súru |
| Daza | sama, sa, pl. saã | ši, pl. šiĩ | ca | tei, pl. teẽ / tiĩ | teleši / East terihi | ci, pl. ka | gəre | sọr(o) | ekke, pl. akka | yi / ii | bọr / owe / bọdər | sorọ, pl. sora |
| Teda | samo, saõ, pl. sama | šimi, šiĩ, pl. šima | ca | tome, pl. toma | termeso | koe, pl. ka | gɔrε, gəre | sọr(o), sọrce | ekke, pl. akka | yi | bọr / cọbo / bọdər | cεr / cero / curo |
| Zaghawa | í | kέbέ | síná | màrgi: | tàmsi: | áá | ógú | úrú | bɛ̀gìdi: | bí | sε:gì | tír |
| Beria | íī: | kέbέ | sɪ́na: | màrgi: | tàm(ì)si: | áá | ógu: | úrú | bɛ̀gìdi: | bíi: | sέ- | tɪ́r |
| Bideyat | ’é | kèmé | šéna | margé | tamišé | a | uru | ʔèbè | bi | šé | ||
| Berti / Sagato | ke(i)ng | sano / sāno | tam(ī)si | a / á / ā | àkú | shuru / shírung | mi / mī /mī́ | tir(r) | ||||
| :: |
Numerals
Comparison of numerals in individual languages:
::data[format=table]
| Classification | Language | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern | Zaghawa | nɔ́kkɔ | súyi | wɛɛ | ístîː | hóíyi | dɛ́stɛ́ | dístiː | ɔ́ttɛ́ | dístî | sóɡódí |
| Western, Kanuri | Kanembu | tūló | yìndí | yàkú | dīyə̄u | úù | àràkú | túlùr | ùskú | lár | mìyò̬u |
| Western, Kanuri | Central Kanuri (1) | fál, tiló | indí | yakkə́ | déɣə́ | úwu | arakkə́ | túlur | wuskú | ləɣár | mewú |
| Western, Kanuri | Central Kanuri (2) | tìlo / fal / lasku | ìndi | yàkkə | deɡə | uwù | àràkkə | tulùr | wùskú | lə̀ɡar / làar | mèwu |
| Western, Kanuri | Manga Kanuri | fál, tìló | yìndí | yàkkú | déwú | úwù | àràkkú | túlùr | wùskú | ləɡár | mèwú |
| Western, Kanuri | Tumari Kanuri | tìló | jìndí | jàkú | dʲíjó | úù | àɾàkú | túúlù | ùskú | lááɽú | mèʲó |
| Western, Tebu | Dazaga (Tubu) | tə̀ɾɔ̌n | tʃúú | àɡʊ̀zʊ́ʊ́ | tʊ̀zɔ́ɔ́ | fòú | dìsí | túɾùsù | wʊ́ssʊ̀ | jìsìí | mʊ́rdə̀m |
| Western, Tebu | Tedaga (Tebu) (1) | tɾɔ̀ɔ́ | cúː | òɡòzú | tʊ̀zɔ́ː | fɔ́ː | dɪ̀sɪ́ː | túɾùsù | jʊ́sʊ̀ | jìsíː | mʊ́rdɔ̀m |
| Western, Tebu | Tedaga (Tebu) (2) | tʊrɔ | cu | oɡuzuu | tʊzɔɔ | hɔɔ | diʃee | tuduʃu | yʊsʊ | yisii | mʊrdɔm |
| :: |
References
References
- Blažek, Václav. 2007. ''On application of glottochronology for Saharan languages''.
- Blench, Roger. m.s. ''[http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/Nilo-Saharan/General/Saharan%20Songhay%20branch.pdf Saharan and Songhay form a branch of Nilo-Saharan]''.
- Cyffer, Norbert. 2020. Saharan. In: Rainer Vossen and Gerrit J. Dimmendaal (eds). ''The Oxford Handbook of African languages'', 383-391. Oxford University Press.
- Blažek, Václav. 2007. ]https://www.muni.cz/en/research/publications/763232 On application of Glottochronology for Saharan Languages]. In ''Viva Africa'' 2007. Proceedings of the IInd International Conference on African Studies (April 2007). Plzeň: Dryáda, 2007. p. 19-38, 19 pp. {{ISBN. 978-80-87025-17-8.
- Doris Löhr, H. Ekkehard Wolff (with Ari Awagana). 2009. [https://wold.clld.org/vocabulary/5 Kanuri vocabulary]. In: Haspelmath, Martin & Tadmor, Uri (eds.) ''World Loanword Database''. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 1591 entries.
- Chan, Eugene. (2019). "The Nilo-Saharan Language Phylum". Numeral Systems of the World's Languages.
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