List of extinct languages of Africa

Language Endangerment Status by UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger category
Extinct (EX)
Extinct (EX)	(lists)
Endangered
Critically Endangered (CR) Severely Endangered (SE) Definitely Endangered (DE) Vulnerable (VU)	(list) (list) (list) (list)
Safe
Safe (NE)	no list
Other categories
Revived (RE) Constructed (CL)	(list) (list)
Related topics Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger Endangered Languages Project Ethnologue Unclassified language List of languages by total number of speakers
UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger categories
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This is a list of extinct languages of Africa, languages which have undergone language death, have no native speakers and no spoken descendant. There are 69 languages listed.

List

Language/dialect	Family	Date of extinction	Region	Ethnic group(s)
African Romance	Indo-European	1400s AD[1]	Roman Africa	Romans
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	[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	People of Darfur
Bikya	Atlantic–Congo	1987[8]	Cameroon	Bikya speakers
Birgid	Eastern Sudanic	1970s AD[9]	North Darfur	Birgid speakers
Bishuo	Atlantic–Congo	[data missing]	Cameroon	Bishuo speakers
Boro	Atlantic–Congo?	[data missing]	Ghana	Boro speakers
Bosha	Afro-Asiatic	[data missing]	Kingdom of Garo	Oromo people
Coptic	Afro-Asiatic	1600s AD[10]^[L]	Egypt	Copts
Duli	Atlantic–Congo	1970-1990s AD[11]	northern Cameroon	Duli speakers
El Molo	Afro-Asiatic	1999s AD[12]	Lake Turkana	El Molo people
Esuma	Atlantic–Congo	1800s AD[13]	Assinie-Mafia	People of the Ivory Coast
Egyptian	Afro-Asiatic	400s AD[14]	Ancient Egypt	Egyptians
Gafat	Afro-Asiatic	after 1947 AD[15]	Ethiopia	Gafat people
Gamo-Ningi	Atlantic–Congo	1980s AD[16]	Bauchi State	Nigerians
Gbin	Mande	1900s AD[17]	Bondoukou	Gbin speakers
Geʽez	Afro-Asiatic	2000 AD[18]^[L]	Eritrea and Ethiopia	Ethiopians and Eritreans
Guanche	Afro-Asiatic?	1500s AD[19]	Canary Islands	Guanches
Gule	Koman?	[data missing]	Sudan	Gule speakers
Homa	Atlantic–Congo	1975 AD[20]	South Sudan	Homa speakers
Horo	Central Sudanic	1940-1960s AD[21]	Chad	Horo speakers
Italian Eritrean	Italian based Pidgin	[data missing]	Eritrea	Italians and Eritreans
Jalaa	Language isolate	1992	Nigeria	Jalabe
Kasabe	Atlantic–Congo	5 November 1995[22]	Cameroon	Kasabe people
Kpati	Atlantic–Congo	1971 AD[23]	Taraba State	Nigerians
Kubi	Afro-Asiatic	1995 AD[24]	Bauchi State	Nigerians
Kwadi	Khoe–Kwadi	1981 AD[25]	Angola	Kwadi speakers
Kwʼadza	Afro-Asiatic?	1980s[26]	Mbulu	Kwʼadza speakers
Lisan al-Gharbi	Afro-Asiatic	1300-1500s AD[27]	Morocco	Berbers
Lower Nossob	Tuu	2005	South Africa and Botswana	Lower Nossob speakers
Mamluk-Kipchak	Turkic	after 1516 AD[28]	Egypt	Mamluk
Mawa	unclassified	[data missing]	Nigeria	Nigerians
Meroitic	unclassified	300s AD[29]	Kingdom of Kush	Meroitic people
Mesmes	Afro-Asiatic	2000 AD[30]	Kingdom of Kush	Mesmes
Mittu	Central Sudanic	1940s AD[31]	South Sudan	Morokodo and Madi
Mozarabic	Indo-European	1400s AD[32]	North Africa	Mozarabs
Muskum	Chadic	1981 AD[33]	Chad	Muskum speakers
Nagumi	Atlantic–Congo	after 1977 AD[34]	Cameroon's Northern region	Nagumi people
Ngasa	Afro-Asiatic?	1950s AD[35]	Tanzania	Ngasa
Ngbee	Atlantic–Congo	1960s AD[36]	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Mangbele
Ngomvia	Afro-Asiatic?	1976-1999 AD[37]	Mbulu	Ngomvia speakers
Numidian	Afro-Asiatic	200s BC[38]	Numidia	Numidians
Palmyrene Aramaic	Afro-Asiatic	after 274 AD[39]	Palmyrene Empire	Palmyrenes
Punic	Afro-Asiatic	600s AD[40]	Carthage	Carthaginians
Sabaic	Afro-Asiatic	600s AD[41]	Horn of Africa	Sabaeans
Sabir	Romance-based Pidgin	1800s AD[42]	Mediterranean Basin	Medieval traders and Crusaders
Sened	Afro-Asiatic	[data missing]	Tunisia	Speakers in Sened
Seroa	Tuu	1870s AD[43]	South Africa	Seroa speakers
Singa	Atlantic–Congo	[data missing]	Rusinga Island	Singa speakers
Socotra Swahili	Afro-Asiatic	by 2009 AD[44]	Soqotri people	Socotra
Teshenawa	Afro-Asiatic	[data missing]	Jigawa State	Nigerians
Togoyo	Ubangian	1985 AD[45]	South Sudan	Togoyo people
Tonjon	Mande	since the 1950s[46]	Vallée du Bandama District	Djimini
Torona	Atlantic–Congo	January 2014 AD[47]	South Kordofan	Torona people
Vandalic	Indo-European	400s AD[48]	North Africa	Vandals
Vazimba	Austronesian	[data missing]	Madagascar	Vazimba
Weyto	unclassified	[data missing]	Lake Tana	Weyto caste
ǀXam	Tuu	1910s AD[49]	South Africa and Lesotho	ǀXam speakers
ǁKā	Tuu	late 20th century	South Africa	ǁKā speakers
ǁXegwi	Tuu	1988 AD[50]	Lake Chrissie	ǁXegwi
ǃGãǃne	Tuu	after 1931	South Africa, near Tsolo	ǃGãǃne speakers
ǂUngkue	Tuu	mid 20th century	South Africa, Vaal River	ǂUngkue speakers
Yeni	Atlantic–Congo	[data missing]	Cameroon	Yeni speakers
Zumaya	Afro-Asiatic	by 2006 AD[51]	Cameroon	Zumaya speakers

Notes

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

See also

• Languages of Africa
• List of endangered languages in Africa

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. Archived from the original on 2009-01-30. Retrieved 2024-06-09. 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. Archived from the original on 2008-09-27. Retrieved 2024-06-09. Reported in 1999 to still be spoken in the central Massai Steppe.
5. "Basa-Gumna". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2024-11-29. The last fluent speaker shifted to Hausa [hau] by 1987.
6. "Baygo". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2024-11-29. The last speakers probably survived into the 1960s
7. "Sudan - The Muslim Peoples". Retrieved 7 June 2024.
8. "Bikya". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2019-07-03. Retrieved 2024-11-29. Last known speakers survived into the late 1980s
9. "Birked". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2024-11-29. Last speakers survived into the 1970s
10. 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.
11. "Duli-Gey". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2024-11-30. Probably became extinct in the latter half of the 20th century.
12. "El Molo". Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2024. No known L1 speakers. Last fluent speaker, Kaayo, died in 1999 (2012 M. Tosco).
13. "Esuma". LINGUIST List. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2024. Until c. 1800 AD.
14. "Hieroglyphics Cracked 1,000 Years Earlier Than Thought". ScienceDaily. 2004-10-07. Retrieved 7 June 2024. 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.
15. 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.
16. "Gamo-Ningi". Archived from the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2024. Last known speaker survived into the early 1980s.
17. "One Hundred Years Old Language Documentation: Preliminary Notes on the Gbin Language" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2024. 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.
18. 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.
19. "Guanche". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2008-09-27. Retrieved 2024-06-06. Extinct in the 16th century.
20. "Homa". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2008-10-05. Retrieved 2024-06-09. Extinct in 1975.
21. "Horo". Archived from the original on 4 July 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2024. Probably became extinct in the early 20th century.
22. 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.
23. Brenzinger, Matthias (1992). Language Death: Factual and Theoretical Explorations with Special Reference to East Africa.
24. "Kubi". Endangered Languages Project. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
25. "Kwadi". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2009-01-31. Retrieved 2024-06-09. J. C. Winter (1981) says it is extinct. There were 3 speakers in 1971 who used it regularly (E. O. J. Westphal).
26. "Kw'adza". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2019-07-03. Retrieved 2024-12-23. The last speakers probably died in the 1980s
27. J. Aguadé, Peuplement et arabisation au Maghreb occidental: dialectologie et histoire (Casa de Velázquez, 1998), p.17
28. Gulnar Nadirova Logo. "STATUS OF THE KYPCHAK LANGUAGE IN MAMLUK EGYPT: LANGUAGE - BARRIER OR LANGUAGE - CONTACT?". Retrieved 25 April 2024. 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.
29. "Meroitic". Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2024. 200 BC - 4th century AD.
30. Ahland, Michael Bryan (2010). Language death in Mesmes: A sociolinguistic and historical-comparative examination of a disappearing language.
31. "Mittu". Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2024. The last speaker survived into the 1940s.
32. "Mozarabic". LINGUIST List. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2024. Extinct c 1400 AD..
33. "Muskum". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2008-10-23. Retrieved 2024-06-09. There was 1 speaker in 1976.
34. "Nagumi". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
35. "Ngasa". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 21 August 2007. Retrieved 2024-06-09. Use began to diminish in the 1950s.
36. "Ngbee". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2024-11-29. The last speaker probably died by the 1960s
37. "Kw'adza". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 27 September 2008. Retrieved 2024-06-09. C. Ehret was reported to be working with the last speaker (M. L. Bender 1976:280). Confirmed by R. Kiessling (1999).
38. "Berbère". LINGUIST List. Archived from the original on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2024. c. 200 BC.
39. "THE ARABIC WORDS IN PALMYRENE INSCRIPTIONS". ResearchGate. Retrieved 7 June 2024. The earliest dated Palmyrene inscription is from the year 44 BC and the latest discovery has been dated to the year 274 AD.
40. "Punic". LINGUIST List. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 2024-06-06. 1st Millennium BC - 600 AD.
41. "Sabaic". LINGUIST List. Archived from the original on 24 January 2015. Retrieved 7 June 2024. 100 BC - 600 AD.
42. The Lingua Franca. Natalie Operstein. 2021.
43. "Seroa". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2019-07-03. Retrieved 2024-11-30. The last speaker died in the 1870s (Traill 2002).
44. Maho, Jouni Filip (2009). "The 2nd New Updated Guthrie List" (PDF). p. 49. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 3, 2018. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
45. "Togoyo". Ethnologue. Archived from the original on 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2024-11-30. The last speaker probably died in the mid 1980s.
46. Christopher Moseley; Alexandre Nicolas (2010). "Atlas of the world's languages in danger". UNESCO. p. 191. Retrieved 2024-12-23.
47. "Torona". Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2024. No known L1 speakers. The last known proficient speaker died in January 2014 (Norton and Alaki 2015).
48. "Vandalic". LINGUIST List. Archived from the original on 4 July 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2024. 5th century AD.
49. "ǀXam". Archived from the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2024. The last speakers survived into the 1910s (Traill 1995).
50. Mesthrie, Rajend (2002). Language in South Africa. p. 42. In 1975 I interviewed Jopi Mabinda, the last //Xegwi 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
51. Blench, Roger; Dendo, Mallam (14 November 2006). "The Afro-Asiatic Languages" (PDF). Retrieved 7 July 2024.