The Sara languages comprise over a dozen
Bongo–Bagirmi languages
The Bongo–Bagirmi or Sara–Bongo–Bagirmi languages are the major branch of the Central Sudanic language family with about forty languages. Principal groups include Bagirmi languages such as Naba and the Sara languages. They are spoken ac ...
spoken mainly in
Chad
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
; a few are also spoken in the north 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 ...
. They are members of the
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 an ...
language family. Greenberg (1966) treats all varieties as dialects of a Sara language, whereas Tucker and Bryan (1966) consider the Sara to be a
dialect cluster
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated vari ...
of several languages. Most members of the different Sara languages/dialects consider their speech form distinct languages, but there is currently insufficient language information to determine which speech varieties need to be considered distinct languages, and which are dialects of other languages.
The most populous variety of Sara proper is
Ngambay (Sara Ngambay), a major
trade language
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
of southern Chad, with about a million speakers, though
Sar (Sara Madjingay) is the
lingua franca
A lingua franca (; ; for plurals see ), also known as a bridge language, common language, trade language, auxiliary language, vehicular language, or link language, is a language systematically used to make communication possible between groups ...
of
Sarh
Semi-active radar homing (SARH) is a common type of missile guidance system, perhaps the most common type for longer-range air-to-air and surface-to-air missile systems. The name refers to the fact that the missile itself is only a passive de ...
.
Names
The term "Sara Languages", sometimes called "Sara Proper Languages", is distinct from the so-called "Sara Kaba Languages". The latter include
Sara Dunjo,
Kaba Deme and
Kaba Na. The term Sara itself is confusing, as within this family there exists a language named
Sar, whose capital is Sarh. The term Kaba is likewise confusing.
Kaba of Gore is not a Sara Kaba language, but rather a Sara language. Further, the Sara Kaba group includes a language named
Sara Kaba
Languages
The Sara languages are:
;West Sara
:*
Ngambay
:*
Laka
In Hawaiian mythology, Laka is the name of two different popular heroes from Polynesian mythology. (In other parts of Polynesia they are known as Rātā, Rata, Lata, Ata, or Lasa).
In one Hawaiian legend, Laka is the son of the '' Ali'i nui'' ...
:*
Kabba
Kabba is a city in Kogi State in mid west Nigeria. It lies near the Osse River, at the intersection of roads from Lokoja, Okene, Ogidi, Ado-Ekiti, and Egbe. The town is about 295 kilometers away from Abuja. It is 511 kilometers from Lagos.
...
:*
Laka of Lau (spoken in Nigeria)
;Central Sara (
Doba)
:* Bedjond
:* Bebote
:* Mango
:* Gor
;East Sara
:*
Sar
:*
Mbay
:*
Ngam
:*
Dagba
:*
Gulay
:*
Horo
The inclusion of Gulay with the Eastern Sara Languages is based on lexical comparison. Phonologically and morphologically Gulay behaves more like a Central Sara Language.
Boyeldieu (2006)
Boyeldieu (2006)
[Boyeldieu, Pascal. 2006. ]
Présentation des langues Sara-Bongo-Baguirmiennes
'. Paris: CNRS-LLACAN (online version). classifies the Sara languages as follows.
;Sara
*Peripheral
**Ndoka
**Wad
**Bagiro
**Na
**Tiye
**Kulfa
**Simé
**'Dem
*Central
**Sar
**Mbay
**Ngambay
**'Bedjond
**Kaba P.
*Others
**Bulala
**Beraku
**Kenga
**'Barma
Footnotes
References
Roger Blench (2012, ms)*Greenberg, Joseph H. (1966) ''The Languages of Africa'' (2nd ed. with additions and corrections). Bloomington: Indiana University.
*Keegan, John M. (2012) ''Sara Languages Lexicon: French - Sara Languages, English - Sara Languages'', Morkeg Books, Cuenca.
*
*
*
*
*Tucker, A.N. and M.A. Bryan (1966) ''Linguistic Analyses: The Non-Bantu Languages of North-Eastern Africa''. Published for the International African Institute. London/New York/Cape Town: Oxford University Press.
External links
PanAfriL10n page on Sara
Bongo–Bagirmi languages
Languages of Chad
Sara people
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