The Zande languages are half a dozen closely related languages of the
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...
, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...
, and
South Sudan
South Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered on the north by Sudan; on the east by Ethiopia; on the south by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Kenya; and on the ...
. The most populous language is
Zande proper, with over a million speakers.
Languages
Per Boyd (1988), the structure of the family is as follows:
*Barambo–Pambia:
Barambu,
Pambia,
Ngala
*Zande–Nzakara:
Geme,
Nzakara,
Zande
Classification
Zande is traditionally included among the
Ubangian languages
The Ubangian languages form a diverse linkage of some seventy languages centered on the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They are the predominant languages of the CAR, spoken by 2–3 million people, including ...
, although Moñino (2010) does not group it within Ubangian. It is not clear if it is a member of the
Niger–Congo family, or where it might be in that family.
Morphology
The Verb
Verbs often change tense by adding the corresponding tense marker. For instance:
* mi na manga = I am doing (tense marker, temple auxiliary)
* mi a manga = I do (tense marker, temple auxiliary)
Besides, the verb will not change with their subject nouns. For instance
* mi na manga = I am doing
* mo na manga = Thou are doing
* ko na manga = He (she) is doing
* ani na manga = We are doing
* oni na manga = You are doing
* i na manga = They are doing
The Adjective
Zande language has adjectives. The adjectives are always placed after the word they modify.
The Substantive
Pluralising a noun in Zande language is often done by adding "a" before a singular noun. For instance:
* boro=a person aboro=people
* nya=a beast anya=beasts
* e=a thing ae=things
The Number
The Zande have a more limited method of counting, never exceeding the numbers 20 and 40. Usually Zande people count by counting fingers and toes. Therefore when a number over twenty is counted another person must count the number beyond twenty and so on. So all the numbers over twenty or over ten are not separate numbers but are described in a sentence.
The system of 1-5
sa=1 ue=2 biata=3 biama=4 bisue=5
References
External links
Zande materials from Raymond Boyd
{{Niger-Congo branches
Niger–Congo languages