Nilo-Hamitic languages
Quick Summary
The term "Nilo-Hamitic" is an outdated classification that has been superseded by more accurate linguistic groupings. Historically, it was used to refer to the Eastern and Southern branches of the Nilotic languages. The Nilotic languages themselves are part of the larger Nilo-Saharan language family, spoken across a wide area of Africa from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan eastward through Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, and into Tanzania.123
Early scholars sometimes used "Sudanic languages" to group languages based on geography rather than linguistic relationship, and this term encompassed languages now classified under Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan, and Afro-Asiatic families. The Nilo-Saharan family is one of the major language stocks in Africa, with its origins believed to be in East Africa and extending westward to Mali.43
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
