What is the nubian written language?

The Nubian language, spoken by the Nubians of northern Sudan and southern Egypt, had a written language known as the Old Nubian script. This unique script was first used in the 8th century AD by the Nubian kingdom of Makuria, and was primarily employed for religious and administrative purposes.

Here are some key aspects of the Old Nubian script:

Alphabet: The Old Nubian script consisted of an alphabetic system derived from the Coptic alphabet, which in turn originated from the Greek script. The script contained around 35 letters, including vowels, consonants, and several ligatures.

Directionality: The Old Nubian script was written from right to left, similar to Arabic and other Semitic languages.

Letters: The letters in the Old Nubian script had both uppercase and lowercase forms, similar to the Latin script used in English and other Western languages.

Ligatures: The script included ligatures, which are combinations of two or more letters joined together to form a single glyph. These ligatures simplified writing and enhanced legibility.

Stylistic Variations: There were regional variations in the writing styles of the Old Nubian script, with differences observed between texts written in Makuria and those from the Nobatia and Alodia regions.

Usage: The Old Nubian script was primarily employed for writing religious texts, including translations of the Bible and liturgical works. It was also used in administrative documents, legal texts, and other types of written communication.

Decline: The use of the Old Nubian script gradually declined after the fall of the Nubian kingdoms in the 15th and 16th centuries. The language continued to be spoken, but it was eventually supplanted by other languages such as Arabic and English.

Modern Nubian Languages: Today, there are two distinct Nubian languages spoken by the Nubian people: Kenzi Nubian, which is spoken by the Kenzi people in southern Egypt, and Dongolawi Nubian, which is spoken by the Dongolawi people in northern Sudan. Both languages have their own spoken traditions but do not have widely used writing systems.