| Rashad | |
|---|---|
| Tegali–Tagoi | |
| Geographic distribution | Nuba Hills,Sudan |
| Linguistic classification | Niger–Congo?
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | rash1249 |
 | |
TheRashad languages form a smalllanguage family in theNuba Hills ofSudan. They are named afterRashad District ofSouth Kordofan.
Part of an erstwhileKordofanian proposal, they are of uncertain position within theNiger–Congo family. It was at first thought that they shared the characteristic morphology of Niger–Congo, such as the noun-class system. However, only the Tagoi branch has noun classes, and Blench remarks that it appears to have been borrowed. Thus, he classifies Rashad as a divergent branch of Niger–Congo outside theAtlantic–Congo core. A similar situation holds for another Kordofanian family,Katla; these are not closely related to Rashad.
Unlike the neighbouringTalodi-Heiban languages which haveSVO word order, Rashad languages (and alsoLafofa) haveSOV word order.[2]
The number of Rashad languages varies among descriptions, from two (Williamson & Blench 2000, reflected in the ISO codes) to seven (Blenchms, shown here).