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Old Nubian is currently considered ancestral to modern Nobiin, even though it shows signs of extensive contact with Dongolawi. Another, as yet undeciphered, Nubian language has been preserved in a few inscriptions found in Soba and Musawwarat es-Sufra and is assumed to have been the language of the kingdom of Alodia. Since their publication by ...
The earliest attestations of Nubian Greek literature come from the 5th century; the Nubian Greek language resembles Egyptian and Byzantine Greek; it served as a lingua franca throughout the Nubian Kingdoms, and had a creolized form for trade among the different peoples in Nubia.
Nubian languages. Hill Nubian; Notes: Eastern Sudanic is a large division of Nilo-Saharan spoken throughout the upper Nile region. Kir–Abbaian and Astaboran are the two branches of Eastern Sudanic, roughly distributed in the north and south of the region, respectively. The Nubian languages are spoken mostly in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.
"Nobiin" is the genitive form of Nòòbíí ("Nubian") and literally means "(language) of the Nubians". Another term used is Noban tamen, meaning "the Nubian language". [2] At least 2500 years ago, the first Nubian speakers migrated into the Nile valley from the southwest. Old Nubian is thought to be ancestral to Nobiin.
Old Nubian is one of the oldest written African languages and appears to have been adopted from the 10th–11th century as the main language for the civil and religious administration of Makuria. Besides Old Nubian, Koine Greek was widely used, especially in religious contexts, while Coptic mainly predominates in funerary inscriptions. [ 2 ]
It is not clear if linguists are in support of this, as the linguistic relationship of Nubian languages with the Meroitic language is still debated. Nevertheless, historians like Brown (The History of Sudanese Tribes) mention that Midob was the ruling family in the Nubian Civilization and their roots extended to the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. [2]
Glottolog classifies Hill Nubian (Kordofan Nubian) into two branches: Eastern Kordofan Nubian and Western Kordofan Nubian, containing three and four languages respectively. [4] Ethnologue , however, only groups Kadaru and Ghulfan together, leaving the rest unclassified within Hill Nubian, as follows: [ 5 ]
This language group is primarily in the major Niger–Congo language family. Several Nuba languages are in the Nilo-Saharan language family. [8] Over one hundred languages are spoken in the area and are considered Nuba languages, although many of the Nuba also speak Sudanese Arabic, the common language of Sudan.