Kadu languages
Encyclopedia
The Kadu, Kadugli–Krongo, or Tumtum languages are a small language family
, once included in Kordofanian
but since Thilo Schadeberg (1981) widely seen as Nilo-Saharan
. However, there is little evidence, and a conservative classification would treat them as an independent family. There are three branches:
Language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term 'family' comes from the tree model of language origination in historical linguistics, which makes use of a metaphor comparing languages to people in a...
, once included in Kordofanian
Kordofanian languages
The Kordofanian languages are a geographic grouping of three to five language families spoken in the Nuba Mountains of Kordofan Province, Sudan. In 1963 Joseph Greenberg added them to the Niger–Congo family, creating his Niger–Kordofanian proposal...
but since Thilo Schadeberg (1981) widely seen as Nilo-Saharan
Nilo-Saharan languages
The Nilo-Saharan languages are a proposed family of African languages spoken by some 50 million people, mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers , including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of Nile meet...
. However, there is little evidence, and a conservative classification would treat them as an independent family. There are three branches:
- Western: TulishiTulishi languageTulishi is a Kadu language spoken in Kordofan. Dialects are Tulishi proper and Kamdang....
, KeigaKeiga languageKeiga or Yega is a Kadu language spoken in Kordofan. Dialects are Demik and Keiga proper ....
, Kanga - Central: KadugliKadugli languageKadugli, also Katcha-Kadugli-Miri or Central Kadu, is a Kadu language or dialect cluster spoken in Kordofan. Stevenson treats them as dialects of one language, and they share a single ISO code, though Schadeberg treats them as separate languages.There are five rather divergent dialects, on the...
(incl. Miri, Katcha, Tumma) - Eastern: KrongoKrongo languageKrongo, also spelled Korongo or Kurungu and known as Dimodongo, Kadumodi, or Tabanya after local towns, is a Kadu language spoken in Kordofan....
, TumtumTumtum languageTumtum is a Kadu language spoken in Kordofan. Dialects are Karondi , Talassa, and Tumtum proper....