Chadic languages

The Chadic languages form a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken in parts of the Sahel. They include 196 languages spoken across northern Nigeria, southern Niger, southern Chad, and northern Cameroon. By far the most widely spoken Chadic language is Hausa, a lingua franca of much of inland Eastern West Africa, particularly Niger and the northern half of Nigeria.

Composition
Paul Newman (1977) classified the languages into the four groups which have been accepted in all subsequent literature. Further subbranching, however, has not been as robust; Roger Blench (2006), for example, only accepts the A/B bifurcation of East Chadic. Kujargé has been added from Blench (2008), who suggests Kujargé may have split off before the breakup of Proto-Chadic and then subsequently became influenced by East Chadic. Subsequent work by Joseph Lovestrand argues strongly that Kujarge is a valid member of East Chadic. The placing of Luri as a primary split of West Chadic is erroneous. Bernard Caron (2004) shows that this language is South Bauchi and part of the Polci cluster.


 * Chadic
 * 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 Buduma and Musgu languages
 * Gidar
 * East Chadic
 * the Tumak, Nancere, and Kera languages
 * the Dangaléat, Mukulu, and Sokoro languages
 * Masa
 * ? Kujargé



Loanwords
Chadic languages contain many Nilo-Saharan loanwords from either the Songhay or Maban branches, pointing to early contact between Chadic and Nilo-Saharan speakers as Chadic was migrating west.

Although Adamawa languages are spoken adjacently to Chadic languages, interaction between Chadic and Adamawa is limited.

Pronouns
Pronouns in Proto-Chadic, as compared to pronouns in Proto-Afroasiatic (Vossen & Dimmendaal 2020:351):

Comparative vocabulary
Sample basic vocabulary in different Chadic branches listed in order from west to east, with reconstructions of other Afroasiatic branches also given for comparison: