The Nubian languages are a family spoken by Nubians in northeastern Africa, with Nile Nubian varieties spoken chiefly along the Nile in southern Egypt and northern Sudan, plus further varieties in the Nuba Mountains and Darfur. Older classifications placed Nubian within Nilo-Saharan, commonly under Eastern Sudanic, but Glottolog now treats it as a primary family without a settled external grouping. A widely cited 1980 estimate put total speakers at 200,000 to 1,000,000 across languages including Nobiin, Kenzi, Dongolawi, Midob and the Hill Nubian varieties.
Facts
Disputed
Proto-Language StatusNubian is not securely placed above the family level: older classifications put it within Nilo-Saharan under Eastern Sudanic, but Glottolog treats it as its own primary family pending conclusive evidence either way. 1 RegionAlong the Nile in southern Egypt and northern Sudan, with communities in the Nuba Mountains and Darfur 1 Speaker Count In the Other Atlases
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Sources
1. Wikipedia: Nubian languages
WikipediaIntroduction, first sentence
The Nubian languages are a language family spoken by Nubians in southern Egypt and northern Sudan.
Introduction, final sentence of opening section
Glottolog treats Nubian as a primary family and asserts that a conclusive external subgrouping has not been demonstrated.
View the Source 2. Nubian (Wikidata)
Wikimedia FoundationWikidata number of speakers (P1098) statement (EntityId 298179): 1000000Quote, Wikidata number of speakers (P1098) statement (EntityId 298179): 1000000
Wikidata item Q1517194, property P1098 (number of speakers): 1000000 (normal rank, non-deprecated)
Wikidata: Nubian
Wikidata Q1517194, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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