Sängö
Sango
Atlantic-Congo (Ubangian, creolized)
Sango (yângâ tî sängö) is the national language of the Central African Republic and the most successful African creole language by speaker count, with ~5M users (mostly L2). It originated in the late 19th century along the Ubangi River as a trade pidgin based on Northern Ngbandi (an Ubangian language), with French colonial-era expansion. Co-official with French since CAR's 1963 constitution and used in radio, TV, primary education, and Catholic and Protestant liturgy. Three lexical tones (low, mid, high) marked by diacritics; subject-verb-object word order, simplified noun morphology vs. its Ubangian source.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Sango
Water
ngu
/ŋɡu/
Fire
wa
/wa/
Sun
lâ
/la/
Moon
nzë
/nzɛ/
Mother
mama
/mama/
Father
babâ
/baba/
Eat
te
/te/
Drink
nyon
/ɲon/
Love
ndoyê
/ndojɛ/
Heart
bê
/bɛ/
Tree
kêkê
/kɛkɛ/
House
dâ
/da/
Dog
mbo
/mbo/
Cat
nyao
/ɲao/
Hand
maboko
/maboko/
Eye
lê
/lɛ/
Hello
bara mo
/bara mo/
Thank you
singila
/siŋɡila/
One
oko
/oko/
Good
nzöni
/nzəni/
Sources
- Ethnologue: sag
- Pasch (1997) Sango: An African Lingua Franca
- Samarin (1967) A Grammar of Sango
Words compared
Compared with related Atlantic-Congo (Ubangian, creolized) languages
| Meaning | Sango | Rwa | Embu | Kikuyu | Meta' | Bari | Sangu |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ngu /ŋɡu/ | mende /mende/ | mai /mai/ | maaĩ /maːi/ | mə /mə/ | piong /piɔŋ/ | ameenzi /ameːnzi/ |
| Fire | wa /wa/ | msika /msika/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mwaki /mwaki/ | mɔŋ /mɔŋ/ | kima /kima/ | umoto /umoto/ |
| Sun | lâ /la/ | mlao /mlao/ | rĩũa /ɾiua/ | rĩũa /ɾiwa/ | nyam /ɲam/ | kolong /koloŋ/ | liluga /liluɡa/ |
| Moon | nzë /nzɛ/ | mwere /mwere/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | mweri /mweɾi/ | nuŋ /nuŋ/ | nyepo /ɲepo/ | umwesi /umwesi/ |
| Mother | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ | mami /mami/ | maitũ /maitu/ | ma /ma/ | mama /mama/ | mama /mama/ |
| Father | babâ /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ | ta /ta/ | baba /baba/ | baba /baba/ |
| Eat | te /te/ | kuria /kuria/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | kũrĩa /kuɾia/ | mé /me/ | nyo /ɲo/ | kulya /kuʎa/ |
| Drink | nyon /ɲon/ | kunyua /kuɲua/ | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | kũnyua /kuɲua/ | nyo /ɲo/ | mwoi /mwoi/ | kunwa /kunwa/ |
| Love | ndoyê /ndojɛ/ | lumbo /lumbo/ | wendo /wendo/ | wendo /wendo/ | kɔŋ /kɔŋ/ | ondu /ondu/ | ulungu /uluŋɡu/ |
| Heart | bê /bɛ/ | ngiti /ŋɡiti/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | ngoro /ŋɡoɾo/ | mu /mu/ | lo /lo/ | umutima /umutima/ |
| Tree | kêkê /kɛkɛ/ | mte /mte/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | mũtĩ /muti/ | ti /ti/ | kute /kute/ | umuti /umuti/ |
| House | dâ /da/ | nyumba /ɲumba/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nyũmba /ɲumba/ | nda /nda/ | kadi /kadi/ | inyumba /iɲumba/ |
| Dog | mbo /mbo/ | mboha /mboha/ | ngui /ŋɡui/ | ngui /ŋɡui/ | mbu /mbu/ | ngoʼlo /ŋoʔlo/ | imbwa /imbwa/ |
| Cat | nyao /ɲao/ | paka /paka/ | nyau /ɲau/ | nyaũ /ɲau/ | guŋ /ɡuŋ/ | lupa /lupa/ | paka /paka/ |
| Hand | maboko /maboko/ | mkono /mkono/ | guoko /ɡuoko/ | guoko /ɡuoko/ | boa /boa/ | kindiyo /kindijo/ | ukuboko /ukuboko/ |
| Eye | lê /lɛ/ | liso /liso/ | riitho /ɾiːθo/ | riitho /riːθo/ | dzi /dzi/ | kongi /koŋɡi/ | iliho /iliho/ |
| Hello | bara mo /bara mo/ | kira /kiɾa/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | wĩmwega /wimweɡa/ | mɔlɔŋ /mɔlɔŋ/ | gwon /ɡwon/ | mbasala /mbasala/ |
| Thank you | singila /siŋɡila/ | asante /asante/ | nĩ baba /ni baba/ | nĩ wega /ni weɡa/ | nfɔn /nfɔn/ | mungari /muŋɡari/ | nashukulu /naʃukulu/ |
| One | oko /oko/ | mongo /moŋɡo/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | ĩmwe /imwe/ | mɔ /mɔ/ | kelo /kelo/ | imo /imo/ |
| Good | nzöni /nzəni/ | kya /kja/ | mwega /mweɡa/ | wega /weɡa/ | mwa /mwa/ | ru /ru/ | kwifwa /kwifwa/ |
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