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Languages of Chad

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Languages of Chad
Signage in French and Arabic at the University of N'Djamena
OfficialArabic, French
IndigenousChadic languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Adamawa languages
VernacularFrançais populaire africain, Chadian Arabic
ForeignEnglish
SignedNigerian Sign Language
Keyboard layout
French AZERTY

Chad has two official languages, Arabic and French,[1]: 575  and Ethnologue reports over 120 indigenous languages in the country.[2] Due to governmental bilingualism, inter-ethnic marriages, and language contact, most Chadians are multilingual.[1]: 581 

Official languages

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Bilingual (French and Arabic) sign for the commune of Mongo, Chad

The co-official languages of Chad, French and Arabic, reflect Chad's complex sociolinguistic history where indigenous people and languages coexist with two different waves of colonization.[1]: 575 

Arabic took hold following 16th century Arab migrations from Sudan, Nubia, and possibly through Trans-Saharan trade routes. A vernacular version of Arabic, Chadian Arabic, is a lingua franca and the language of commerce, spoken by approximately 60% of the population.[3]

France gained control of Chad during the early 20th century, and their colonial policies focused on spreading French as the primary language in Chad. A 1924 letter from the governor general of French Chad declared: "The spread of French is a necessity [...] The native is only allowed to present his/her requests in French." After Chad gained independence in 1960, French was retained by the new government as the official language, in part because it functioned as a neutral choice, rather than having to elevate one indigenous language over another.[1]: 576 

Arabic joined French as a co-official language in 1978, as part of a deal ending the Chadian Civil War by increasing northern Chadians' role in government.[4] French remains the dominant language in many workplaces, schools, and administrative institutions. A 2022 analysis found that about 75% of administrative institutions spoke exclusively in French, and a further 20% spoke French and Arabic.[1]: 577 [5]: 7 

Non-official languages

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The language with the most first-language speakers in Chad is likely Ngambay, which has an estimated one million speakers.[6] Ngambay is used as a commercial and inter-ethnic bridge language in Southern Chad and in the capital, N'Djamena.[1]: 587 

Many of major indigenous languages of Chad are members of the Sara-Bongo-Bagirmi language branch of the proposed Nilo-Saharan language family. In addition to Ngambay, these include Kaba, Deme, Lutos, and Barma/Bagirmi. These languages are mostly used in southern Chad and some of them extend into neighboring countries, especially Cameroon or the Central African Republic.[6]

In parts of Southern Chad, the linguistic landscape is highly diverse. It is a border region between three language families: Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan, and Afro-Asiatic, plus a language isolate, Laal. A 2025 study in two villages along the Chari River found that every villager spoke at least three languages fluently, and most spoke at least four. As a result, even though many of the languages have a small number of speakers, they are relatively vibrant, continuing to get passed down through the generations.[7]: 450, 456–457, 471–473 

The Chadian government produced the Chadian National Alphabet [fr], which provides Arabic script and Latin script transcription for various Chadian languages.[8]: 273 

Chadian Sign Language is a poorly-studied language that is considered to be a variant of Nigerian Sign Language, which is itself based on American Sign Language.[9] Andrew Foster, a Deaf African-American educator, introduced ASL instruction to West Africa beginning in the 1960s, eventually establishing 32 schools across 13 countries. Foster began teaching a summer course in ASL for French-speaking teachers, and this in turn led to the founding of a school in Chad in 1976. Although Foster's course taught ASL-based signs, the language may be more of a creole, combining ASL signs with French structure.[10]

Languages used in Chad

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Ethnologue lists 123 living indigenous languages in use in Chad. Of these, 55 are considered Afro-Asiatic languages, 46 are Nilo-Saharan languages, and 23 are Niger-Congo languages.[2] Some languages that have been attested in Chad are listed below.

All languages listed below are taken from Ethnologue's list unless otherwise cited.

Niger–Congo languages

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Nilo-Saharan languages

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Afro-Asiatic languages

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Creole languages

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Language isolate

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Tchaïné, Dionnodji (2024). "The Survival of Franco-Arab Colonization in Chad: The Gordian Knot of Linguistic Policies". In Lianza, E. M.; Muaka, L. (eds.). The Palgrave Handbook of Language Policies in Africa. pp. 575–591. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-57308-8_27. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Chad Languages, Literacy, & Maps (TD)". Ethnologue. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  3. ^ Patrice, Peter; de Pommerol, Jullien (1 April 2018). "Chad Arabic". Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics Online. Online: Brill. doi:10.1163/1570-6699_eall_EALL_COM_0052. ISSN 1570-6699. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  4. ^ "Peace Agreement between Government of Chad and FAN, FROLINAT and Other Rebel Factions African Transitional Justice Hub". African Transitional Justice Hub. Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2025.
  5. ^ Adoum Aziber, Aziber (June 2022). "Du Tchad au Cameroun : un paysage sociolinguistique à l'épreuve des conflits entre langues officielles" [From Chad to Cameroon: a sociolinguistic landscape tested by conflicts between official languages] (PDF). Revue Afokena (in French). 2: 3-16. Retrieved 24 December 2025.
  6. ^ a b Keegan, John M. (2017). "Sara-Bagirmi Languages Project".
  7. ^ a b Lionnet, Florian (2025). "Multilingualism, Identity, and Language Endangerment in Southern Chad: The Case of the Middle Chari Area". The Handbook of Multilingualism, Identity, and Language Endangerment in Africa. Singapore: Springer. pp. 441–477. doi:10.1007/978-981-96-4729-3_17. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  8. ^ Warren-Rothlin, Andy (2014). "West African Scripts and Arabic-Script Orthographies in Socio-Political Context". The Arabic Script in Africa: 261–289. doi:10.1163/9789004256804_013. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  9. ^ Bosseo, Yves; Baker, Anne. "Chad". African Sign Languages Resource Center. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  10. ^ Runnels, Joel (2017). "Dr. Andrew Foster: A Literature Review". American Annals of the Deaf. 162 (3): 243–252. doi:10.1353/aad.2017.0023. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  11. ^ Samarin, William J. "Survey chapter: Sango". The Atlas of Pidgin and Creole Language Structures Online. Retrieved 26 December 2025.
  12. ^ Luffin, Xavier (30 April 2013). "Some new information about Bongor Arabic". African Arabic: Approaches to Dialectology. De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 161–184. doi:10.1515/9783110292343.161. Retrieved 26 December 2025.
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