The Surmic languages are a branch of the Eastern Sudanic family, itself part of the proposed Nilo-Saharan phylum, comprising about 11 languages spoken across southwestern Ethiopia and southeastern South Sudan. The family splits into the Majang branch and the South Surmic branch, the latter dividing further into Southeast and Southwest groups, and its speakers range from lowland communities along the Omo River to mountain communities above 2,300 meters, following nomadic herding, settled farming and slash-and-burn farming livelihoods.
Facts
Partially Attested
Speaker CountA family-wide total is not published in one source. Murle, one of about eight Surmic languages, alone had this many speakers per Ethnologue as cited (2017). Other member languages (Majang, Suri, Mursi, Didinga, Baale, Kacipo-Balesi) are not counted here. RegionSouthwestern Ethiopia and southeastern South Sudan 1 Proto-Language StatusReconstructed in part. Yigezu (2001) reconstructed the sound systems of Proto-Southwest Surmic and Proto-Southeast Surmic; Unseth separately reconstructed Proto-Surmic case suffixes, possessive marking and a causative prefix. 1 Sources
1. Wikipedia: Surmic Languages
Wikimedia FoundationSurmic languages, Wikipedia, infobox region field
southwestern [[Ethiopia]] and southeastern [[South Sudan]]
Surmic languages, Wikipedia, Reconstruction section
The sound systems of Proto-Southwest Surmic and Proto-Southeast Surmic have been reconstructed by Yigezu (2001).
View the Source 2. Wikipedia: Murle Language
Wikimedia FoundationMurle language, Wikipedia, infobox speakers fieldQuote, Murle language, Wikipedia, infobox speakers field
speakers= {{sigfig|196,000|2}}
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