Editing Nilo-Saharan languages (section)

===Starostin (2016)===
[[File:NiloSaharanStarostin.png|thumb|upright=2|Starostin's "Macro-Sudanic" in purple, surrounding language families shown as well.]]
[[Georgiy Starostin]] (2016),<ref>George Starostin (2016) [https://www.academia.edu/21582071 ''The Nilo-Saharan hypothesis tested through lexicostatistics: current state of affairs''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405211555/https://www.academia.edu/21582071 |date=2023-04-05 }}</ref> using [[lexicostatistics]] based on Swadesh lists, is more inclusive than ''Glottolog'', and in addition finds probable and possible links between the families that will require reconstruction of the proto-languages for confirmation. Starostin also does not consider Greenberg's Nilo-Saharan to be a valid, coherent clade.

In addition to the families listed in ''Glottolog'' (previous section), Starostin considers the following to be established:

*[[Northern Eastern Sudanic languages|Northern "K" Eastern Sudanic]] or "NNT" (Nubian, Nara, and Tama; see below for Nyima)
*[[Southern Eastern Sudanic languages|Southern "N" Eastern Sudanic]] (Surmic, Temein, Jebel, Daju, Nilotic), though their exact relationships to each other remain obscure
*[[Central Sudanic languages|Central Sudanic]] (including [[Birri language|Birri]] and [[Kresh languages|Kresh–Aja]], which may prove to be closest to each other)
*[[Koman languages|Koman]] (including Gule)

A relationship of [[Nyima languages|Nyima]] with Nubian, Nara, and Tama (NNT) is considered "highly likely" and close enough that proper comparative work should be able to demonstrate the connection if it's valid, though it would fall outside NNT proper (see [[Eastern Sudanic languages]]).

Other units that are "highly likely" to eventually prove to be valid families are:
*[[East Sudanic languages|East Sudanic]] as a whole
*Central Sudanic – Kadu (Central Sudanic + [[Kadu languages|Kadugli–Krongo]])
*Maba–Kunama ([[Maban languages|Maban]] + [[Kunama languages|Kunama]])
*[[Komuz languages|Komuz]] (Koman + Gumuz)

In summary, at this level of certainty, "Nilo-Saharan" constitutes ten distinct and separate language families: Eastern Sudanic, Central Sudanic – Kadu, Maba–Kunama, Komuz, Saharan, Songhai, Kuliak, Fur, Berta, and Shabo.

Possible further "deep" connections, which cannot be evaluated until the proper comparative work on the constituent branches has been completed, are:

*Eastern Sudanic + Fur + Berta
*Central Sudanic – Kadu + Maba–Kunama

There are faint suggestions that Eastern and Central Sudanic may be related (essentially the old Chari–Nile clade), though that possibility is "unexplorable under current conditions" and could be complicated if Niger–Congo were added to the comparison. Starostin finds no evidence that the Komuz, Kuliak, Saharan, Songhai, or Shabo languages are related to any of the other Nilo-Saharan languages. [[Mimi-D]] and [[Meroitic language|Meroitic]] were not considered, though Starostin had previously proposed that Mimi-D was also an isolate despite its slight similarity to Central Sudanic.

In a follow-up study published in 2017, Starostin reiterated his previous points as well as explicitly accepting a genetic relationship between Macro-East Sudanic and Macro-Central Sudanic. Starostin names this proposal "Macro-Sudanic". The classification is as follows.<ref>Starostin, Georgiy C. 2017. [https://www.academia.edu/40139133/%D0%AF%D0%B7%D1%8B%D0%BA%D0%B8_%D0%90%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8_%D0%9E%D0%BF%D1%8B%D1%82_%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%84%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8_%D0%A2%D0%BE%D0%BC_III_%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BE_%D1%81%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D1%8F%D0%B7%D1%8B%D0%BA%D0%B8_Languages_of_Africa_A_New_Lexicostatistical_Classification_Vol_III_Nilo_Saharan_Languages_ Языки Африки. Опыт построения лексикостатистической классификации. Т. 3. Нило-сахарские языки] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210806153431/https://www.academia.edu/40139133/%D0%AF%D0%B7%D1%8B%D0%BA%D0%B8_%D0%90%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B8_%D0%9E%D0%BF%D1%8B%D1%82_%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%BA%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%81%D0%B8%D1%84%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D0%B8_%D0%A2%D0%BE%D0%BC_III_%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%BE_%D1%81%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B5_%D1%8F%D0%B7%D1%8B%D0%BA%D0%B8_Languages_of_Africa_A_New_Lexicostatistical_Classification_Vol_III_Nilo_Saharan_Languages_ |date=2021-08-06 }} / Languages of Africa: an attempt at a lexicostatistical classification. Volume 3: Nilo-Saharan languages. Moscow: Издательский Дом ЯСК / LRC Press. 840 p. {{ISBN|978-5-9909114-9-9}}</ref>

{{tree list}}
* Macro-Sudanic
** Macro-Sudanic macrofamily
*** Macro-Central Sudanic family
**** [[Central Sudanic languages|Central Sudanic]] family
***** [[Sara-Bongo-Bagirmi]] (West-Central Sudanic branch)
***** [[Kresh languages|Kresh]]-[[Aja language (Nilo-Saharan)|Aja]]-[[Birri language|Birri]]
***** East-Central Sudanic branch
****** [[Mangbutu-Efe]]
****** [[Mangbetu-Asoa]]
****** [[Lendu-Ngiti]]
****** [[Moru-Madi]]
**** [[Krongo-Kadugli]] (Kadu) group
**** [[Maban languages|Maba]] group
*** Macro-Eastern Sudanic family
**** [[Eastern Sudanic]] family
***** [[Northeast Sudanic languages|Northeast Sudanic]] family
****** [[Nubian languages|Nubian]] group
****** [[Taman languages|Tama]] group
****** [[Nara language]]
****** Nyimang-Afitti Group
***** [[Southeast Sudanic languages|Southeast Sudanic]] family
****** [[Surmic languages]] (Southern Surmic + Northern Surmic / [[Majang language|Majang]] branches)
****** [[Nilotic languages]] (Western, Eastern, Southern branches)
****** [[Eastern Jebel languages|Jebel]] group
****** [[Temein languages|Temein]] group
****** [[Daju languages|Daju]] group
**** [[Berta language|Berta]] group
**** [[Fur languages|Fur-Amdang]] group
*** [[Kunama languages|Kunama-Ilit]] group
** Koman-Gumuz ("[[Komuz languages|Komuz]]") family
*** [[Koman languages|Koman]] family
**** "Narrow Koman" group
**** [[Gule language|Gule]] (Anej) language
*** [[Gumuz languages]] (group)
** [[Saharan languages|Saharan]] family
*** Western Saharan group (Kanuri-Kanembu + Teda-Dazaga)
*** Eastern Saharan group (Zaghawa + Berti)
** [[Kuliak languages|Kuliak]] group
** [[Songhay languages|Songhay]] group
** [[Shabo language]] (Mikeyir)
{{tree list/end}}

Starostin (2017) finds significant lexical similarities between Kadu and Central Sudanic, while some lexical similarities also shared by Central Sudanic with Fur-Amdang, Berta, and Eastern Sudanic to a lesser extent.