Old Nubian
Facts
- Language: Old Nubian
- Alternate names:
- Language code:
- Language family: Nilo-Saharan, Eastern Sudanic, Eastern, Nubian, Northern
- Number of speakers: Extinct
- Script: Derived from Coptics script
Introduction
Old Nubian is an ancient variety of Nubian, spoken until about the 15th century AD. It is ancestral to modern-day Nobiin? and related to other Nubian.
Old Nubian is one of the oldest written African languages, but was only used sporadically. The civil administration and legal records tended to employ Greek, while the church leadership (originally all Egyptians) were fluent in Coptic.
The verb
The verb has five main forms:
- present,
- preterite I,
- preterite II,
- future, and
- imperative.
For each of these, there are subjunctive and indicative forms. It conjugates according to person.
Sample verb: dollil wishing
| Person | PRESENT | PRETERITE I | PRETERITE II | FUTURE | ||||
| Subjunctive | Indicative | Subjunctive | Indicative | Subjunctive | Indicative | Subjunctive | Indicative | |
| Sg.1 | dolli-r-i | dolli-r-e (-e < i+a) | doll-a-ri | doll-a-re (-e < i+a) | dolli-s-i (-s- < -r+s-) | dolli-s-e (-s- < -r+s-, -e < i+a) | doll-ar-r-i | doll-ar-r-e (-e < i+a) |
| Sg.2/3 | dolli-n (-n < -r+n) | dolli-n-a (-n- < -r+n-) | doll-o-n / -a-n (-n- < -r+n-) | doll-o-n-a / -a-n-a (-n- < -r+n-) | dolli-si-n (-s- < -r+s-) | dolli-si-n-a (-s- < -r+s-) | doll-an (-an < -ar+n) | doll-ann-a (-ann- < -ar+n-) |
| Pl.1/2 | dolli-r-u | dolli-r-o (-o < -u+a) | doll-a-r-u | doll-a-r-o (-o < -u+a) | dolli-s-u (-s < -r+s) | dolli-s-o (-s- < -r+s-, -o < u+a) | doll-ar-r-u | doll-ar-r-o (-o < u+a) |
| Pl.3 | dolli-r-an | dolli-r-an-a | doll-a-r-an | doll-a-r-an | dolli-s-an (-s < -r+s) | dolli-s-an-a (-s < -r+s) | doll-ar-r-an | doll-ar-r-an-a |