Languages of the Central African Republic
Encyclopedia
The official language
s of the Central African Republic
are French
and Sangho. In total there are about 120 languages in the country.
In the CAR, French is the language of writing and formal situations. It is estimated that 7.5% of the population are real French speakers.
Sangho has about 350,000 native speakers. It has become the lingua franca of the country. It became a national language in 1963 and the official language in 1991. It's estimated that 92% of the CARs population is able to speak Sangho. The language has become the mother tongue of almost all children in Bangui.
Nearly all of the languages of the CAR belong to the Ubangian family. There are a few Bantu languages
in the extreme south, along the border with Congo-Brazzaville, and several Bongo–Baguirmi languages in the north, near the border with Chad
. In addition, there is a Luo language
, Runga.
Official language
An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
s of the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
are French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Sangho. In total there are about 120 languages in the country.
In the CAR, French is the language of writing and formal situations. It is estimated that 7.5% of the population are real French speakers.
Sangho has about 350,000 native speakers. It has become the lingua franca of the country. It became a national language in 1963 and the official language in 1991. It's estimated that 92% of the CARs population is able to speak Sangho. The language has become the mother tongue of almost all children in Bangui.
Nearly all of the languages of the CAR belong to the Ubangian family. There are a few Bantu languages
Bantu languages
The Bantu languages constitute a traditional sub-branch of the Niger–Congo languages. There are about 250 Bantu languages by the criterion of mutual intelligibility, though the distinction between language and dialect is often unclear, and Ethnologue counts 535 languages...
in the extreme south, along the border with Congo-Brazzaville, and several Bongo–Baguirmi languages in the north, near the border with Chad
Chad
Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
. In addition, there is a Luo language
Luo languages
The Nilotic Luo languages, or Lwoian, are a dozen languages spoken by the Luo peoples in an area ranging from southern Sudan via Uganda to southern Kenya, with Dholuo extending into northern Tanzania and Alur into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They form one of the two branches of Western...
, Runga.