List of extinct languages of Africa

Short description: Extinct languages of Africa

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)

There do not appear to be enough references currently present in this article to demonstrate notability. However, an editor has performed a search and claims that there are sufficient sources to indicate that this is a notable topic.
You can help to improve the article by adding citations to reliable sources. Ideas for references may also be found on the Talk page. (July 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

|

(Learn how and when to remove this template message)

Template:Language Endangerment status This article is a list of languages and dialects that have no native speakers, no spoken descendants, and that diverged from their parent language in Africa. There are 73 languages listed.

## Contents

* 1 List
* 2 See also
* 3 Notes
* 4 References

## List

Language/dialect  | Family  | Date of extinction  | Region  | Ethnic group(s)

|
|
|
|

African Romance | Indo-European | 1400s AD[1] | Roman Africa  | Roman Africans
Ajawa | Afro-Asiatic | 1920–1940s AD[2] | Bauchi State  | Nigerians
Akpondu | Afro-Asiatic | after 2005 AD[3] | Kaduna State  | People from Akpondu
Asa | Afro-Asiatic | after 1999 AD[4] | Tanzania  | Asa
Auyokawa | Atlantic–Congo | Template:Data missing | Jigawa State  | Nigerians
Basa-Gumna | Atlantic–Congo | 1987[5] | Chanchaga  | Nigerians
Beigo | Eastern Sudanic?  | 1960s[6] | Darfur  | Beigo speakers
Berti | Saharan | 1990s[7] | South Darfur  | Berti people
Bikya  | Atlantic–Congo | 1987[8] | Cameroon  | Bikya speakers
Birgid  | Eastern Sudanic | 1970s AD[9] | North Darfur  | Birgid speakers
Bishuo  | Atlantic–Congo | Template:Data missing | Cameroon  | Bishuo speakers
Boro | Atlantic–Congo?  | Template:Data missing | Ghana | Boro speakers
Bosha | Afro-Asiatic | Template:Data missing | Kingdom of Garo  | Oromo people
Busuu  | Niger–Congo (Probable)  | Late 2000s[10] | Native to Cameroon  | Busuu speakers
Coptic | Afro-Asiatic | 1600s AD[11][L] | Egypt | Copts
Duli | Atlantic–Congo | 1970–1990s AD[12] | northern Cameroon  | Duli speakers
El Molo | Afro-Asiatic | 1999s AD[13] | Lake Turkana  | El Molo people
Esuma  | Atlantic–Congo | 1800s AD[14] | Assinie-Mafia  | People of the Ivory Coast
Egyptian | Afro-Asiatic | 400s AD[15] | Ancient Egypt  | Egyptians
Gafat | Afro-Asiatic | after 1947 AD[16] | Ethiopia  | Gafat people
Gamo-Ningi | Atlantic–Congo | 1980s AD[17] | Bauchi State  | Nigerians
Gbin  | Mande | 1900s AD[18] | Bondoukou | Gbin speakers
Geʽez | Afro-Asiatic | 2000 AD[19][L] | Eritrea and Ethiopia  | Ethiopians and Eritreans
Guanche | Afro-Asiatic?  | 1500s AD[20] | Canary Islands  | Guanches
Gule | Koman?  | since 1932[21] | Sudan  | Gule speakers
Homa | Atlantic–Congo | 1975 AD[22] | South Sudan  | Homa speakers
Horo  | Central Sudanic | 1940–1960s AD[23] | Chad  | Horo speakers
Italian Eritrean | Italian based Pidgin | Template:Data missing | Eritrea  | Italians and Eritreans
Jalaa  | Language isolate | 1992  | Nigeria  | Jalabe
Kasabe | Atlantic–Congo | 5 November 1995[24] | Cameroon  | Kasabe people
Kehek | Afro-Asiatic | Ancient Libya | Kehek Libyans
Kpati | Atlantic–Congo | 1971 AD[25] | Taraba State  | Nigerians
Kubi | Afro-Asiatic | 1995 AD[26] | Bauchi State  | Nigerians
Kwadi | Khoe–Kwadi | 1981 AD[27] | Angola  | Kwadi speakers
Kwʼadza | Afro-Asiatic | 1980s[28] | Tanzania  | Kwʼadza speakers
Lisan al-Gharbi | Afro-Asiatic | 1300–1500s AD[29] | Morocco  | Berbers
Lower Nossob | Tuu | 2005  | South Africa and Botswana  | Lower Nossob speakers
Lung  | Niger–Congo (Probable)  | early 20th century[30] | Cameroon  | Lung speakers
Mamluk-Kipchak | Turkic | after 1516 AD[31] | Egypt | Mamluk
Mawa  | unclassified | Template:Data missing | Nigeria  | Nigerians
Meroitic | unclassified  | 300s AD[32] | Kingdom of Kush | Meroitic people
Mesmes | Afro-Asiatic | 2000 AD[33] | Kingdom of Kush | Mesmes
Mittu  | Central Sudanic | 1940s AD[34] | South Sudan  | Morokodo and Madi
Mozarabic | Indo-European | 1400s AD[35] | North Africa | Mozarabs
Muskum  | Chadic  | 1981 AD[36] | Chad  | Muskum speakers
Nagumi | Atlantic–Congo | after 1977 AD[37] | Cameroon's Northern region  | Nagumi people
Ngasa | Afro-Asiatic?  | 1950s AD[38] | Tanzania  | Ngasa
Ngbee  | Atlantic–Congo | 1960s AD[39] | Democratic Republic of the Congo  | Mangbele
Nhlangwini  | Niger–Congo?  | Template:Data missing | South Africa  | Nhlangwini/Ntlangwini
Numidian | Afro-Asiatic | 300s AD[40] | Numidia | Numidians
Palmyrene Aramaic | Afro-Asiatic | after 274 AD[41] | Palmyrene Empire  | Palmyrenes
Punic | Afro-Asiatic | 600s AD[42] | Carthage | Carthaginians
Sabaic | Afro-Asiatic | 600s AD[43] | Horn of Africa | Sabaeans
Sabir | Romance-based Pidgin | 1800s AD[44] | Mediterranean Basin | Medieval traders and Crusaders
Sened | Afro-Asiatic | 1990[45] | Tunisia  | Speakers in Sened
Seroa | Tuu | 1870s AD[46] | South Africa  | Seroa speakers
Singa  | Atlantic–Congo | Template:Data missing | Rusinga Island  | Singa speakers
Socotra Swahili  | Afro-Asiatic | by 2009 AD[47] | Socotra  | Soqotri people
Sokna | Afro-Asiatic | Template:Data missing | Fezzan  | Sokna speakers
Teshenawa | Afro-Asiatic | Template:Data missing | Jigawa State  | Nigerians
Togoyo  | Ubangian | 1985 AD[48] | South Sudan  | Togoyo people
Tonjon | Mande | since the 1950s[49] | Vallée du Bandama District  | Djimini
Torona | Atlantic–Congo | January 2014 AD[50] | South Kordofan  | Torona people
Vandalic | Indo-European | 400s AD[51] | North Africa | Vandals
Vazimba  | Austronesian | Template:Data missing | Madagascar | Vazimba
Weyto | unclassified | Template:Data missing | Lake Tana | Weyto caste
ǀXam | Tuu | 1910s AD[52] | South Africa and Lesotho  | ǀXam speakers
ǁKā | Tuu | South Africa  | ǁKā speakers
ǁXegwi | Tuu | 1988 AD[53] | Lake Chrissie  | ǁXegwi
ǃGãǃne | Tuu | after 1931  | South Africa, near Tsolo  | ǃGãǃne speakers
ǂUngkue | Tuu | mid 20th century[54] | South Africa, Vaal River  | ǂUngkue speakers
Yeni | Atlantic–Congo | Template:Data missing | Cameroon  | Yeni speakers
Zumaya  | Afro-Asiatic | by 2006 AD[55] | Cameroon  | Zumaya speakers

## See also

* Languages of Africa
* List of endangered languages in Africa
* Extinction of African languages due to colonialism

## Notes

L These languages can still be spoken today, but are only used liturgically.

## References

1. ↑ Loporcaro, Michele (2015). Vowel Length from Latin to Romance. Oxford University Press. p. 47. "...as well as by the evidence for a spoken Romance variety which developed locally out of Latin and persisted, in rural areas of Tunisia, as late as the last two decades of the 15th century"
2. ↑ "Ajawa". Ethnologue. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ajw. "Became extinct between 1920 and 1940."
3. ↑ Blench, Roger M. 2012. Akpondu, Nigbo, Bəbər and Nisam: moribund or extinct languages of central Nigeria Babur.
4. ↑ "Aasáx". Ethnologue. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=aas. "Reported in 1999 to still be spoken in the central Massai Steppe."
5. ↑ "Basa-Gumna". Ethnologue. https://www.ethnologue.com/language/bsl. "The last fluent speaker shifted to Hausa [hau] by 1987."
6. ↑ "Baygo". Ethnologue. https://www.ethnologue.com/language/byg. "The last speakers probably survived into the 1960s"
7. ↑ "Sudan - The Muslim Peoples". https://countrystudies.us/sudan/38.htm.
8. ↑ "Bikya". Ethnologue. https://www.ethnologue.com/language/byb. "Last known speakers survived into the late 1980s"
9. ↑ "Birked". Ethnologue. https://www.ethnologue.com/language/brk. "Last speakers survived into the 1970s"
10. ↑ Busuu at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
11. ↑ P. Allen, James (25 November 2020). CCoptic: A Grammar of Its Six Major Dialects. p. 1. "Coptic is the name of the final stage of the ancient Egyptian language, spoken and written from the fourth century AD until perhaps sometime in the seventeenth century."
12. ↑ "Duli-Gey". Ethnologue. https://www.ethnologue.com/language/duz. "Probably became extinct in the latter half of the 20th century."
13. ↑ "El Molo". https://www.ethnologue.com/language/elo. "No known L1 speakers. Last fluent speaker, Kaayo, died in 1999 (2012 M. Tosco)."
14. ↑ "Esuma". LINGUIST List. http://multitree.org/codes/esm. "Until c. 1800 AD."
15. ↑ "Hieroglyphics Cracked 1,000 Years Earlier Than Thought". ScienceDaily. 2004-10-07. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041007085716.htm. "Following the Roman invasion of Egypt in 30 BC the use of hieroglyphics began to die out with the last known writing in the fifth century AD."
16. ↑ Lipiński, Rajend (2001). Semitic Languages: Outline of a Comparative Edward. p. 89. "Gafat was a Semitic language spoken in the region of the Blue Nile, in western Ethiopia. At present, the language disappeared completely in favour of Amharic. Its study is based mainly on a translation of the Song of Songs made from Amharic into Gafat in 1769-72 at the request of James Bruce and on the ample documentation collected in 1947 by W. Leslau from four native speakers."
17. ↑ "Gamo-Ningi". https://www.ethnologue.com/language/bte. "Last known speaker survived into the early 1980s."
18. ↑ "One Hundred Years Old Language Documentation: Preliminary Notes on the Gbin Language". http://paperno.bol.ucla.edu/gbin_walc.pdf. "The now-dead language Gbin belonged to the South branch of the Mande linguistic family; as recently as one hundred years ago Gbin speakers lived in the city of Bondoukou and its surroundings."
19. ↑ O'Leary, De Lacy (1923). Comparative grammar of the Semitic languages. p. 23. "...Ge'ez or Ethiopic. It ceased to be a spoken tongue in the fourteenth century A.D."
20. ↑ "Guanche". Ethnologue. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=gnc. "Extinct in the 16th century."
21. ↑ Evans-Pritchard, 'Ethnological observations in Dar Fung', Sudan Notes and Records 15 (1932: 51–52)
22. ↑ "Homa". Ethnologue. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=hom. "Extinct in 1975."
23. ↑ "Horo". https://www.ethnologue.com/language/hor. "Probably became extinct in the early 20th century."
24. ↑ Crystal, David (2002). Language Death: Factual and Theoretical Explorations with Special Reference to East Africa. p. 1. "On 4 November 1995, Kasabe existed; on 5 November, it did not."
25. ↑ Brenzinger, Matthias (1992). Language Death: Factual and Theoretical Explorations with Special Reference to East Africa.
26. ↑ "Kubi". https://www.endangeredlanguages.com/lang/5021.
27. ↑ "Kwadi". Ethnologue. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kwz. "J. C. Winter (1981) says it is extinct. There were 3 speakers in 1971 who used it regularly (E. O. J. Westphal)."
28. ↑ "Kw'adza". Ethnologue. https://www.ethnologue.com/language/wka. "The last speakers probably died in the 1980s (…) C. Ehret was reported to be working with the last speaker (M. L. Bender 1976:280). Confirmed by R. Kiessling (1999)."
29. ↑ J. Aguadé, Peuplement et arabisation au Maghreb occidental: dialectologie et histoire (Casa de Velázquez, 1998), p.17
30. ↑ Pierpaolo Di Carlo & Jeff Good. 2012. What are we trying to preserve?: Diversity, change, and ideology at the edge of the Cameroonian Grassfields
31. ↑ Gulnar Nadirova Logo. "STATUS OF THE KYPCHAK LANGUAGE IN MAMLUK EGYPT: LANGUAGE - BARRIER OR LANGUAGE - CONTACT?". https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344715953. "Even towards the end of the Mamluk period, during the reign of the last sultan al-Ghawri (1501-1516), the Mamluk, called Asanbay min Sudun, copied the religious Hanbali tract of Abu al-Layth in Kypchak language for the royal library."
32. ↑ "Meroitic". http://multitree.org/codes/xmr. "200 BC - 4th century AD."
33. ↑ Ahland, Michael Bryan (2010). Language death in Mesmes: A sociolinguistic and historical-comparative examination of a disappearing language.
34. ↑ "Mittu". https://www.ethnologue.com/language/mwu. "The last speaker survived into the 1940s."
35. ↑ "Mozarabic". LINGUIST List. http://multitree.org/codes/mxi. "Extinct c 1400 AD.."
36. ↑ "Muskum". Ethnologue. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.aspcode=mje. "There was 1 speaker in 1976."
37. ↑ "Nagumi". Ethnologue. http://archive.ethnologue.com/16/show_language.asp?code=ngv.
38. ↑ "Ngasa". Ethnologue. http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=nsg. "Use began to diminish in the 1950s."
39. ↑ "Ngbee". Ethnologue. https://www.ethnologue.com/language/jgb. "The last speaker probably died by the 1960s"
40. ↑ "Berbère". LINGUIST List. http://multitree.org/codes/nxm. "c. 200 BC."
41. ↑ "THE ARABIC WORDS IN PALMYRENE INSCRIPTIONS". https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250135739. "The earliest dated Palmyrene inscription is from the year 44 BC and the latest discovery has been dated to the year 274 AD."
42. ↑ "Punic". LINGUIST List. http://multitree.org/codes/xpu. "1st Millennium BC - 600 AD."
43. ↑ "Sabaic". LINGUIST List. http://multitree.org/codes/xsa. "100 BC - 600 AD."
44. ↑ The Lingua Franca. Natalie Operstein. 2021.
45. ↑ "The ASJP Database - Wordlist Sened". https://asjp.clld.org/languages/SENED. "status extinct since 1990"
46. ↑ "Seroa". Ethnologue. https://www.ethnologue.com/language/kqu. "The last speaker died in the 1870s (Traill 2002)."
47. ↑ Maho, Jouni Filip (2009). "The 2nd New Updated Guthrie List". p. 49. http://goto.glocalnet.net/mahopapers/nuglonline.pdf.
48. ↑ "Togoyo". Ethnologue. https://www.ethnologue.com/language/tgy. "The last speaker probably died in the mid 1980s."
49. ↑ "Atlas of the world's languages in danger". 2010. p. 191. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000187026.
50. ↑ "Torona". https://www.ethnologue.com/language/tqr. "No known L1 speakers. The last known proficient speaker died in January 2014 (Norton and Alaki 2015)."
51. ↑ "Vandalic". LINGUIST List. http://multitree.org/codes/xvn. "5th century AD."
52. ↑ "ǀXam". https://www.ethnologue.com/language/xam. "The last speakers survived into the 1910s (Traill 1995)."
53. ↑ Mesthrie, Rajend (2002). Language in South Africa. p. 42. "In 1975 I interviewed Jopi Mabinda, the last ǁXegwi speaker. He was able to reproduce perfectly the linguistic material he had given to Lanham and Hallowes and he was fluent in Zulu. He told me he was the only speaker of the language and that he spoke it to his sister and brother-in-law, who only had a passive knowledge of it. He was murdered at Lothair, in the eastern Transvaal, in 1988"
54. ↑ ‡Ungkue at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
55. ↑ Blench, Roger; Dendo, Mallam (14 November 2006). "The Afro-Asiatic Languages". https://rogerblench.info/Language/Afroasiatic/General/AALIST.pdf.

* v
* t
* e

Languages of Africa

Sovereign states|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Benin
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Cape Verde (Cabo Verde)
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Comoros
* Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Republic of the Congo
* Djibouti
* Egypt
* Equatorial Guinea
* Eritrea
* Eswatini (Swaziland)
* Ethiopia
* Gabon
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mali
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Morocco
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* São Tomé and Príncipe
* Senegal
* Seychelles
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

States with limited
recognition

* Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
* Somaliland

Dependencies and
other territories

* Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain)
* Madeira (Portugal)
* Mayotte / Réunion (France)
* Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)

* v
* t
* e

extinct languages by continent

* Africa
*   * Asia
* Europe
* North America
* Oceania
* South America

* v
* t
* e

endangered languages by continent

* Africa
*   * Asia
* Europe
* North America
* Oceania
* South America

* v
* t
* e

languages by continent

* Africa
*   * Asia
* Europe
* North America
* Oceania
* South America

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List of extinct languages of Africa. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Social:List_of_extinct_languages_of_Africa&oldid=4353296"
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template