Koman languages

The Koman languages are a small close-knit family of languages located along the Ethiopia–Sudan border with about 50,000 speakers. They are conventionally classified as part of the Nilo-Saharan family. However, due to the paucity of evidence, many scholars treat it as an independent language family. Among scholars who do accept its inclusion within Nilo-Saharan, opinions vary as to their position within it.

Koman languages in Ethiopia are in close contact with the Omotic Mao languages. In Ethiopia, some Koman-speaking groups also consider themselves to be ethnically Mao.

Internal classification
The Koman languages are:
 * Koman
 * Uduk, or T’wampa, (formerly in South Sudan) — about 20,000 speakers, most at a large refugee camp at Bonga, near Gambela
 * Kwama (Ethiopia) — about 15,000 speakers, mainly in Benishangul-Gumuz
 * Komo (Sudan) — about 12,000 speakers mainly in An Nil al Azraq
 * Opuuo (Opo), or Shita (Ethiopia) — spoken in 5 villages north of the Nuer by about 5,000 people
 * Dana, a newly discovered language located near Opo
 * ?Gule (Sudan) — extinct

The poorly known Shabo language (600 speakers) shows strong Koman influence, and it has been suggested (on little evidence) that it may be a Koman language. Gule is generally classified as Koman, but the evidence is as yet insufficient.

Otero (2019)
Otero's (2019: 28) internal classification of Koman:


 * Koman
 * Gwama
 * Highland Gwama
 * Lowland Gwama
 * Central
 * Komo–Uduk
 * Komo
 * Uduk
 * Chali
 * Yabus
 * Dana–Opo
 * Dana
 * Opo
 * [clade]
 * Bilugu
 * Modin
 * [clade]
 * Pame
 * Kigile

External classification
Dimmendaal (2008) notes that mounting grammatical evidence has made the Nilo-Saharan proposal as a whole more sound since Greenberg proposed it in 1963 but that such evidence has not been forthcoming for Songhay, Gumuz, and Koman: "very few of the more widespread nominal and verbal morphological markers of Nilo-Saharan are attested in the Coman languages plus Gumuz ... Their genetic status remains debatable, mainly due to lack of more extensive data." (2008:843) And later, "In summarizing the current state of knowledge, ... the following language families or phyla can be identified: ... Mande, Songhai, Ubangian, Kadu, and the Coman languages plus Gumuz." (2008:844) However, Ahland (2010) reports that with better attestation, both Koman and Gumuz do appear to be Nilo-Saharan, and perhaps closest to each other.

Reconstruction
Proto-Koman has been reconstructed by Lionel Bender (1983) and Otero (2019).

Numerals
Comparison of numerals in individual languages: