The classification of Nigerian languages
Three of the four language families encompassing the continent of Africa
are represented in Nigeria, although some only minimally. Only Khoisan,
which is located in southern Africa, is not represented.
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Three Nigerian languages belong to the Saharan
branch of the Nilo-Saharan phylum.
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About one quarter of the languages in Nigeria belong to the Afro-Asiatic
phylum. One language, Shuwa Arabic, belongs to the Semitic
family.
All others belong to the Chadic family.
-
Three quarters of the languages in Nigeria belong to the
Niger-Congo
phylum,
which is Africa's largest language phylum.
Follow the links on this page to find out more about the classification
of the languages of Nigeria.
Dr. Uwe Seibert
Department of Languages and Linguistics
Faculty of Arts
University of Jos
Email address: seibertu@unijos.edu.ng
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