ABSTRACT
The languages of the African continent can be divided into four major groups according to the generally accepted division of J.H.Greenberg (1963): Afro-Asiatic, NigerKordofanian, Nilo-Saharan and Khoisan. The reconstruction of Afro-Asiatic (and especially of Semitic) has a long tradition, while the other three groups, especially NiloSaharan, have reconstructions that are still somewhat speculative.
