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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) and Cameroon. They include the pygmy languages Efé and Asoa.
The Sara languages comprise over a dozen Bongo–Bagirmi languages spoken mainly in Chad; a few are also spoken in the north of the Central African Republic. They are members of the Central Sudanic 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 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 Shatt language is an Eastern Sudanic language of the Daju family spoken in the Shatt Hills southwest of Kaduqli in South Kurdufan province in southern Sudan.
Lese is a Central Sudanic language of northeastern Congo-Kinshasa, as well as a name for the people who speak this language. The Lese people, live in association with the Efé Pygmies and share their language, which is occasionally known as Lissi or Efe.
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 across CAR, Chad, South Sudan, and adjacent countries.
The Bagirmi languages comprise half a dozen languages spoken in southern Chad. They are members of the Central Sudanic language family.
The Bongo languages, or Bongo–Baka, comprise six languages spoken in South Sudan. They are members of the Central Sudanic language family.
The Kara languages are Tar Gula and possibly related Central Sudanic languages of the Central African Republic. The name Kara is used for numerous other peoples of the region, and so is often ambiguous.
The Kaba languages, also called Sara Kaba but not to be confused with the Sara languages, comprise three to five languages of Chad and the Central African Republic. They are Bongo–Bagirmi languages of the Central Sudanic language family.
Bila, or Forest Bira, is a Bantu language spoken in the Mambasa Territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is also spoken by the Mbuti Pygmies who live in that area. Pygmy groups to the west include the Kango and Sua (Batchua). Other Mbuti speak Central Sudanic languages. The Kango and Sua speak distinct dialects, but not enough to impair mutual intelligibility with their farming Bila patrons.
The Gula language, or Tar Gula, of the Central African Republic, commonly known as Kara, is a Central Sudanic language or dialect cluster. The term "Kara" is also attached to numerous ethnic groups of the region and their languages, and so is often ambiguous.
Doba is a Central Sudanic language of Chad. It is traditionally considered three languages, because it is spoken by three ethnicities with separate identities, the Bedjond, the Mango, and the Gor. However, all have a high degree of mutual intelligibility, and so by that standard are a single language.
Shemya is the language of the Sinyar people. It is a Central Sudanic language spoken in Chad and formerly in Darfur, Sudan. It is variously spelled Shamya, Shamyan, Shemya, Sinya, and known as Symiarta, Taar Shamyan, Zimirra.
Yulu is a Central Sudanic language spoken by the Yulu people of South Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR). It has an estimated 7,000–13,000 speakers.
Furu is a Central Sudanic language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Glottolog has it as one of the Kara languages, but Blench (2000) lists it as a Kresh language.
Kresh is a small language group of South Sudan. It is generally considered to be a branch of the Central Sudanic languages. Boyeldieu (2010) judges that this has yet to be demonstrated satisfactorily, but Starostin (2016) finds convincing evidence, and that its closest relative within that family appears to be Birri.
Kaba proper is a Bongo–Bagirmi language of Chad and the Central African Republic. It is one of several local languages that go by the names Kaba and Sara. There are three ISO codes, which Ethnologue acknowledges may be the same thing.
Kaba Démé, or just Dem, is a Bongo–Bagirmi language of Chad and the Central African Republic. It is one of several local languages that go by the names Kaba and Sara.
Vale is a minor Central Sudanic language of the Central African Republic, spoken in and to the west of the town of Batangafo. Tana (Tele) dialect is divergent and may be a distinct language.
Birri (Bviri) is a nearly extinct, possibly Central Sudanic language of CAR and South Sudan. According to Boyeldieu (2010), its classification as Central Sudanic has yet to be demonstrated, but Starostin (2016) finds its closest relative to be Kresh.
References
- ↑ Fer at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
- ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Kara (Central African Republic)". Glottolog 3.0 . Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ↑ Hammarström, Harald; Forke, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin; Bank, Sebastian, eds. (2020). "Kara (Central African Republic)". Glottolog 4.3.
