408 km away
Spoken across Chad and adjoining parts of Sudan, north-eastern Nigeria, and northern Cameroon. The main Sahelian Arabic variety, used as a lingua franca well beyond Arab communities.
Sara
Also known as: Sara-Bagirmi cluster, Ngambay, Sar, Mbay
A cluster of closely related Central Sudanic (Nilo-Saharan) varieties across southern Chad and adjoining parts of the Central African Republic. The Sara group is the largest indigenous ethnolinguistic complex of Chad; Ngambay alone counts around 1.5 million speakers, with Sar, Mbay, and other varieties extending the dialect chain.
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Frequently asked questions
What language is Sara?
Sara is a dialect of the Sara language.
Where is Sara spoken?
Sara is primarily spoken in Chad, Central African Republic.
Which region is Sara associated with?
Sara is part of the West & Central Africa region on DialectAtlas.
Is Sara known by other names?
Yes — Sara is also referred to as Sara-Bagirmi cluster, Ngambay, Sar, Mbay.
Nearby dialects
See on the atlas →525 km away
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A Ngbandi-derived contact language and the official lingua franca of the Central African Republic. Used by virtually the entire population alongside French; structurally simplified through extensive multilingual contact.
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The Kano-based standard of Hausa. A major lingua franca across the West African Sahel, used widely in Nigeria, Niger, and beyond.
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The Saharan Nilo-Saharan cluster of the central Sahara: Teda in the Tibesti and southern Libya, Daza further south in Borkou and Kanem. Sister branch to Kanuri within Saharan; commonly treated as a single Toubou cluster of two closely related varieties, with around half a million speakers across northern Chad, north-eastern Niger, and south-eastern Libya.
1,113 km away
A Bantu language cluster of the central Congo basin, spoken across the Cuvette and Équateur provinces of the DRC. Around 6 million speakers across a wide dialect chain.