The Adamawa /ædəˈmɑːwə/ languages are a putative family of 80–90 languages scattered across the Adamawa Plateau in Central Africa, in northern Cameroon, north-western Central African Republic, southern Chad, and eastern Nigeria, spoken altogether by only one and a half million people (as of 1996). Joseph Greenberg classified them as one branch of the Adamawa–Ubangi family of Niger–Congo languages. They are among the least studied languages in Africa, and include many endangered languages; by far the largest is Mumuye, with 400,000 speakers. A couple of unclassified languages—notably Laal and Jalaa—are found along the fringes of the Adamawa area.

Geographically, the Adamawa languages lie near the location of the postulated Niger–Congo – Central Sudanic contact that may have given rise to the Atlantic–Congo family, and so may represent the central radiation of that family^{[citation needed]}.

Joseph Greenberg postulated the Adamawa languages as a part of Adamawa–Ubangian (then called Adamawa–Eastern), and divided them into 14 numbered groups. Group G3, Daka (or Dakoid), is now known to be a branch of Benue–Congo. The relationships of the other branches has undergone considerable revision.

There have also been recent attempts at computationally classifying the Adamawa languages.^[1]

The Oblo language of Cameroon has been included in several versions of the Adamawa group, but its position within it is unclear.^[24]

It has been speculated that the unclassified Laal language of Chad may be Adamawa; the Jalaa language of Nigeria is probably not Adamawa, but shows heavy Adamawa influence. However, both are generally now considered to be language isolates.

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Sample basic vocabulary of Adamawa languages from Kleinewillinghöfer's Adamawa Languages Project website and various other sources:^[5]

Note: In table cells with slashes, the singular form is given before the slash, while the plural form follows the slash.

• Savannas languages
• Gur languages