| Languages of the Central African Republic | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Official | French (Standard),Sango |
| Indigenous | Ubangian languages,Runga,Bongo–Bagirmi languages, someBantu languages |
| Vernacular | African French |
| Foreign | English,Russian,Arabic (Chadian Arabic) |
| Signed | American Sign Language (Francophone African Sign Language) |
| Keyboard layout | |
| Part ofa series on the |
| Culture of the Central African Republic |
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Theofficial languages of theCentral African Republic areFrench andSango. In total there are about 72 languages in the country.[1]
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).[2][3]
Sango has about 350,000 native speakers. It has become thelingua franca of the country.[4] 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.[5]
Nearly all of the native languages of the CAR belong to theUbangian languages. There are a fewBantu languages in the extreme south, along the border withCongo-Brazzaville, and severalBongo–Bagirmi languages in the north, near the border withChad. In addition, there is aMaban language,Runga.Chadian (Shuwa) Arabic is spoken by at least 127,000Baggara Arabs (Misseriya) in the northern part of the country aroundVakaga Prefecture.[citation needed]Sudanese Arabic andJuba Arabic are spoken byFertit Arabs andTurku 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]
UNESCO listsBirri as well as the Bantu languagesUkhwejo andGeme as "definitelyendangered" languages of the CAR.[6][7][8] It listsBodo as "severely endangered".[9]
Education for the deaf in CAR usesAmerican Sign Language, introduced by the deaf American missionaryAndrew Foster.
