The Kara languages are
Tar Gula and possibly related
Central Sudanic
Central Sudanic is a family of about sixty languages that have been included in the proposed Nilo-Saharan language family. Central Sudanic languages are spoken in the Central African Republic, Chad, South Sudan, Uganda, Congo (DRC), Nigeria and ...
languages of the
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 th ...
. The name ''Kara'' is used for numerous other peoples of the region, and so is often ambiguous.
''Ethnologue'' 16 lists three Kara languages,
Gula,
Furu (Bagero), and
Yulu (Yulu–Binga). However, of these, Blench (2012) accepts only Gula. He places Furu with the
Kresh dialect cluster and Yulu as an isolate within
Bongo–Bagirmi. Nonetheless, he retain the Kara branch, also with three languages: Gula,
Kara of Birao
The Fer language, also ''Dam Fer'' or '' Fertit,'' one of several languages called Kara ("Kara of Birao"), is a Central Sudanic language spoken by some five thousand people in the northern Central African Republic near the Sudanese and Chadian bo ...
, and
Kara of Sudan. ''Ethnologue'' treats Kara (Sudan) as a synonym of Gula, being merely the Gula spoken across the border in Sudan. The Kara of Birao it leaves
unclassified
Classified information is material that a government body deems to be sensitive information that must be protected. Access is restricted by law or regulation to particular groups of people with the necessary security clearance and need to know, ...
. However, it lists Fer ''(Dam Fer, Fertit)'' as synonyms; in Blench's and earlier classifications,
Fer
Fer (also known as Fer Servadou, Pinenc, Mansois and several other synonyms) is a red French wine grape variety that is grown primarily in South West France and is most notable for its role in the ''Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée'' (AOC) ...
is a
Bagirmi language
Bagirmi (also Baguirmi; autonym: ''ɓarma)'' is the language of the Baguirmi people of Chad, belonging to the Nilo-Saharan family. It was spoken by 44,761 people in 1993, mainly in the Chari-Baguirmi Region, as well as in Mokofi sub-prefecture ...
, and ''Ethnologue'' does not list a separate Fer language for CAR. Thus it is possible that the Kara branch is synonymous with the Gula language.
Footnotes
References
Blench (2012 ms)
Bongo–Bagirmi languages
Languages of the Central African Republic
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