| This geosector covers 44 sets of languages (237 outer languages, comprising 763 inner languages) spoken by communities across the African continent south of the Sahara, from West Africa to East Africa, and in southwestern Africa. These sets comprise all languages of Africa not covered by phylosectors 1=Afro-Asian, 3=Austronesian, 5=Indo-European and 9=Transafrican. Zones 00= to 07= cover languages spoken in a belt of great linguistic diversity, extending from Senegal to Tanzania: 00= MANDIC phylozone 01= SONGHAIC phylozone 02= SAHARIC phylozone 03= SUDANIC phylozone 04= NILOTIC phylozone 05= EAST-SAHEL geozone 06= KORDOFANIC phylozone 07= RIFT-VALLEY geozone Zones 08= to 09= cover languages spoken in Southwestern Africa, in and around the Kalahari desert: 08= KHOISANIC phylozone 09= KALAHARI geozone Languages of zones 00= and 01= have constituted a "Mande + Songhai" hypothesis, and languages of zones 01= to 05= have constituted an overlapping "Nilo-Saharan" hypothesis. Languages of zones 00= and 06= have been included in the "Congo-Kordofanian" or "new Niger-Congo" hypothesis (together with languages of phylosector 9=), and languages of zones 08= (as "Central Khoisan") and 09= (as "North Khoisan" plus "South Khoisan") have constituted the major part of a "wider Khoisan" hypothesis. |