Eastern Sudanic

Abstract Eastern Sudanic, the largest Nilo-Saharan subgroup in terms of number of languages, is spread over a vast area from Chad towards Eritrea and southwards towards central Tanzania. In spite of considerable phonological variation (for example concerning vowel harmony) and morphosyntactic typological variation (for example concerning the tripartite number marking, differential object marking, and differential subject marking, or the presence versus absence of coverbs, light verbs, converbs, or pluractionality) within this branch, a range of diagnostic features provide clues to the genetic coherence as well as to the divergence of Eastern Sudanic, thereby supporting its classification as a valid subgroup of Nilo-Saharan.