| Saharan | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Chad, Nigeria, Niger, Sudan, Cameroon |
| Linguistic classification | Nilo-Saharan?
|
| Subdivisions |
|
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | saha1256 |
 Range of the Saharan languages (in orange) | |
The Saharan languages are a small family of languages across parts of the eastern Sahara, extending from northwestern Sudan to southern Libya, north and central Chad, eastern Niger and northeastern Nigeria. Noted Saharan languages include Kanuri (9.5 million speakers, around Lake Chad in Chad, Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon), Daza (700,000 speakers, Chad), Teda (60,000 speakers, northern Chad), and Zaghawa (350,000 speakers, eastern Chad and Sudan). They have been classified as part of the hypothetical but controversial Nilo-Saharan family.
A comparative word list of the Saharan languages has been compiled by Václav Blažek (2007).[1]
- ^ Blažek, Václav. 2007. On application of glottochronology for Saharan languages.