The Sara languages comprise over a dozen Bongo–Bagirmi languages spoken mainly in Chad; a few are also spoken in the north of the Central African Republic. They are members of the Central Sudanic language family. Greenberg (1966) treats all varieties as dialects of a Sara language, whereas Tucker and Bryan (1966) consider the Sara to be a dialect cluster of several languages. Most members of the different Sara languages/dialects consider their speech form distinct languages, but there is currently insufficient language information to determine which speech varieties need to be considered distinct languages, and which are dialects of other languages. The most populous variety of Sara proper is Ngambay (Sara Ngambay), a major trade language of southern Chad, with about a million speakers, though Sar (Sara Madjingay) is the lingua franca of Sarh. Names The term "Sara Languages", sometimes called "Sara Proper Languages", is distinct from the so-called "Sara Kaba Languages". The latter include Sara Dunjo, Kaba Deme and Kaba Na. The term Sara itself is confusing, as within this family there exists a language named Sar, whose capital is Sarh. The term Kaba is likewise confusing. Kaba of Gore is not a Sara Kaba language, but rather a Sara language. Further, the Sara Kaba group includes a language named Sara Kaba Languages The Sara languages are: West Sara Ngambay Laka Kabba Laka of Lau (spoken in Nigeria) Central Sara (Doba) Bedjond Bebote Mango Gor East Sara Sar Mbay Ngam Dagba Gulay Horo The inclusion of Gulay with the Eastern Sara Languages is based on lexical comparison. Phonologically and morphologically Gulay behaves more like a Central Sara Language. Boyeldieu (2006) Boyeldieu (2006) classifies the Sara languages as follows. Sara Peripheral Ndoka Wad Bagiro Na Tiye Kulfa Simé 'Dem Central Sar Mbay Ngambay 'Bedjond Kaba P. Others Bulala Beraku Kenga 'Barma Footnotes References Roger Blench (2012, ms) Greenberg, Joseph H. (1966) The Languages of Africa (2nd ed. with additions and corrections). Bloomington: Indiana University. Keegan, John M. (2012) Sara Languages Lexicon: French - Sara Languages, English - Sara Languages, Morkeg Books, Cuenca. Tucker, A.N. and M.A. Bryan (1966) Linguistic Analyses: The Non-Bantu Languages of North-Eastern Africa. Published for the International African Institute. London/New York/Cape Town: Oxford University Press. External links PanAfriL10n page on Sara Sara-Bagirmi Language Project Bongo–Bagirmi languages Languages of Chad Sara people