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Languages of Chad
 
 
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Chad
Chad

Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west....
 has two official languages, French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 and literary Arabic
Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
, and over 120 indigenous languages. A vernacular version of Arabic, Chadian Arabic
Chadian Arabic

Chadian Arabic or Shuwa Arabic is the variety of Arabic spoken primarily in Chad. It is the first language for nearly one million people in Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger, and Sudan but also serves as a lingua franca in much of the region....
, is the lingua franca
Lingua franca

A lingua franca is a language systematically used to communicate between persons not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both persons' mother tongues....
.








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Chad
Chad

Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west....
 has two official languages, French
French language

French is a Romance language spoken around the world by around 80 million people as first language, by 190 million as second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired tongue, with significant speakers in 54 countries....
 and literary Arabic
Arabic language

Arabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages languages such as Hebrew language and Aramaic language....
, and over 120 indigenous languages. A vernacular version of Arabic, Chadian Arabic
Chadian Arabic

Chadian Arabic or Shuwa Arabic is the variety of Arabic spoken primarily in Chad. It is the first language for nearly one million people in Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger, and Sudan but also serves as a lingua franca in much of the region....
, is the lingua franca
Lingua franca

A lingua franca is a language systematically used to communicate between persons not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both persons' mother tongues....
.

Afro-Asiatic languages
Afro-Asiatic languages

The Afro-Asiatic languages constitute a language family with about 375 living languages and more than 300 million speakers spread throughout North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and Southwest Asia ....
 


  • Chadic languages
    Chadic languages

    The Chadic languages constitute a language family spoken across northern Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic and Cameroon, belonging to the Afro-Asiatic languages....
    • Boudouma (51,600, RGPH 1993)
    • Kéra
      Kera language

      Kera is an East Chadic languages spoken by 45,000 people in Southwest Chad and 6,000 people in North Cameroon....
       (44,523, RGPH 1993)
    • Massa
      Massa language

      Massa is a language spoken in southern Chad and northern Cameroon. It is a Chadic language with approximately 200,000 speakers....
       (109,093, RGPH 1993)
    • Moussey


  • Semitic languages
    Semitic languages

    File:Amarna Akkadian letter.pngThe Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 467 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa....
    • Chadian Arabic
      Chadian Arabic

      Chadian Arabic or Shuwa Arabic is the variety of Arabic spoken primarily in Chad. It is the first language for nearly one million people in Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger, and Sudan but also serves as a lingua franca in much of the region....
       (754,590, RGPH 1993)


Niger-Congo languages
Niger-Congo languages

The Niger?Congo languages constitute one of the world's major Language family, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages....
 

  • Adamawa languages
    Adamawa languages

    The Adamawa languages are a putative family of 80?90 languages scattered across the Adamawa Plateau in central Africa, in Nigeria, Cameroon, and Chad, spoken altogether by only one and a half million people ....
    • Goundo
    • Kim (15,354, RGPH 1993)
    • Moundang (160,000, RGPH 1993)
    • Toupouri (90,785, RGPH, 1993)
    • Bua languages
      Bua languages

      The Bua languages are a subgroup of the Mbum-Day languages of the Adamawa languages spoken by fewer than 30,000 people in southern Chad in an area stretching roughly between the Chari River and the Guera Massif....
      : Bua
      Bua language

      The Bua language is spoken by some 7,708 people north of the Chari River around Korbol and Gabil in Chad. It is the largest member of the small Bua languages of the Mbum-Day languages of the Adamawa languages....
      , Niellim
      Niellim language

      The Niellim language is a Bua languages spoken by some 5,000 people along the Chari River in southern Chad. It is mainly spoken in two areas: one around the city of Sarh and one, its traditional home, further north, between about 9?30' and 9?50' N, corresponding to the former chiefdoms of Pra, Niellim, and Niou....
      , Gula Iro
      Gula Iro language

      The Gula Iro language is a Bua languages spoken by some 3,500 people north and east of Lake Iro in southern Chad, between the Bola and Bahr Salamat rivers....
      , etc. (total < 30,000)


Nilo-Saharan languages
Nilo-Saharan languages

The Nilo-Saharan languages are a hypothetical group of African languages spoken mainly in the upper parts of the Chari River and Nile rivers , including historic Nubia, north of where the two tributaries of Nile meet....


  • Maban languages
    Maban languages

    The Maban languages are a small family of Nilo-Saharan languages spoken in Chad, the Central African Republic, and Sudan. This group includes the following languages:...
    • Maba (120,000, SIL 1991)
    • Massalit (50,857, RGPH 1993)
    • Karanga
    • Kendeje
    • Marfa
    • Massalat
    • Surbakhal
    • Kibet
    • Runga


  • Fur languages
    Fur languages

    The Fur or For languages constitute a small, closely related first-order subgroup within the Nilo-Saharan languages: Fur language in western Sudan with 500,000 speakers in 1983 , and Amdang language in eastern Chad with 5,000 speakers....
    • Mimi
      Mimi language

      "Mimi" is a name applied to several distinct and not particularly closely related Nilo-Saharan languages of the Ouadda? Region area of Chad, most commonly Amdang language but also including two Maban languages ...
    • Amdang
      Amdang language

      Amdang is a language closely related to Fur language spoken in Chad by about 5,000 people , while Ethnologue places the number in 2000 at 41,000....
       (5,000, Bender 1983)


  • Saharan languages
    Saharan languages

    The Saharan languages are a subgroup of Nilo-Saharan languages spoken across parts of the eastern Sahara, extending from northwestern Darfur to southern Libya, north and central Chad, eastern Niger and northeastern Nigeria....
    • Tedaga
    • Dazaga
      Dazaga language

      Dazaga, also known as Goran , is a language spoken in the Djurab desert region of Chad by the Daza people, and is part of the Saharan languages branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family....
    • Kanembu
      Kanembu language

      Kanembu is a Nilo-Saharan languages spoken in Chad by the Kanembu people. It is closely related to Kanuri language.External links*...
    • Zaghawa
      Zaghawa language

      The Zaghawa language is a Saharan_languages spoken by the Zaghawa people of eastern central Chad and northwestern Sudan .The people who speak this language call it Beria. They are called the Beri people....


  • Sara-Baguirmi languages
    • Bernde
    • Bagirmi
    • Berakou
    • Disa
    • Gula
      Gula language

      There are several African languages called Gula:Three closely related Bua languages in southern Chad:* Gula Iro language or Kulaal , around Lake Iro....
    • Jaya
    • Kenga (30,000, SIL 1993)
    • Naba
      Naba language

      Naba is a Nilo-Saharan languages spoken by 232,000 people in Chad. Those who speak this language are called Lisi, a collective name for three closely associated ethnic groups, the Bilala, the Kuka people and the Medogo, that represent the three dialects in which Naba is subdivided....
    • Fongoro
    • Barma (44,761, RGPH 1993)
    • Beraku
    • Ngambay
      Ngambay language

      Ngambay is one of the major languages spoken in southwestern Chad, northeastern Cameroon and eastern Nigeria, with about three quarters of a million native speakers....
    • Sara (183,471, RGPH 1993)


  • Sinyar


  • Eastern Sudanic languages
    Eastern Sudanic languages

    The Eastern Sudanic languages form a family of languages spoken from Northern Sudan to northern Tanzania, usually considered a subfamily of Nilo-Saharan languages, following Joseph Greenberg....
    • Tama
      Tama language

      "Tama" is also an alternate name for the Nama language of southern Africa.The Tama language is a Nilo-Saharan languages language spoken in western Sudan and eastern Chad....
       (63,000)
    • Sungor
      Sungor language

      The Sungor language is a Nilo-Saharan languages language spoken in western Sudan and eastern Chad. Primarily it is spoken in Chad. It is a member of the Taman languages language group of the Western branch of Nilo-Saharan....
       (38,000)
    • Mararit
      Mararit language

      The Mararit language is a Nilo-Saharan languages language spoken in eastern Chad. It is a member of the Taman languages language group of the Western branch of Nilo-Saharan....
       (43,000)
    • Daju


Unclassified languages

  • Laal
    Laal language

    Laal is an unclassified language spoken by 749 people in three villages in the Moyen-Chari Prefecture prefecture of Chad on opposite banks of the Chari River,...
     (749, SIL 2000)


External links