Old Nubian
Old Nubian was a Nubian language once spoken in Sudan.
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Old Nubian (also called Old Nobiin) is an extinct Nubian language, attested in writing from the 8th to the 15th century AD. It is ancestral to modern-day Nobiin and closely related to Dongolawi and Kenzi. It was used throughout the kingdom of Makuria, including the eparchy of Nobatia. The language is preserved in more than a hundred pages of documents and inscriptions, both of a religious nature (homilies, prayers, hagiographies, psalms, lectionaries), and related to the state and private life (legal documents, letters), written using adaptation of the Coptic alphabet.
From Wikipedia · Old Nubian · CC BY-SA 4.0
Words in Old Nubian
| Meaning | Word | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| woman | ⲉⲧ̅ⲧ- | et̅t- |
| person | it* | |
| name | taNis* | |
| eye | man* | |
| ear | ulg* | |
| tongue | tame* | |
| hand | i* | |
| blood | dis* | |
| bone | gisri* | |
| breast | og* | |
| water | ⲁⲥⲥⲉ- | asse- |
| fire | ig* | |
| sun | maSal* | |
| star | uifj* | |
| mountain | kul* | |
| tree | koir* | |
| leaf | ulg* | |
| night | oar* | |
| dog | mug* | |
| fish | uato* | |
| one | ouer- | |
| two | uo* | |
| I | ai* | |
| you | eir* | |
| we | er* | |
| drink | sirip* | |
| see | Nal* | |
| hear | ulg* | |
| die | di* | |
| come | tar* |
* in the simplified ASJP transcription
Most similar languages
Vocabulary
- NobiinNubian32% alike
- Kenuzi-DongolaNubian28% alike
- UncunweeNubian16% alike
- DillingNubian14% alike
- TanggaAustronesian13% alike
- Wali (Sudan)Nubian13% alike
Vocabulary compares 40 basic words (ASJP); grammar compares 195 features (Grambank). Similar is not always related.
Nearby languages
Elsewhere
Glottolog · oldn1245 · Wikipedia (English) · Ethnologue · onw