Chadic languages

The Chadic languages are a group of languages in the larger Afroasiatic family. They are mainly spoken in the Sahel region, a dry area just below the Sahara Desert. People speak these languages in northern Nigeria, southern Niger, southern Chad, and northern Cameroon. There are about 196 different Chadic languages.

The most well-known Chadic language is Hausa. Hausa is very important because it is used as a common language, or lingua franca, in many parts of inland Eastern West Africa. It is especially common in Niger and northern Nigeria. Hausa is special because it is the only Chadic language with more than one million speakers, making it the most important language in this group.

Composition

The Chadic languages are divided into four main families. Experts agree on these groups, though some disagree on how to split them further.

The Chadic languages include:

• West Chadic
  • the Hausa, Ron, Bole, and Angas languages
  • the Bade, Warji, and Zaar languages
• Biu–Mandara (Central Chadic)
  • the Bura, Kamwe, and Bata languages, among other groups
  • the Budumu and Musgu languages
  • Gidar
• East Chadic
  • the Tumak, Nancere, and Kera languages
  • the Dangaléat, Mukulu, and Sokoro languages
• Masa

Loanwords

Chadic languages have many words borrowed from Nilo-Saharan languages. These words mainly come from the Songhay and Maban groups. This shows that people speaking Chadic and Nilo-Saharan languages were in contact long ago.

Although Adamawa languages are spoken close to Chadic languages, they do not share many words with them.

Pronouns

Pronouns in the Chadic languages, part of the Afroasiatic language family, have been studied by experts. The table below shows how these pronouns changed from early Chadic to early Afroasiatic.

Comparative vocabulary

Here is a look at some basic words from different Chadic language groups, arranged from west to east. The words are shown alongside reconstructions from other Afroasiatic language families for comparison.