776 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.
Toubou
Also known as: Tubu, Tebu, Tibbu, Teda, Daza, Gorane
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.
Shareable facts
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Frequently asked questions
What language is Toubou?
Toubou is a dialect of the Toubou language.
Where is Toubou spoken?
Toubou is primarily spoken in Chad, Niger, Libya.
Which region is Toubou associated with?
Toubou is part of the West & Central Africa region on DialectAtlas.
Is Toubou known by other names?
Yes — Toubou is also referred to as Tubu, Tebu, Tibbu, Teda, Daza, Gorane.
How many people speak Toubou?
Toubou is spoken by approximately 500,000 people.
Nearby dialects
See on the atlas →930 km away
A Saharan Nilo-Saharan language and the historical court language of the Kanem-Bornu empire. Around 13 million speakers across north-eastern Nigeria, southern Niger, eastern Chad, and northern Cameroon.
1,017 km away
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.
1,313 km away
The Kano-based standard of Hausa. A major lingua franca across the West African Sahel, used widely in Nigeria, Niger, and beyond.
1,343 km away
A Nile Nubian language spoken along the Nile from southern Egypt into northern Sudan. Heir to Old Nubian, the medieval Christian-era written language of the Nubian kingdoms.
1,414 km away
The easternmost surviving Berber language, spoken in the Siwa Oasis of western Egypt. Heavily restructured by Arabic contact; the only Tamazight variety inside Egypt.