Languages of Chad

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

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. 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 [4]: 7 

Non-official languages

The language with the most first-language speakers in Chad is likely Ngambay, which has an estimated one million speakers.[5] 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.[5]

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.[6]: 450, 456–457, 471–473 

The Chadian government produced the Chadian National Alphabet, which provides Arabic script and Latin script transcription for various Chadian languages.[7]: 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.[8] 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.[9]

Languages used in Chad

Niger–Congo languages

Nilo-Saharan languages

Afro-Asiatic languages

(Ethnologue lists 54 Chadic languages in Chad altogether, many of them small.)

Creole languages

Language isolate

  • Laal (749, SIL 2000)

References

  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. ^ "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. ^ 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.
  5. ^ a b Keegan, John M. (2017). "Sara-Bagirmi Languages Project".
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Bosseo, Yves; Baker, Anne. "Chad". African Sign Languages Resource Center. Retrieved 25 December 2025.
  9. ^ 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.
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