The Bongo languages, or Bongo–Baka, comprise six languages spoken in
South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the ...
. They are members of the
Central Sudanic language family.
The most populous Bongo language is
Jur Modo, spoken by a hundred thousand people. The languages are:
*
Bongo
*
Baka
* Morokodo–Beli
**
Jur Modo
**
Morokodo (Nyamusa-Molo, Mo’da)
**
Jur Beli (Beli)
**
Mittu (extinct)
In various classifications, Bongo is sometimes split off from the rest of the family, so the phrase ''Bongo–Baka'' may be less ambiguous than simply ''Bongo''.
[For example, ''Ethnologue'' places Bongo in its own branch of Bongo–Baka, but then comments that it is similar to Jur Beli in the main branch.]
However, Boyeldieu (2006)
[Boyeldieu, Pascal. 2006. ]
Présentation des langues Sara-Bongo-Baguirmiennes
'. Paris: CNRS-LLACAN (online version). does not consider Bongo–Baka to be a valid grouping, and considers
Bongo and
Baka to each be primary splits from Proto-Sara-Bongo-Bagirmi.
References
*Roger Blench (n.d.
Nilo-Saharan language listing
Bongo–Bagirmi languages
Languages of South Sudan
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