Page Type: languageNaba | Ethnologue

MNE ISO 639-3

Naba

A language of Chad

ISO 639
mne
Population
510,000 (2019).
Location:
Barh el Gazel region: southeast; Batha region: Batha Est department, Ati subprefecture, Batha Ouest department, Oum Hadjer subprefecture; Lake Fitri area east to Ati (Bilala dialect); Bokoro subprefecture, Moïto to Bokoro, and Ati to Oum Hadjer (Kuka dialect); southwest of Ati (Medogo dialect).
Language Status
6a* (Vigorous).
Classification
Nilo-Saharan, Satellite-Core, Satellites, Central Sudanic, West, Bongo-Bagirmi, Sara-Bagirmi, Bagirmi
Dialects
Bilala (Bilaala, Boulala, Bulala, Ma, Mage), Kuka (Kouka, Lisi), Medogo (Modogo, Mud). Related but not inherently intelligible of Berakou [bxv] or Kenga [kyq]. Lexical similarity: between Bilala, Kuka, and Medogo dialects is 99%.
Language Use
Some also use Chadian Spoken Arabic [shu], especially the Kuka ethnic group, who live near Oum Hadjer.
Language Development
Grammar.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Naba
Writing
Unwritten [Qaax].
Other Comments
Bilala, Kuka, and Medogo are 3 ethnic groups who share a common culture and speak essentially the same language. Muslim.

Also Spoken in

Map

Location: Barh el Gazel region: southeast; Batha region: Batha Est department, Ati subprefecture, Batha Ouest department, Oum Hadjer subprefecture; Lake Fitri area east to Ati (Bilala dialect); Bokoro subprefecture, Moïto to Bokoro, and Ati to Oum Hadjer (Kuka dialect); southwest of Ati (Medogo dialect).