The Zande languages are half a dozen closely related 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

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, and

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 C ...

. 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 Ngala is a local government area of Borno State, Nigeria, adjacent to the border with Cameroon. Its headquarters are in the town of Gamboru Ngala. It has an area of 1,465 km and a population of 237,071 at the 2006 census. The postal code ...

*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 is a member of the Niger–Congo family, or where it might be in that family.

References

External links

Zande materials from Raymond Boyd
{{Niger-Congo branches Niger–Congo languages