On this page/Sur cette page... (hide)
Classified in the Chari-Nile subfamily of the Nilo-Saharan languages, Sara-Bongo-Baguirmi languages are scattered from Lake Chad to the White Nile in southwestern Sudan. Unlike Central Saharan languages, when mapped out they form a patchwork quilt rather than a solid band. (Country Data)
In Ethnologue, several separate languages are listed with the classification: Nilo-Saharan, Central Sudanic, West, Bongo-Bagirmi, Sara-Bagirmi, Sara, Sara Proper (information on these is presented below)
According to Wikipedia, "The Sara languages comprise about fifteen languages ... classified as Nilo-Saharan languages, members of the Central Sudanic subgrouping (in the now-obsolete Chari-Nile languages grouping). Tucker and Bryan (1966) consider the Sara languages a dialect cluster consisting of several languages, while Greenberg in his 1966 classification treats all varieties as dialects of one language."
Sara languages of southern Chad constitute the quilt's largest patch, stretching from Logone Occidental Prefecture to eastern Moyen-Chari Prefecture. (Webbook)
Some languages in the Sara group are also spoken in Central African Republic (CAR).
According to information compiled from Ethnologue:
Linguists divide Sara languages into five subgroups. (Webbook) [what are they?]
There is no agreement about the exact number of Sara dialects, and the degree of mutual intelligibility has not been determined. Tucker and Bryan (1956) consider Sara a "dialect cluster," while Greenberg (1966) considers these variants dialects of one language. There are around ten Sara dialects. (Webbook) [what are they?]
The Sara languages and those of the northern members of the [Sara-Bongo-Baguirmi] group are mutually unintelligible. (Country Data)
According to information compiled from Ethnologue:
The Sara dialect cluster represents local first languages. (Webbook)
Dans la région de Sarh, le sara sert de langue véhiculaire. (Aménagement)
Notes from Ethnologue:
Thayer (l973) noted that Chad uses a standardized Ngambai orthography. No other information has come to our attention as of this writing. (Webbook) It is Latin-based and apparently includes some extended characters and diacritics. [more information on this orthography]
Sample texts are shown on the "Language Museum" site as follows (these may or may not reflect current standards and use):
Alphabet of Ngambay as reported by Hartell (1993) and presented in Systèmes alphabétiques: http://sumale.vjf.cnrs.fr/phono/AfficheTableauOrtho2N.php?choixLangue=ngambai
Table with alphabet for Sar (source: Nanasta 1990):
Unicode fonts with extended Latin ranges would be required.
Not aware of any.
Not aware of any efforts in this area.
(No specific ISO 639-1 or ISO 639-2 codes)
Bedjond
Dagba
Gor
Gulay
Kaba
Kaba Deme
Kaba Na
Kulfa
Laka
Mango
Mbay
Ngam
Ngambay
Sar
It is not clear if all of the above-listed languages from Ethnologue should be listed here. Even if some are eliminated, it still seems as though the dialect situation is complex. Localisation may have to focus on Ngambay and/or Sar?
Chanard, Christian (2006), Systèmes alphabétiques des langues africaines, LLACAN, CNRS, http://sumale.vjf.cnrs.fr/phono/
Country Data, "Chad: Sara-Bongo-Baguirmi Languages," http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-2282.html
Dwyer, David (1997), Webbook of African Languages, http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfrLang/hiermenu.html (page on "Sara," http://www.isp.msu.edu/AfrLang/Sara_root.html )
Greenberg, Joseph. 1963. The Languages of Africa (International Journal of American Linguistics 29.1). Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. [Reprinted 1966, The Hague: Mouton.]
Hartell, Rhonda L., ed. (1993), The Alphabets of Africa. Dakar: UNESCO and SIL. (The French edition, published the same year, is entitled Alphabets de Langues Africaines).
Leclerc, Jacques. L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, "Tchad," http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/tchad.htm
Nanasta, Ngetolabay. 1990. Bien écrire et bien lire le sar: nouveau code orthographique. Koumra, [Chad]
SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Bedjond," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=bjv
______, "Dagba," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=dgk
______, "Gor," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=gqr
______, "Gulay," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=gvl
______, "Kaba," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ksp
______, "Kaba Deme," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kwg
______, "Kaba Na," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kwv
______, "Kulfa," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=kxj
______, "Laka," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=lap
______, "Mango," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=mge
______, "Mbay," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=myb
______, "Ngam," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=nmc
______, "Ngambay," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=sba
______, "Sar," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=mwm
SIL International, "ISO 639 Code Tables," http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/codes.asp
Tucker, A. N. and Margaret A. Bryan. 1956. The Non-Bantu Languages of Northeast Africa (Handbook of African Languages, part III). London: Oxford University Press and International African Institute.
Tucker, A. N. and Margaret A. Bryan. 1966. Linguistic Analyses: The Non-Bantu Languages of Northeast Africa. London: Oxford University Press and International African Institute.
U.S. Library of Congress, "ISO 639.2: Codes for the Representation of Names of Languages: Alpha-3 codes arranged alphabetically by the English name of language," http://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/English_list.php
Wikipedia, "Sara languages," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_languages
< Sango | Major Languages | Senufo >
