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Ubangian
The Ubangian languages form a diverse linkage of some seventy languages centered on the Central African Republic. They are the predominant languages of the CAR, spoken by 2–3 million people, and include the national language, Sango. They are also spoken in Cameroon, Chad, the DR Congo, and South Sudan. External classification Joseph Greenberg (1963) classified the then-little-known Ubangian languages as Niger–Congo and placed them within the Adamawa languages as "Eastern Adamawa". They were soon removed to a separate branch of Niger–Congo, for example within Blench's Savanna languages. However, this has become increasingly uncertain, and Dimmendaal (2008) states that, based on the lack of convincing evidence for a Niger–Congo classification ever being produced, Ubangian "probably constitutes an independent language family that cannot or can no longer be shown to be related to Niger–Congo (or any other family)." Blench (2012) includes Ubangian within Niger–Congo. G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Savanna Languages
The Savannas languages, also known as Gur–Adamawa or Adamawa–Gur, is a branch of the Niger–Congo languages that includes Greenberg's Gur and Adamawa–Ubangui families. History of classification The Gur–Adamawa link was demonstrated in Kleinewillinghöfer (1996) and has been accepted as established by later researchers, who have gone further in noting that the Adamawa and Gur languages themselves do not form coherent groups and are not necessarily more closely related internally than they are to each other. Bennett (1983) had also mentioned a ''North Central Niger-Congo'' branch consisting of Gurunsi, "Ubangian", and Trans-Benue groups, with the ''Trans-Benue'' group consisting of the Burak-Jen (i.e., Bikwin-Jen), Yungur (i.e., Bena-Mboi), and Tula- Longuda subgroups. There are several clusters of Adamawa languages; among the Gur languages, only the core of that proposal (Central Gur) has been retained, though it is possible that some of the 'peripheral' languages ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Niger–Congo Languages
Niger–Congo is a hypothetical language family spoken over the majority of sub-Saharan Africa. It unites the Mande languages, the Atlantic-Congo languages (which share a characteristic noun class system), and possibly several smaller groups of languages that are difficult to classify. If valid, Niger-Congo would be the world's largest in terms of member languages, the third-largest in terms of speakers, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area.Irene Thompson"Niger-Congo Language Family" "aboutworldlanguages", March 2015 It is generally considered to be the world's largest language family in terms of the number of distinct languages, just ahead of Austronesian, although this is complicated by the ambiguity about what constitutes a distinct language; the number of named Niger–Congo languages listed by ''Ethnologue'' is 1,540. If valid, it would be the third-largest language family in the world by number of native speakers, comprising around 700 million people as of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yakoma Language
The Ngbandi language is a dialect continuum of the Ubangian family spoken by a half-million or so people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Ngbandi proper) and in the Central African Republic (Yakoma and others). It is primarily spoken by the Ngbandi people, which included the dictator of what was then known as Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko. Varieties Northern Ngbandi is the lexical source of the trade language Sango, which has as many native speakers as Ngbandi and which is used as a second language by millions more in the CAR. A variety of Ngbandi may have been spoken further east, in the DRC villages of Kazibati and Mongoba near Uganda, until the late 20th century, but this is uncertain. Yakoma, with a central position on the Ubangi River that divides the CAR from the DRC, has a high degree of intelligibility with all other varieties of Ngbandi, though as with any dialect continuum, it does not follow that more distant varieties are necessarily as intelligible with each other a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ngbandi Languages
The Ngbandi language is a dialect continuum of the Ubangian family spoken by a half-million or so people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Ngbandi proper) and in the Central African Republic (Yakoma and others). It is primarily spoken by the Ngbandi people, which included the dictator of what was then known as Zaire, Mobutu Sese Seko. Varieties Northern Ngbandi is the lexical source of the trade language Sango, which has as many native speakers as Ngbandi and which is used as a second language by millions more in the CAR. A variety of Ngbandi may have been spoken further east, in the DRC villages of Kazibati and Mongoba near Uganda, until the late 20th century, but this is uncertain. Yakoma, with a central position on the Ubangi River that divides the CAR from the DRC, has a high degree of intelligibility with all other varieties of Ngbandi, though as with any dialect continuum, it does not follow that more distant varieties are necessarily as intelligible with each other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gbaya Languages
The Gbaya languages, also known as Gbaya–Manza–Ngbaka, are a family of perhaps a dozen languages spoken mainly in the western Central African Republic and across the border in Cameroon, with one language (Ngbaka) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a few small languages in the Republic of the Congo. Many of the languages go by the ethnic name '' Gbaya,'' though the largest, with over a million speakers, is called Ngbaka, a name shared with the Ngbaka languages of the Ubangian family. History Moñino (1995:22) proposes that the Proto-Gbaya homeland was located in an area around Carnot, Central African Republic. Classification The Gbaya languages are traditionally classified as part of the Ubangian family. Moñino (2010), followed by Blench (2012), propose that they may instead be most closely related to the Central Gur languages, or perhaps constitute an independent branch of Niger–Congo, but that they do not form a group with Ubangian. Connections with Bantu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sere Languages
The Sere languages (also called the ''Ndogoic'' or ''Sere-Ndogo'' languages) are a proposed family of Ubangian languages spoken in South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Several are endangered or extinct. The most populous Sere language is Ndogo of South Sudan, with about 30,000 speakers. Traditionally classified as part of the Sere languages, Feroge– Mangayat and Indri– Togoyo could be separate groups that may not belong within Sere. Languages Per '' Ethnologue'' 16, the structure of the family is as follows: * Feroge–Mangaya: Feroge, Mangayat * Indri–Togoyo (extinct): Indri, Togoyo * Sere–Bviri ** Bai–Viri: Bai, Belanda Viri ** Ndogo–Sere: Ndogo, Sere, Tagbu Although the Sere–Bviri languages are clearly related to each other, it is not clear if they are related to Feroge– Mangayat and Indri The indri (; ''Indri indri''), also called the babakoto, is one of the largest living lemurs, with a head-body length of about and a weigh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banda Languages
Banda is a family of Ubangian languages spoken by the Banda people of Central Africa. Banda languages are distributed in the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan. Languages Olson (1996) Olson (1996) classifies the Banda family as follows (''Ethnologue'' 16 employs this classification): *Central ** Central Banda (a dialect cluster, incl. Mono) ** Yangere * South Banda (SC) * Mbandja (S) * Ngbundu (SW) * West Banda (WC) Moñino (1988) A comprehensive list of Banda languages and dialects listed in Moñino (1988) is provided as follows. All of them are spoken in the Central African Republic unless otherwise noted in parentheses, since some Banda languages and dialects are also spoken in the DR Congo and South Sudan. ;Banda *Central (39 languages) **Yakpà (also in DR Congo), Gubú (also in DR Congo), Kpágùà (also in DR Congo), Ngùndù, Bòngò, Wasá (also in South Sudan), Dùkpù (also in South Sudan) **Lìndá, Jòtò, Ndòkpà, Ngápó * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mba Languages
The four Mba languages form a small family of Ubangian languages scattered across the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The languages are, * Ma (A-Ma-Lo) * Dongo * Mba * Ndunga The most populous is Mba itself, with about 40,000 speakers. Ma is the most divergent. The four Mba languages are not particularly closely related to each other and display considerable lexical diversity. Language contact The Mba languages have received significant influences from Bantu to the south, and from Zande languages to the north. For example, some Mba languages such as Ndunga have borrowed many noun prefixes from nearby Bantu languages (Pasch 1986, 1987, 1988). Internal classification Mba internal classification according to Pasch (1986): ;Mba * A-Ma-Lo *Ndunga-Mba-'Dongo **' Dongo-ko **Ndunga-Mba *** Ndunga-le ***Mba A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core cours ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ngbaka Languages
The dozen Ngbaka languages are a family of Ubangian languages spoken in the Central African Republic and neighboring areas. It includes Pygmy languages such as Baka and Gundi. The most populous Ngbaka languages are Mbaka in the western branch, spoken by a quarter million people, and Mayogo in the eastern branch, spoken by half that number. Like the Mba languages The four Mba languages form a small family of Ubangian languages scattered across the northern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The languages are, * Ma (A-Ma-Lo) * Dongo * Mba * Ndunga The most populous is Mba itself, with about 40,000 speake ..., the Ngbaka languages are spoken across discontiguous areas scattered across various central African countries. Languages '' Glottolog'' 3.4, following Winkhart (2015),Winkhart, Benedikt. 2015. ''The reconstruction of Mundu-Baka''. Berlin: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin MA thesis. gives the structure of the Baka-Mundu family as follows: * Eastern ** Mayogo–Bangba: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zande Languages
The Zande languages are half a dozen closely related languages of the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan. The most populous language is Zande proper, with over a million speakers. Languages Per Boyd (1988), the structure of the family is as follows: *Barambo–Pambia: Barambu, Pambia, Ngala *Zande–Nzakara: Geme, Nzakara, Zande Classification Zande is traditionally included among the Ubangian languages The Ubangian languages form a diverse linkage of some seventy languages centered on the Central African Republic. They are the predominant languages of the CAR, spoken by 2–3 million people, and include the national language, Sango. They are ..., although Moñino (2010) does not group it within Ubangian.''Moñino Y.''The position of Gbaya-Manza-Ngbaka group among the Niger-Congo languages// Genealogical classification in Africa beyond Greenberg. - Berlin: Humboldt Universität, 2010 February 21–22 It is not clear if it i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of the Congo to the southwest, and Cameroon to the west. The Central African Republic covers a land area of about . , it had an estimated population of around million. , the Central African Republic is the scene of a civil war, ongoing since 2012. Most of the Central African Republic consists of Sudano-Guinean savannas, but the country also includes a Sahelo- Sudanian zone in the north and an equatorial forest zone in the south. Two-thirds of the country is within the Ubangi River basin (which flows into the Congo), while the remaining third lies in the basin of the Chari, which flows into Lake Chad. What is today the Central African Republic has been inhabited for millennia; however, the country's current borders were established by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sango Language
Sango (also spelled Sangho) is the primary language spoken in the Central African Republic and also the official language of the country. It is used as a lingua franca across the country and had 450,000 native speakers in 1988. It also has 1.6 million second language speakers. Sango is a creole based on the Northern Ngbandi language. It was used as a trade language along the Ubangi River prior to French colonisation in the 1880s. In colloquial speech 90% of the language's vocabulary is Sango, whereas in more technical speech French loanwords constitute the majority. Classification Some linguists, following William J. Samarin, classify it as a Ngbandi-based creole; however, others (like Marcel Diki-Kidiri, Charles H. Morrill) reject that classification and say that changes in Sango structures (both internally and externally) can be explained quite well without a creolization process. According to the creolization hypothesis, Sango is exceptional in that it is an African- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
