Daju languages
Encyclopedia
The Daju
languages are spoken in isolated pockets by the Daju people across a wide area of Sudan
and Chad
, in parts of the regions of Kordofan, Darfur
, and Wadai
. They belong to the Eastern Sudanic
subfamily of Nilo-Saharan
.
They are sub-classified as follows, following Stevenson 1956:
Proto-Daju has been partially reconstructed by Robin Thelwall (1981). In his judgement, the Eastern Daju languages separated from the others perhaps as much as 2000 years ago, while the Western Daju languages were spread more recently, perhaps by the Daju
state which dominated Darfur
from about 1200 AD until scattered after the death of Kasi Furogé, the Daju king, and replaced by the Tunjur
. The principal phonetic difference between the two branches is the reflex of proto-Daju *ɣ, reflected as Western *r and Eastern *x.
The typical verb root in Daju is a monosyllable of the form (C)VC(C). The perfective takes a prefixed k-; the imperfective, a prefixed a(n)-. The verb takes person suffixes, exemplified in Shatt (for the verb "drink" in the imperfective):
Suffixes on nouns serve to mark singulative (-tic, -təs), generic, and plural
forms. The typical word order is subject–verb–object in most Daju languages, with exceptions such as Sila, and possessed–possessor.
Daju
The Daju People are a group of seven distinct ethnicities speaking related languages living on both sides of the Chad-Sudan border and in the Nuba Mountains...
languages are spoken in isolated pockets by the Daju people across a wide area of Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
and Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
, in parts of the regions of Kordofan, Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
, and Wadai
Ouaddaï Region
Ouaddaï is one of the 22 regions of Chad and its capital is Abéché. It is composed by the former Ouaddaï Prefecture. Its main ethnic groups are the Arabs and the Maba. The economy is based on subsistence agriculture and breeding...
. They belong to the Eastern Sudanic
Eastern Sudanic languages
Ehret 2001 [1984]Ehret, published in 2001 but circulating in manuscript form since at least 1984, calls the family "Eastern Sahelian", and idiosyncratically adds the Kuliak languages and Berta, which Bender assigns to higher-level branches of Nilo-Saharan, and reassigns Nyima to the southern branch...
subfamily of Nilo-Saharan
Nilo-Saharan languages
The Nilo-Saharan languages are a proposed family of African languages spoken by some 50 million people, mainly in the upper parts of the Chari and Nile rivers , including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of Nile meet...
.
They are sub-classified as follows, following Stevenson 1956:
- Eastern Daju:
- ShattShatt languageThe Shatt language is an Eastern Sudanic language of the Daju family spoken in the Shatt Hills in northern Sudan. It is one of several languages in the area which go by that name.-External links:*...
in the Shatt Hills southwest of Kadugli. (The name "Shatt" is also applied to other unrelated languages of the area.) - Liguri in the Nuba Hills, SudanSudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
- Shatt
- Western Daju:
- Daju MongoDaju Mongo languageDaju Mongo is an Eastern Sudanic language, one of three closely related languages in the area called "Daju" Daju Mongo is an Eastern Sudanic language, one of three closely related languages in the area called "Daju" Daju Mongo is an Eastern Sudanic language, one of three closely related languages...
in Dar Daju, ChadChadChad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west... - SilaSila languageThe Sila language, also known as Dar Sila, Dar Sila Daju, Bokor, Bokorike, Bokoruge, Dadjo, Dajou, Daju, and Sula, is an Eastern Sudanic language, one of three closely related languages in the area called "Daju" . It is spoken in Chad near the Darfur border, with migration into Sudan...
in Dar SilaDar SilaDar Sila is the name of the wandering sultanate of the Dar Sila Daju, a multi-tribal ethnic group in Chad and Sudan. The number of the persons in this group exceeds 50,000. They speak the Sila language, a Nilo-Saharan language. Most members of this ethnic group are Muslims.-Location:Geographically,...
, ChadChadChad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west... - NyalaNyala language (Sudan)The Nyala language, also known as Dar Fur, Darfur Daju, Beke, Dagu, Daju Ferne, and Fininga, is an Eastern Sudanic language of Darfur, Sudan, one of three closely related languages in the area called "Daju" . It is spoken near Nyala, the capital of South Darfur province...
around NyalaNyala, SudanNyala is the capital of South Darfur state in the western part of the Sudan. Nyala is located at elevation 2,208 feet in the Darfur historical region.- History :...
in DarfurDarfurDarfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
, SudanSudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the... - BeigoBeigoBeigo is an extinct East Sudanic language once spoken in Sudan by the Baygo tribe, numbering some 850 in the late twentieth century...
(extinct) in southern DarfurDarfurDarfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur... - Njalgulgule in South SudanSouth SudanSouth Sudan , officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country located in the Sahel region of northeastern Africa. It is also part of the North Africa UN sub-region. Its current capital is Juba, which is also its largest city; the capital city is planned to be moved to the more...
on the Sopo RiverSopo RiverThe Sopo River is a river in South Sudan's state of Northern Bahr el Ghazal. It joins the Pongo River to form the Lol River at Hujayni, due west from the state capital of Aweil. The Kuru River is its most significant tributary.-External links:*...
- Daju Mongo
Proto-Daju has been partially reconstructed by Robin Thelwall (1981). In his judgement, the Eastern Daju languages separated from the others perhaps as much as 2000 years ago, while the Western Daju languages were spread more recently, perhaps by the Daju
Daju
The Daju People are a group of seven distinct ethnicities speaking related languages living on both sides of the Chad-Sudan border and in the Nuba Mountains...
state which dominated Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
from about 1200 AD until scattered after the death of Kasi Furogé, the Daju king, and replaced by the Tunjur
Tunjur
The Tunjur, or Tungur, are a Muslim people estimated around 176,000 people, living mainly in central Darfur, a province of Sudan. They are farmers and live closely associated with the Fur, even if differently from these they speak Arabic as their native language...
. The principal phonetic difference between the two branches is the reflex of proto-Daju *ɣ, reflected as Western *r and Eastern *x.
The typical verb root in Daju is a monosyllable of the form (C)VC(C). The perfective takes a prefixed k-; the imperfective, a prefixed a(n)-. The verb takes person suffixes, exemplified in Shatt (for the verb "drink" in the imperfective):
| I drink | a-wux-u |
| you drink | wux-u |
| s/he drinks | mö-wux-u |
| we drink | (w)a-wux-u-d-ök |
| you (pl.) drink | wux-a-d-aŋ |
| they drink | sö-wux-u |
Suffixes on nouns serve to mark singulative (-tic, -təs), generic, and plural
Plural
In linguistics, plurality or [a] plural is a concept of quantity representing a value of more-than-one. Typically applied to nouns, a plural word or marker is used to distinguish a value other than the default quantity of a noun, which is typically one...
forms. The typical word order is subject–verb–object in most Daju languages, with exceptions such as Sila, and possessed–possessor.
External links
- Nuba Languages and History, Robin Thelwall
- Language Map of Sudan Huffman, Steve