Berti
Encyclopedia
Berti is an extinct
Saharan language formerly spoken in northern Sudan
, specifically in the Tagabo Hills
, Darfur
, and Kurdufan
. Berti speakers migrated into the region with other Nilo-Saharan speakers, such as the Masalit
and Daju
, who were agriculturalists practicing varying degrees of animal husbandry
. They settled in two separate areas: one north of Al-Fashir
, while the other had continued eastward, settling in eastern Darfur and western Kurdufan by the nineteenth century. The two groups did not appear to share a common identity, the western group differing noticeably in its cultivation of gum arabic
. By the 1990s, Arabic
had largely replaced Berti as a native language.
Extinct language
An extinct language is a language that no longer has any speakers., or that is no longer in current use. Extinct languages are sometimes contrasted with dead languages, which are still known and used in special contexts in written form, but not as ordinary spoken languages for everyday communication...
Saharan language formerly spoken in northern Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
, specifically in the Tagabo Hills
Tagabo Hills
The Tagabo Hills is a volcanic field in the region of Darfur in Sudan. It lies north of the Marrah Mountains and southwest of the larger Meidob Volcanic Field. The Tagabo Hills are also known as the Kutum Volcanic Field, after the town of Kutum, or the Berti Hills after the Berti people...
, Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
, and Kurdufan
Kurdufan
Kurdufan , also spelled Kordofan, is a former province of central Sudan. In 1994 it was divided into three new federal states: North Kurdufan, South Kurdufan, and West Kurdufan...
. Berti speakers migrated into the region with other Nilo-Saharan speakers, such as the Masalit
Masalit
The Masalit are a nation of people of Darfur in western Sudan and Wadai in eastern Chad. They speak Masalit, a Nilo-Saharan language of the Maba group. They numbered about 250,000 ....
and Daju
Daju
The Daju People are a group of seven distinct ethnicities speaking related languages living on both sides of the Chad-Sudan border and in the Nuba Mountains...
, who were agriculturalists practicing varying degrees of animal husbandry
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
. They settled in two separate areas: one north of Al-Fashir
Al-Fashir
Al Fashir or Al-Fashir is the capital city of North Darfur, Sudan. It is a large town in the Darfur region of northwestern Sudan, 120 miles northeast of Nyala, Sudan....
, while the other had continued eastward, settling in eastern Darfur and western Kurdufan by the nineteenth century. The two groups did not appear to share a common identity, the western group differing noticeably in its cultivation of gum arabic
Gum arabic
220px|thumb|right|Acacia gumGum arabic, also known as acacia gum, chaar gund, char goond, or meska, is a natural gum made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree; Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal...
. By the 1990s, Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
had largely replaced Berti as a native language.