NiloSaharan

Nilo-Saharan is a proposed macro-family of African languages that would group together several language families spoken across the central, eastern, and western parts of the continent. The name reflects a supposed historical link between languages spoken near the Nile valley and those in the Sahara and adjacent regions. The idea was popularized by Joseph Greenberg in the 1960s as part of his broad classification of African languages.

Geographically, Nilo-Saharan would include languages spoken from the Nile valley in East Africa, across the Sahel and Sudanian regions, into West and Central Africa. Commonly cited subgroups include Nilotic (for example Dinka, Maasai, Luo), Songhai (in West Africa), Saharan (Twareg, Kanuri and related languages), Maban (Chad and Central African Republic area), and Fur (regions around Chad). Kuliak languages of Uganda and some other groups are sometimes added; however, there is no single universally accepted internal classification.

Status and reception: The validity of Nilo-Saharan as a genetic language family remains controversial. Many linguists reject the proposal or regard it as unsettled, arguing that claimed correspondences may result from language contact, borrowing, or parallel development rather than a shared ancestor. Others acknowledge some genetic links but stop short of a robust, universally accepted tree.

Because of the unsettled reception, major references such as Ethnologue do not treat Nilo-Saharan as a proven genetic unit, instead noting it as a proposed grouping. If accepted, it would be a major African language family by geographic extent and number of speakers; at present the evidence remains inconclusive.