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Heiban languages
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Heiban languages

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The Heiban languages are a group of approximately 20 languages spoken by 250,000 to 500,000 people, primarily in the Nuba Hills of southern Sudan. These languages are part of the Kordofanian branch, which is considered the oldest layer of languages within the Niger-Congo language family.1

Key features of Heiban languages include a less distinct voiced/voiceless consonant distinction, where pronunciation can depend on its position within a word. Many of these languages also utilize noun class systems, where nouns are marked by affixes, and other sentence elements like numerals and adjectives agree with these noun classes.1

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2 Britannica Sources
  1. Kordofanian languages
  2. Nubian languages

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