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Chadic

Chadic

9.9
A group of related languages spoken mainly around Lake Chad in central Africa
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : chádico
  • Hausa is the most widely spoken language of the Chadic family.

Examples

  • Many Chadic speakers live near Lake Chad.

  • The Chadic languages include several tonal languages with unique grammatical structures.

  • Many languages in the Chadic family are spoken in Nigeria and neighboring countries.

  • The reconstruction of the Chadic languages has provided new insights into African linguistic history.

  • The Chadic languages are diverse and rich in culture.

  • Hausa is the most widely spoken language of the Chadic family.

  • Many languages in the Chadic family are spoken in Nigeria and neighboring countries.

Synonyms

Chad
vsChadic
  • Specialized
9.8

A group of related languages that use tone, spoken near Lake Chad

gives the general family description without specifying tone number

Compounds

Chadic language
  • Specialized
9.9

A language spoken in parts of north-central Africa near Lake Chad that often uses two tones, for example Hausa

East Chadic
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of languages spoken mainly in Chad and nearby areas

West Chadic
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of related languages spoken mainly in northern Nigeria, including Hausa

Surface Forms

Chadic singular
Chadics plural

Morphology

Chadic = Chad (semi-transparent) = Chad + ic

Formally 'Chad' + '-ic' yields 'relating to Chad', which is a regular adjectival derivation and thus morphologically transparent.

Etymology

Chadic comes from the name Chad, the lake and region in north-central Africa, plus the ending -ic, which means 'related to'. So Chadic means the languages 'related to' Chad, that is, the family of languages spoken around Lake Chad.