Languages of Chad
| Languages of Chad | |
|---|---|
.png) Signage in French and Arabic at the University of N'Djamena | |
| Official | Arabic, French |
| Indigenous | Chadic languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Adamawa languages |
| Vernacular | Français populaire africain, Chadian Arabic |
| Foreign | English |
| Signed | Nigerian Sign Language |
| Keyboard layout | |
Chad has two official languages, Arabic and French, and over 120 indigenous languages. A vernacular version of Arabic, Chadian Arabic, is a lingua franca and the language of commerce, spoken by 40–60% of the population.[1] French is widely spoken in the main cities such as N'Djamena and by most men in the south of the country. Most schooling is in French.[2] The language with the most first-language speakers is probably Ngambay, with around one million speakers.[3]
In April 2005 Chad joined the Arab League as an observer, before submitting an application to join the Arab League as a member state on 25 March 2014,[4] which was still pending in 2025.
Chadian Sign Language is a variant of Nigerian Sign Language, a dialect of American Sign Language; Andrew Foster introduced ASL in the 1960s, and Chadian teachers for the deaf train in Nigeria.
Niger–Congo languages
[edit | edit source]Nilo-Saharan languages
[edit | edit source]- Maban languages
- Fur languages
- Saharan languages
- Bongo–Bagirmi languages (Central Sudanic)
- Bernde (Morom)
- Bagirmi (Barma) (44,761, RGPH 1993)
- Berakou
- Disa
- Gula
- Jaya
- Kenga (30,000, SIL 1993)
- Naba
- Fongoro
- Ngambay
- Sara (Madjingay) (183,471, RGPH 1993)
- Sinyar
- Eastern Sudanic languages
Afro-Asiatic languages
[edit | edit source](Ethnologue lists 54 Chadic languages in Chad altogether, many of them small.)
Creole languages
[edit | edit source]Unclassified languages
[edit | edit source]- Laal (749, SIL 2000)
References
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- ^ Middle East Monitor: South Sudan and Chad apply to join the Arab League, 12 April 2014, retrieved 6 May 2017