Birgid language

Birgid
Birgid
Murgi Birked
Native to	Sudan
Region	North Kordofan, South Darfur
Extinct	1970s
Language family	Nilo-Saharan? Eastern Sudanic Northern Eastern Nubian Central Birgid; ; ; ; ;
Language codes
ISO 639-3	brk
Glottolog	birk1242

Birgid (also known as Bergit, Berguid, Kajjara, Murgi, Birked, Birguid, Birkit, Birqed) is a likely extinct Nubian language.

Classification

Birgid is classified as a Nilo-Saharan language. It is part of the Nubian language cluster, but below this level, linguists disagree on the subdivision. Classification systems developed by Thelwall and by Bechhaus-Gers placed Birgid in a subgroup with the Hill Nubian languages (and Bechhaus-Gers also added Kenzi and Dongolawi to that subgroup). Alamin placed it within a Darfur Nubian subgroup alongside the Midob language. Some work, especially early classifications, placed Birgid in its own subgroup within Nubian.

Geographic distribution

Birgid was spoken in western and northern Sudan, in North Kordofan and north of the city of Nyala in South Darfur. Robin Thelwall noted that his last contact with speakers of Birgid occurred in with elderly speakers in 1972, and thus the language is assumed to be extinct.^{[citation needed]} It is possible there are still some speakers of Birgid around the border of Chad and Sudan.

Birgid is very poorly documented. As of 2014^[update], the only published examples of Birgid were vocabulary lists from 1918 and 1977.

Morphology

Birgid shares a complex number marking system with other northeastern Nilo-Saharan languages, including the Nubian and Taman groups. Some words are inherently singular and can be pluralized with a suffix. Others are inherently plural, and can be made singular with a suffix. Still others require a suffix to mark either singular or plural. Tone can also differentiate number.

Singulative and plural suffixes/tones in Birgid
Singular	Plural	English gloss
ɑŋɑl	ɑŋɑl-si	elephant
kur-ti	kur	man
wɑɑɲ-di	wɑɑɲ-e	star
úr	ùr	head

Vocabulary

The known vocabulary of Birgid is limited to two vocabulary lists from the 20th century. These include a list of the numerals from one to ten:

Birgid numerals
Number	Birgid
1	meelug
2	ulug
3	tizzig
4	keemzi
5	tiʃʃi
6	korʃi
7	koldi
8	ittu
9	iɟiŋoldi
10	tummun

References

↑ "Birked". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2024-11-29. Last speakers survived into the 1970s
1 2 3 Dimmendaal, Gerrit J.; Erhard Voeltz, F. K. (2010). "Africa". In Moseley, Christopher (ed.). Encyclopedia of the world's endangered languages. London: Routledge. p. 609. ISBN 9780700711970.
1 2 Gordon, Raymond G.; Grimes, Barbara F. (2005). Ethnologue: languages of the world (15th ed.). Dallas: SIL International. p. 189. ISBN 155671159X.
1 2 3 Alamin, Suzan (2014). "Noun Phrase Constructions in Nubian Languages: A Comparative Study" (PDF). Dotawo: A Journal of Nubian Studies. 1: 204–205. doi:10.5070/D61110013. JSTOR jj.2353970.12. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
↑ Greenberg, Joseph (1971). "Nilo-Saharan and Meroitic". In Berry, Jack; Sebeok, Thomas Albert (eds.). Linguistics in Sub-Saharan Africa. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 428. ISBN 978-3-11-156252-0. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
1 2 Dimmendaal, Gerrit J.; Jakobi, Angelika (26 March 2020). "Eastern Sudanic". In Vossen, Rainier; Dimmendaal, Gerrit J. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of African Languages. Oxford University Press. p. 398. ISBN 978-0-19-960989-5. Retrieved 24 September 2026.
↑ Blažek, Václav (1999). "Nubian numerals" (PDF). Numerals : comparative-etymological analyses of numeral systems and their implications : (Saharan, Nubian, Egyptian, Berber, Kartvelian, Uralic, Altaic and Indo-European languages). hdl:11222.digilib/122989. Retrieved 24 September 2026.

External links

Birgid basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database

[1] "Birked". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2024-11-29. Last speakers survived into the 1970s

[Moseley2010-2] 1 2 3 Dimmendaal, Gerrit J.; Erhard Voeltz, F. K. (2010). "Africa". In Moseley, Christopher (ed.). Encyclopedia of the world's endangered languages. London: Routledge. p. 609. ISBN 9780700711970.

[E15-3] 1 2 Gordon, Raymond G.; Grimes, Barbara F. (2005). Ethnologue: languages of the world (15th ed.). Dallas: SIL International. p. 189. ISBN 155671159X.

[Alamin2014-4] 1 2 3 Alamin, Suzan (2014). "Noun Phrase Constructions in Nubian Languages: A Comparative Study" (PDF). Dotawo: A Journal of Nubian Studies. 1: 204–205. doi:10.5070/D61110013. JSTOR jj.2353970.12. Retrieved 24 September 2026.

[Greenberg-5] Greenberg, Joseph (1971). "Nilo-Saharan and Meroitic". In Berry, Jack; Sebeok, Thomas Albert (eds.). Linguistics in Sub-Saharan Africa. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 428. ISBN 978-3-11-156252-0. Retrieved 25 September 2026.

[DJ2020-6] 1 2 Dimmendaal, Gerrit J.; Jakobi, Angelika (26 March 2020). "Eastern Sudanic". In Vossen, Rainier; Dimmendaal, Gerrit J. (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of African Languages. Oxford University Press. p. 398. ISBN 978-0-19-960989-5. Retrieved 24 September 2026.

[7] Blažek, Václav (1999). "Nubian numerals" (PDF). Numerals : comparative-etymological analyses of numeral systems and their implications : (Saharan, Nubian, Egyptian, Berber, Kartvelian, Uralic, Altaic and Indo-European languages). hdl:11222.digilib/122989. Retrieved 24 September 2026.