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Glite Dictionary
Kordofanian

Kordofanian

1 9.9
A group of languages spoken in the Kordofan area of Sudan
  • noun
  • Specialized
: kordofaniano
  • In the Kordofan region, children are taught the Kordofanian languages alongside Arabic.

Examples

  • Linguists study the Kordofanian languages to understand their unique grammatical features.

  • Genetic research has shown that most African-Americans are overwhelmingly Niger-Kordofanian (or central-southwest African) at 71%, other African at 8%, and European at 13%.

    Blog text (13)

  • Consider that to the immediate north of the Niger-Kordofanian region are the Fulani, more gracile than Sub-Saharans, and to the north of them are the Moors and Arab mestizos of the coast.

    Blog text (13)

  • The Kordofanian languages are spoken by various ethnic groups in southern Sudan.

Compounds

Niger-Kordofanian
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A group of languages spoken across much of Africa south of the Sahara

Niger-Kordofanian language
  • Archaic
9.8

A family of languages spoken in parts of Africa south of the Sahara, including Swahili and Fula

Surface Forms

Kordofanian singular
Kordofanians plural

Morphology

Kordofanian = Kordofan (transparent) = Kordofan + ian

Formed from the place name 'Kordofan' plus the productive demonym/adjectival suffix '-ian', meaning 'of or relating to Kordofan'.

Etymology

Kordofanian comes from the place name Kordofan, a region in Sudan, plus the ending -ian which means 'from' or 'related to', just like in Italian or Australian. So Kordofanian simply names the languages or people 'from' Kordofan, and that is why it refers to that group of languages.