The Gula language, or ''Tar Gula'', of the
Central African Republic, commonly known as Kara, is a
Central Sudanic language
Central Sudanic is a family of about sixty languages that have been included in the proposed Nilo-Saharan language family. Central Sudanic languages are spoken in the Central African Republic, Chad, South Sudan, Uganda, Congo (DRC), Nigeria and ...
or
dialect cluster
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varie ...
. The term "Kara" is also attached to numerous ethnic groups of the region and their languages, and so is often ambiguous.
Names
''Ethnologue'' lists ''Gula du Mamoun, Kara'' (of South Sudan) and ''Yamegi'' as synonyms, and ''Molo, Mele, Mot-Mar (Moto-Mara), Sar (Sara), Mere, ''and ''Zura (Koto)'' as dialects.
Classification
Sources disagree as to whether Gula shares a
Kara branch with other languages, with proposed Kara languages in one classification reassigned to other branches in other classifications. (See
Kara languages
The Kara languages are Tar Gula and possibly related Central Sudanic languages of the Central African Republic. The name ''Kara'' is used for numerous other peoples of the region, and so is often ambiguous.
''Ethnologue'' 16 lists three Kara l ...
.)
Locations
As of 2013, ethnic Kara were reported to be residing in Menamba
Boma, Ringi
Payam,
Raja County
Raja County is an administrative area in Lol State, South Sudan
South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopi ...
.
References
Bongo–Bagirmi languages
Languages of the Central African Republic
Central African Republic–South Sudan relations
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