Editing Languages of Africa (section)

===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}}