Kordofanian is a name for five language groups, Talodi-Heiban, Lafofa, Rashad, Katla and Kadu, spoken by 250,000 to 500,000 people in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan's South Kordofan region. Joseph Greenberg placed all five within the Niger-Congo family in 1963, but they have never been shown to form a valid genetic unit; today the Kadu languages are instead considered part of the proposed Nilo-Saharan family, while the remaining four groups are still treated as tentative Niger-Congo branches. Kordofanian's languages may be among the oldest in the region.
Facts
Disputed
Proto-Language StatusQuint (2020) reconstructs Proto-Kordofanian from the Heibanian, Talodian, Rashadian, Katloid and Lafofa branches; Kordofanian itself has not been shown to constitute a valid genetic grouping distinct from other Niger-Congo branches 1 Kordofanian's status as a valid Niger-Congo genetic subgroup, as opposed to independently related branches, is disputed; Proto-Kordofanian itself has been reconstructed by Quint (2020) from five of its branches regardless of that dispute. RegionNuba Mountains of the South Kordofan region of Sudan 1 Speaker CountSource (citing Britannica) gives a range of 250,000 to 500,000 native speakers; midpoint recorded here since ranges are retired under ruling 132. Sources
1. Wikipedia: Kordofanian Languages
WikipediaWikipedia, Kordofanian languages, introduction
The Kordofanian languages are a geographic grouping of five language groups spoken in the Nuba Mountains of the South Kordofan region of Sudan
Wikipedia, Kordofanian languages, section Reconstruction
Quint (2020) suggests that Proto-Kordofanian can be reconstructed from the Heibanian, Talodian, Rashadian, Katloid, and Lafofa languages.
Infobox, Native speakers field
250,000-500,000
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