View source for Languages of the Central African Republic

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{{Languages of
| country     = the Central African Republic
|image=Bangui City 4.jpg
|caption=[[French Language|French]] billboards in [[Bangui]]
| official    = [[French language|French]] ([[Standard French|Standard]]), [[Sango language|Sango]]
| indigenous       = [[Ubangian languages]], [[Aiki language|Runga]], [[Bongo–Bagirmi languages]], some [[Bantu languages]]
| foreign = [[English language|English]], [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Arabic]] ([[Chadian Arabic]])
| sign        = [[American Sign Language]] ([[Francophone African Sign Language]])
 |keyboard       = [[AZERTY]]
 |keyboard image = [[File:KB France.svg|200px]]
|vernacular=[[African French]]
}}
{{Culture of the Central African Republic}}

[[File:The Bangui City.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Signs in [[French language|French]] in Bangui]]
The [[official language]]s of the [[Central African Republic]] are [[French language|French]] and [[Sango language|Sango]]. In total there are about 72 languages in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Central African Republic – Country |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/CF |website=Ethnologue}}</ref> 

In the CAR, French is the language of writing and formal situations. In 2022, French is spoken by 28.6% of the population (1.4 million people).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Estimation des populations francophones dans le monde en 2022|url=https://observatoire.francophonie.org//wp-content/uploads/2022/03/odsef-lfdm-2022.pdf |last=Richard |first=Marcoux |access-date=2023-01-14 |website=[[Organisation internationale de la Francophonie]] |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{Cite report |url=https://www.odsef.fss.ulaval.ca/sites/odsef.fss.ulaval.ca/files/odsef-lfdm-2018.pdf |title=Estimation des populations francophones dans le monde en 2018: Sources et démarches méthodologiques |last=Beck |first=Baptiste |last2=Marcoux |first2=Richard |date=2018 |publisher=Observatoire démographique et statistique de l'espace francophone, Université Laval |location=Québec |pages=45 |language=French |last3=Richard |first3=Laurent |last4=Wolff |first4=Alexandre |access-date=2020-05-28 |series=Note de recherche de l'ODSEF |trans-title=Estimation of French-speaking populations in the world in 2018: Methodological sources and approaches}}</ref>

Sango has about 350,000 native speakers. It has become the [[lingua franca]] of the country.<ref>{{cite book |author=<!-- not stated --> |editor-last=Moseley |editor-first=Christopher |date=2010 |title=Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000187026 |location=Paris |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |isbn=9789231040962 |page=22 |access-date=19 February 2025}}</ref> It became a national language in 1963 and an official language (alongside French) in 1991. It is estimated that 92% of the CAR's population is able to speak Sango. The language has become the mother tongue of almost all children in Bangui.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Central African Republic – Language |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/cf/languages |website=Ethnologue |language=en |access-date=2020-05-25}}</ref> 

Nearly all of the native languages of the CAR belong to the [[Ubangian languages]]. There are a few [[Bantu languages]] in the extreme south, along the border with [[Congo-Brazzaville]], and several [[Bongo–Bagirmi languages]] in the north, near the border with [[Chad]]. In addition, there is a [[Maban languages|Maban]] language, [[Runga language|Runga]]. [[Chadian Arabic|Chadian (Shuwa) Arabic]] is spoken by at least 127,000 [[Baggara Arabs]] (Misseriya) in the northern part of the country around [[Vakaga Prefecture]].{{citation needed|date=February 2025}} [[Sudanese Arabic]] and [[Juba Arabic]] are spoken by [[Dar Fertit|Fertit Arabs]] and [[Bimbashi Arabic|Turku Arabs]], respectively, in addition to tens of thousands of refugees from Sudan and South Sudan. Several Arabized Muslim African ethnic groups such as the Runga have adopted Arabic as a primary or secondary language.{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}

[[UNESCO]] lists [[Birri language|Birri]] as well as the Bantu languages [[Ukhwejo language|Ukhwejo]] and [[Geme language|Geme]] as "definitely [[Endangered language|endangered]]" languages of the CAR.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=2021 |title=Birri |url=https://en.wal.unesco.org/languages/birri |website=[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger|World Atlas of Languages]] |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=19 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=2021 |title=Ukhwejo |url=https://en.wal.unesco.org/languages/ukhwejo |website=[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger|World Atlas of Languages]] |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=19 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=2021 |title=Geme |url=https://en.wal.unesco.org/languages/geme |website=[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger|World Atlas of Languages]] |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=19 February 2025}}</ref> It lists [[Bodo language (Bantu)|Bodo]] as "severely endangered".<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=2021 |title=
Bodo (Central African Republic) |url=https://en.wal.unesco.org/languages/bodo-central-african-republic |website=[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger|World Atlas of Languages]] |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=19 February 2025}}</ref>

Education for the deaf in CAR uses [[American Sign Language]], introduced by the deaf American missionary [[Andrew Foster (educator)|Andrew Foster]].

== See also ==
{{Portal|Central African Republic|Languages}}
*[[Demographics of the Central African Republic]]
*[[African French]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==

* [http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/centrafrique.htm Linguistic situation in the Central African Republic]
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/country/CF Ethnologue listing of CAR languages]

{{Languages of the Central African Republic}}
{{Central African Republic topics}}
{{Africa in topic|Languages of}}

[[Category:Languages of the Central African Republic| ]]