Nilo-Saharan Languages - Major Languages

Major Languages

Within the Nilo-Saharan languages are a number of languages with at least a million speakers. From Ethnologue 16 (2009):

• Luo (Dholuo, 4.4 million). Dholuo language of the Luo, Kenya's third largest ethnicity after the Niger–Congo Kikuyu and Luhya). (The term "Luo" is also used for a wider group of languages which includes Dholuo.)
• Kanuri (4.0 million, all dialects; 4.7 million if Kanembu is included). The major ethnicity around Lake Chad.
• Songhay (3.2 million all dialects, mostly Zarma). Spread along the Niger River in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger, throughout the historic Songhai Empire, including its former capital Gao and the well-known city of Timbuktu.
• Teso (1.9 million). Related to Maasai.
• Nubian (1.7 million, all dialects). The language of Nubia, extending today from southern Egypt into northern Sudan.
• Lugbara (1.7 million, 2.2 if Aringa (Low Lugbara) is included). The major Central Saharan language. Of Uganda and Congo.
• Kalenjin (1.6 million, all dialects, such as Nandi and Pokot). Kenyan Rift Valley.
• Lango (1.5 million). A Luo language, one of the major languages of Uganda.
• Dinka (1.4 million). The major ethnicity of South Sudan.
• Acholi (1.2 million). Another Luo language of Uganda.
• Maasai (1.0 million). Spoken by the Maasai people of Kenya, one of the most well-known African peoples internationally.
• Ngambay (1.0 million with Laka). Central Sudanic, the principal language of southern Chad.
• Nuer (800,000 in 1982, significantly more today). The language of the Nuer, another numerous South Sudanese people.
• Fur (500,000 in 1983, significantly more today). The eponymous language of Darfur.
• Tubu (350,000 to 400,000) One of the northernmost Nilosaharan languages, extending from Nigeria, Niger, Chad into Libya. Most Tubu speakers live in northern Chad close to the Tibesti mountains. Tubu has two main dialects: Dazaga and Tedaga.

The total for all Nilo-Saharan languages in Ethnologue 16 is 38–39 million. However, the data spans a range from ca. 1980 to 2005, with a weighted median at ca. 1990. Given population growth rates, the figure in 2010 might be half again higher.