Editing Languages of Africa (section)

==Language groups==
[[File:Map of African languages.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|Clickable map showing the traditional language families, subfamilies and major languages spoken in Africa]]
Most languages natively spoken in Africa belong to one of the two large [[Language family|language families]] that dominate the continent: [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic]], or [[Niger–Congo languages|Niger–Congo]]. Another hundred belong to smaller families such as [[Ubangian languages|Ubangian]], [[Nilotic languages|Nilotic]], [[Saharan languages|Saharan]], and the various families previously grouped under the umbrella term [[Khoisan languages|Khoisan]]. In addition, the languages of Africa include several [[unclassified languages]] and [[sign languages]].

The earliest Afroasiatic languages are associated with the [[Capsian culture]], the Saharan languages are linked with the Khartoum Mesolithic/Neolithic cultures. Niger-Congo languages are correlated with the west and central African [[Hoe-farming|hoe-based farming traditions]] and the Khoisan languages are matched with the south and southeastern [[Wilton culture]].<ref>{{cite journal |journal=Language |volume=61 |issue=3–4 |year=1985 |publisher=Linguistic Society of America |page=695 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sG8KAQAAMAAJ|access-date=31 January 2017 |last=Bender |first=M. Lionel |title=Review of Ehred & Posnansky (eds.), ''The archaeological and linguistic reconstruction of African history''|doi=10.2307/414395 |jstor=414395 }}</ref> 

===Afroasiatic languages===
{{Main|Afroasiatic languages}}
[[Afroasiatic languages]] are spoken throughout [[North Africa]], the [[Horn of Africa]], [[Western Asia]] and parts of the [[Sahel]]. There are approximately 375 Afroasiatic languages spoken by over 400 million people. The main subfamilies of Afroasiatic are [[Berber languages|Berber]], [[Chadic languages|Chadic]], [[Cushitic languages|Cushitic]], [[Omotic languages|Omotic]], [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]] and [[Semitic languages|Semitic]]. The [[Afroasiatic Urheimat]] is uncertain. The family's most extensive branch, the Semitic languages (including [[Arabic]], [[Amharic]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] among others), is the only branch of Afroasiatic that is spoken outside Africa.<ref>{{cite book |first=Christopher |last=Ehret |chapter=Language and History |isbn=0-521-66629-5|page=290|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C7XhcYoFxaQC&pg=PA290|access-date=12 March 2018 |editor-last1=Heine |editor-first1=Bernd |editor-last2=Nurse |editor-first2=Derek |year=2000 |title=African Languages: An Introduction |location=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>

Some of the most widely spoken Afroasiatic languages include [[Arabic language|Arabic]] (a Semitic language, and a recent arrival from West Asia), [[Somali language|Somali]] (Cushitic), [[Berber languages|Berber]] (Berber), [[Hausa language|Hausa]] (Chadic), [[Amharic]] (Semitic) and [[Oromo language|Oromo]] (Cushitic). Of the world's surviving language families, Afroasiatic has the longest written history, as both the [[Akkadian language]] of Mesopotamia and [[Egyptian language|Ancient Egyptian]] are members.

===Nilo-Saharan languages===
{{Main|Nilo-Saharan languages}}

[[Nilo-Saharan languages]] are a proposed grouping of some one hundred diverse languages. Genealogical linkage between these languages has failed to be conclusively demonstrated, and support for the proposal is sparse among linguists.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Lyle |last1=Campbell  |first2=Mauricio J. |last2=Mixco |title=A Glossary of Historical Linguistics |year=2007 |publisher=University of Utah Press |isbn=9780874808926}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=P.H. |last=Matthews |title=Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics |year=2014 |publisher=OUP Oxford |edition=3rd |isbn=9780199675128}}</ref> The languages share some unusual [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]], but if they are related, most of the branches must have undergone major restructuring since diverging from their common ancestor.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} 

This hypothetical family would reach an expanse that stretches from the [[Nile Valley]] to northern [[Tanzania]] and into [[Nigeria]] and [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|DR Congo]], with the [[Songhay languages]] along the middle reaches of the [[Niger River]] as a geographic outlier. The inclusion of the [[Songhay languages]] is questionable, and doubts have been raised over the [[Koman languages|Koman]], [[Gumuz language|Gumuz]] and [[Kadu languages|Kadu]] branches.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

Some of the better known Nilo-Saharan languages are [[Kanuri language|Kanuri]], [[Fur language|Fur]], [[Songhay language|Songhay]], [[Nobiin language|Nobiin]] and the widespread [[Nilotic languages|Nilotic family]], which includes the [[Luo dialect|Luo]], [[Dinka language|Dinka]] and [[Maasai language|Maasai]]. Most Nilo-Saharan languages are [[tone (linguistics)|tonal]], as are Niger-Congo languages.{{citation needed|date=October 2023}}

===Niger–Congo languages===
{{Main|Niger–Congo languages}}
[[File:Africa ethnic groups 1996.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Map showing the traditional language families represented in Africa:
{{legend|#E6EAAD|[[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic]] (Semitic-Hamitic)}}
{{legend|#8E7D8F|[[Austronesian languages|Austronesian]] (Malay-Polynesian)}}
{{legend|#8A421A|[[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]]}}
{{legend|#DC782D|[[Khoisan languages|Khoisan]]}}
[[Niger-Congo languages|Niger-Congo]]:
{{legend|#A6BE50|[[Bantu languages|Bantu]]}}
{{legend|#E9A96C|Central and Eastern Sudanese}}
{{legend|#51384E|Central Bantoid}}
{{legend|#C96273|Eastern Bantoid}}
{{legend|#A7BC47|Guinean}}
{{legend|#B77B85|[[Mande languages|Mande]]}}
{{legend|#4D7830|Western Bantoid}}
[[Nilo-Saharan languages|Nilo-Saharan]]:
{{legend|#827241|[[Kanuri language|Kanuri]]}}
{{legend|#824240|[[Nilotic languages|Nilotic]]}}
{{legend|#C88C50|[[Songhay languages|Songhai]]}}]]
The [[Niger–Congo languages]] constitute the largest language family spoken in [[West Africa]] and perhaps the world in terms of the number of languages.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} One of its salient features is an elaborate [[noun class]] system with grammatical [[agreement (linguistics)|concord]]. A large majority of languages of this family are [[tonal language|tonal]] such as [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]] and [[Igbo language|Igbo]], [[Akan language|Akan]] and [[Ewe language]]. A major branch of Niger–Congo languages is the [[Bantu languages|Bantu]] phylum, which has a wider speech area than the rest of the family (see Niger–Congo B (Bantu) in the map above).

The [[Niger–Kordofanian languages|Niger–Kordofanian]] language family, joining Niger–Congo with the [[Kordofanian languages]] of south-central [[Sudan]], was proposed in the 1950s by [[Joseph Greenberg]]. Today, linguists often use "Niger–Congo" to refer to this entire family, including Kordofanian as a subfamily. One reason for this is that it is not clear whether Kordofanian was the first branch to diverge from rest of Niger–Congo. [[Mande languages|Mande]] has been claimed to be equally or more divergent. Niger–Congo is generally accepted by linguists, though a few question the inclusion of Mande and [[Dogon languages|Dogon]], and there is no conclusive evidence for the inclusion of [[Ubangian languages|Ubangian]].

===Other language families===
Several languages spoken in Africa belong to language families concentrated or originating outside the African continent.

====Austronesian====
[[Malagasy language|Malagasy]] belongs to the [[Austronesian languages]] and is the westernmost branch of the family. It is the national and co-official language of [[Madagascar]], and a Malagasy dialect called [[Bushi language|Bushi]] is also spoken in [[Mayotte]].
 	
The ancestors of the Malagasy people migrated to Madagascar around 1,500 years ago from Southeast Asia, more specifically the island of Borneo. The origins of how they arrived to Madagascar remains a mystery, however the Austronesians are known for their seafaring culture. Despite the geographical isolation, Malagasy still has strong resemblance to [[Barito languages]] especially the [[Ma'anyan language]] of southern Borneo. 

With more than 20 million speakers, Malagasy is one of the most widely spoken of the Austronesian languages.

====Indo-European====
[[Afrikaans]] is [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]], as is most of the vocabulary of most African [[creole language]]s. Afrikaans evolved from the [[Dutch language|Dutch vernacular]]<ref>{{cite book |isbn=9781433105012 |first1=Kathleen |last1=Pithouse |first2=Claudia |last2=Mitchell |first3=Relebohile |last3=Moletsane |title=Making Connections: Self-Study & Social Action |date=16 December 2023 |page=91|publisher=Peter Lang }}</ref><ref name="Heese1971">{{cite book |title=Die herkoms van die Afrikaner, 1657–1867 |publisher=A. A. Balkema |location=Cape Town |year=1971 |language=af |oclc=1821706 |ol=5361614M |first=J. A. |last=Heese |trans-title=The origin of the Afrikaner, 1657–1867}}</ref> of [[South Holland]] ([[Hollandic dialect]])<ref>{{cite book |url=http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/kloe004herk01_01/kloe004herk01_01.pdf |title=Herkomst en groei van het Afrikaans |first=G.G. |last=Kloeke |year=1950 |location=Leiden |publisher=Universitaire Pers Leiden}}</ref><ref>{{cite CiteSeerX |citeseerx=10.1.1.222.5044 |title=The origin of Afrikaans pronunciation: a comparison to west Germanic languages and Dutch dialects |first1=Wilbert |last1=Heeringa |first2=Febe |last2=de Wet |date=2007}}</ref> spoken by the mainly [[Afrikaners|Dutch settlers]] of what is now [[South Africa]], where it gradually began to develop distinguishing characteristics in the course of the 18th century, including the loss of verbal conjugation (save for 5 modal verbs), as well as grammatical case and gender.<ref name="coetzee">{{Cite book |url=http://www.dbnl.org/arch/coet003stan01_01/pag/coet003stan01_01.pdf |title=Standaard Afrikaans |first=Abel |last=Coetzee |publisher=Afrikaner Pers|year=1948 |access-date=2014-09-17}}</ref> Most Afrikaans speakers live in [[South Africa]]. In [[Namibia]] it is the [[lingua franca]]. Overall 14 to 21 million people are estimated to speak Afrikaans.

Since the [[Colonialism|colonial]] era, Indo-European languages such as [[Afrikaans]], [[English language|English]], [[French language|French]], [[Italian language|Italian]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]] have held official status in many countries, and are widely spoken, generally as [[lingua franca]]s. (''See [[African French]] and [[Portuguese in Africa|African Portuguese]]''.) Additionally, languages like French, and Portuguese have become native languages in various countries.

French has become native in the urban areas of the DRC,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tibategeza |first=Eustard |date=January 2023 |title=Language-in-Education Policy and Practice in the Democratic Republic of Congo |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/367235628}}</ref> and Gabon.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hugues Steve Ndinga-Koumba-Binza |first=Hugues Steve Ndinga-Koumba-Binza |date=August 2011 |title=From foreign to national: a review of the status of French in Gabon |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267327159}}</ref>

[[German language|German]] was once used in [[German colonial empire|Germany's colonies]] there from the late 1800s until World War I, when Britain and France took over and revoked German's official status. Despite this, German is still spoken in [[Namibia]], mostly among the [[White Namibians|white population]]. Although it lost its official status in the 1990s, it has been redesignated as a national language. [[Languages of India|Indian languages]] such as [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]] are spoken by [[South Asia]]n expatriates exclusively. In earlier historical times, other Indo-European languages could be found in various parts of the continent, such as [[Old Persian language|Old Persian]] and [[Koine Greek|Greek]] in Egypt, [[Latin]] and [[Vandalic]] in North Africa and [[Persian language|Modern Persian]] in the [[Horn of Africa]].

====Small families====
The three small [[Khoisan languages|Khoisan]] families of southern Africa have not been shown to be closely related to any other major language family. In addition, there are various other families that have not been demonstrated to belong to one of these families. The classifications below follow [[Glottolog]].
*[[Mande languages|Mande]], some 70 languages, including the major languages of [[Mali]] and [[Guinea]]; these are generally thought to be divergent Niger–Congo, but debate persists
*[[Ubangian languages|Ubangian]], some 70 languages, centered on the languages of the [[Central African Republic]]; may be Niger–Congo
*[[North Omotic languages|Te-Ne-Omotic]], some 20 languages, previously classified under Afro-Asiatic, spoken in Ethiopia
*[[Khoe languages|Khoe-Kwadi]], around 10 languages, the primary family of Khoisan languages of [[Namibia]] and [[Botswana]]
*[[Surmic languages|Surmic]], some 11 languages, previously classified within either Sudanic or Nilo-Saharan
*[[Kx'a languages|Kx'a]], around five languages, with various dialects, spoken in Southern Africa
*[[Aroid languages|South Omotic]], around five languages; previously classified within Afro-Asiatic, spoken in Ethiopia
*[[Tuu languages|Tuu]], or Taa-ǃKwi, two surviving languages
*[[Hadza language|Hadza]], an isolate of Tanzania
*[[Bangime language|Bangime]], a likely isolate of Mali
*[[Jalaa language|Jalaa]], a likely isolate of Nigeria
*[[Sandawe language|Sandawe]], an isolate of Tanzania
*[[Laal language|Laal]], a possible isolate of Chad

''[[Khoisan languages|Khoisan]]'' is a term of convenience covering some 30 languages spoken by around 300,000–400,000 people. There are five Khoisan families that have not been shown to be related to each other: [[Khoe languages|Khoe]], [[Tuu languages|Tuu]] and [[Kx'a languages|Kx'a]], which are found mainly in [[Namibia]] and [[Botswana]], as well as [[Sandawe language|Sandawe]] and [[Hadza language|Hadza]] of [[Tanzania]], which are [[language isolate]]s. A striking feature of Khoisan languages, and the reason they are often grouped together, is their use of [[click consonant]]s. Some neighbouring Bantu languages (notably [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]] and [[Zulu language|Zulu]]) have clicks as well, but these were adopted from Khoisan languages. The Khoisan languages are also [[tonal language|tonal]].

====Creole languages====
Due partly to its multilingualism and its colonial past, a substantial proportion of the world's [[creole language]]s are to be found in Africa. Some are based on Indo-European languages (e.g. [[Sierra Leone Krio language|Krio]] from English in [[Sierra Leone]] and the very similar [[West African Pidgin English|Pidgin]] in [[Nigeria]], [[Ghana]] and parts of [[Cameroon]]; [[Cape Verdean Creole]] in [[Cape Verde]] and [[Guinea-Bissau Creole]] in [[Guinea-Bissau]] and [[Senegal]], all from Portuguese; [[Seychellois Creole]] in the [[Seychelles]] and [[Mauritian Creole]] in [[Mauritius]], both from French); some are based on Arabic (e.g. [[Juba Arabic]] in the southern [[Sudan]], or [[Nubi language|Nubi]] in parts of [[Uganda]] and [[Kenya]]); some are based on local languages (e.g. [[Sango language|Sango]], the main language of the [[Central African Republic]]); while in [[Cameroon]] a creole based on French, English and local African languages known as [[Camfranglais]] has started to become popular.

====Unclassified languages====
{{further|:Category:Unclassified languages of Africa}}
A fair number of [[unclassified languages]] are reported in Africa. Many remain unclassified simply for lack of data; among the better-investigated ones that continue to resist easy classification are:

* possibly Afroasiatic: [[Ongota language|Ongota]], [[Gomba language|Gomba]]
* possibly Nilo-Saharan: [[Shabo language|Shabo]]
* possibly Niger–Congo: [[Jalaa language|Jalaa]], [[Mbre language|Mbre]], [[Bayot language|Bayot]]
* unknown: [[Laal language|Laal]], [[Mpre language|Mpre]]
Of these, [[Jalaa language|Jalaa]] is perhaps the most likely to be an isolate.

Less-well investigated languages include [[Rimba language|Irimba]], [[Luo language (Cameroon)|Luo]], [[Mawa language (Nigeria)|Mawa]], [[Rer Bare]] (possibly Bantu languages), [[Bete language (Nigeria)|Bete]] (evidently Jukunoid), [[Bung language|Bung]] (unclear), [[Kujargé language|Kujarge]] (evidently Chadic), [[Lufu language|Lufu]] (Jukunoid), [[Meroitic language|Meroitic]] (possibly Afroasiatic), [[Oropom language|Oropom]] (possibly spurious) and [[Weyto language|Weyto]] (evidently Cushitic). Several of these are extinct, and adequate comparative data is thus unlikely to be forthcoming. Hombert & Philippson (2009)<ref name="HombertPhilippson">{{cite book |first1=Jean-Marie |last1=Hombert |first2=Gérard |last2=Philippson |year=2009 |url=http://www.ddl.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr/fulltext/hombert/Hombert_2009_LDLT2.pdf |chapter=The linguistic importance of language isolates: the African case |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130523092814/http://www.ddl.ish-lyon.cnrs.fr/fulltext/hombert/Hombert_2009_LDLT2.pdf |archive-date=23 May 2013 |editor-first1=Peter K. |editor-last1=Austin |editor-first2=Oliver |editor-last2=Bond |editor-first3=Monik |editor-last3=Charette |editor-link3=Monik Charette |editor-first4=David |editor-last4=Nathan |editor-first5=Peter |editor-last5=Sells |title=Proceedings of Conference on Language Documentation and Linguistic Theory 2 |location=London |publisher=SOAS}}</ref> list a number of African languages that have been classified as [[language isolate]]s at one point or another. Many of these are simply unclassified, but Hombert & Philippson believe Africa has about twenty language families, including isolates. Beside the possibilities listed above, there are:

*[[Aasax language|Aasax]] or Aramanik ([[Tanzania]]) ([[South Cushitic languages|South Cushitic]]? contains non-Cushitic lexicon)
*[[Imeraguen language|Imeraguen]] ([[Mauritania]]) – [[Hassaniyya]] Arabic restructured on an Azêr ([[Soninke language|Soninke]]) base
*Kara ([[Fer language|Fer]]?) ([[Central African Republic]])
*[[Oblo language|Oblo]] ([[Cameroon]]) ([[Adamawa languages|Adamawa]]? Extinct?)
<!--*[[Yeni language|Yeni]] ([[Cameroon]]) is clearly Mambiloid-->

[[Roger Blench]] notes a couple additional possibilities:
*[[Defaka language|Defaka]] ([[Nigeria]])
*[[Dompo language|Dompo]] ([[Ghana]])

Below is a list of language isolates and otherwise unclassified languages in Africa, from Vossen & Dimmendaal (2020:434):<ref name="Vossen">{{cite book |editor-last1=Vossen |editor-first1=Rainer  |editor-last2=Dimmendaal |editor-first2=Gerrit J. |year=2020 |title=The Oxford Handbook of African Languages |pages=392–407 |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press.}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Language !! Country
|-
| [[Bangime language|Bangi Me]] || [[Mali]]
|-
| [[Bayot language|Bayot]] || [[Senegal]]
|-
| [[Dompo language|Dompo]] || [[Ghana]]
|-
| [[Ega language|Ega]] || [[Ivory Coast]]
|-
| [[Gomba language|Gomba]] || [[Ethiopia]]
|-
| [[Gumuz language|Gumuz]] || [[Ethiopia]], [[Sudan]]
|-
| [[Hadza language|Hadza]] || [[Tanzania]]
|-
| [[Irimba language|Irimba]] || [[Gabon]]
|-
| [[Jalaa language|Jalaa]] || [[Nigeria]]
|-
| [[Kujarge language|Kujarge]] || [[Chad]]
|-
| [[Laal language|Laal]] || [[Chad]]
|-
| [[Lufu language|Lufu]] || [[Nigeria]]
|-
| [[Luo language (Cameroon)|Luo]] || [[Cameroon]]
|-
| [[Mawa language|Mawa]] || [[Nigeria]]
|-
| [[Miyobe language|Meyobe]] || [[Benin]], [[Togo]]
|-
| [[Mimi of Decorse]]; [[Mimi of Nachtigal]] || [[Chad]]
|-
| [[Mpra language|Mpra]] || [[Ghana]]
|-
| [[Oblo language|Oblo]] || [[Cameroon]]
|-
| [[Ongota language|Ongota]] || [[Ethiopia]]
|-
| [[Oropom language|Oropom]] || [[Kenya]], [[Uganda]]
|-
| [[Rer Bare language|Rer Bare]] || [[Ethiopia]]
|-
| [[Shabo language|Shabo]] || [[Ethiopia]]
|-
| [[Weyto language|Weyto]] || [[Ethiopia]]
|-
| [[Wutana language|Wutana]] || [[Nigeria]]
|-
| [[Yeni language|Yeni]] || [[Cameroon]]
|}

====Sign languages====
{{See also|List of sign languages#Africa}}
Many African countries have national sign languages, such as [[Algerian Sign Language]], [[Tunisian Sign Language]], [[Ethiopian Sign Language]]. Other sign languages are restricted to small areas or single villages, such as [[Adamorobe Sign Language]] in [[Ghana]]. Tanzania has seven, one for each of its schools for the Deaf, all of which are discouraged. Not much is known, since little has been published on these languages

Sign language systems extant in Africa include the [[Paget Gorman Sign System]] used in Namibia and [[Angola]], the [[Sudanese sign languages|Sudanese Sign languages]] used in [[Sudan]] and [[South Sudan]], the [[Arab sign-language family|Arab Sign]] languages used across the Arab Mideast, the [[French Sign Language family|Francosign]] languages used in [[Francophone Africa]] and other areas such as [[Ghana]] and [[Tunisia]], and the [[Tanzanian sign languages|Tanzanian Sign languages]] used in [[Tanzania]].