Sangho
| Sango | |
|---|---|
| yângâ tî sängö | |
| Pronunciation | [jáŋɡá tí sāŋɡō] |
| Native to | Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo |
|
Native speakers
|
(450,000 cited 1988) 1.6 million as second language (no date) |
| Official status | |
|
Official language in
|
 Central African Republic
|
| Regulated by | Institute of Applied Linguistics |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | sg |
| ISO 639-2 | sag |
| ISO 639-3 | Either: |
| Glottolog | sang1327 |
| Linguasphere | 93-ABB-aa |
Sango (also spelled Sangho) is a creole language in the Central African Republic and the primary language spoken in the country. It is an official language of the Central African Republic, making the Central African Republic one of the few African countries with an indigenous language as an official language. It is used as a lingua franca across the country and had 450,000 native speakers in 1988. It also has 1.6 million second language speakers.
The creole is based on the Northern Ngbandi language. It was used as a trade language along the Ubangi River prior to French colonisation in the 1880s. In colloquial speech 90% of the language's vocabulary is Sango, whereas in more technical speech French loanwords constitute the majority.
Some linguists, following William J. Samarin, classify it as a Ngbandi-based creole; however, others (like Marcel Diki-Kidiri, Charles H. Morrill) reject that classification and say that changes in Sango structures (both internally and externally) can be explained quite well without a creolization process.
According to the creolization hypothesis, Sango is exceptional in that it is an African- rather than European-based creole. Although French has contributed numerous loanwords, Sango's structure is wholly African.
A variety of Sango was used as a lingua franca along the Ubangi River before French colonization, in the late 1800s. The French army recruited Central Africans, causing them to increasingly use Sango as a means of interethnic communication. Throughout the 20th century, missionaries promoted Sango because of its wide usage.
Originally used by river traders, Sango arose as a lingua franca based on the Northern Ngbandi dialect of the Sango tribe, part of the Ngbandi language cluster, with some French influence.
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