Chadian Arabic

لهجة تشادية

Chadian Arabic is a language, spoken in Chad, Sudan, South Sudan and Central African Republic and 3 more countries. Wikidata counts 2.6 m first-language speakers (2023). Wikidata describes it as “variety of Sudanic Arabic spoken in Chad, western Sudan, eastern Nigeria, and northern Cameroon”.

3 · Wider CommunicationArab Latn +22.6 m

Wikidata record Glottolog

At a glance

ISO 639-3: shu
Glottocode: chad1249
Family: unclassified
EGIDS: 3 Wider Communication
Wikipedia: 30 language editions

2.6 mfirst-language speakers

—second-language speakers

7countries

2scripts

—levels in the tree

3EGIDS level

Facts

Name	Chadian Arabic · لهجة تشادية
Also called	Shua, Suwa Arabic, Baggara Arabic, Western Sudanic Arabic, Turku
L1 speakers	2,600,000 (2023)
Written in	Arabic script, Latin script

Vitality

EGIDS 3 Wider Communication3

Institutional. Used in government, education and media — EGIDS 0 to 4.

Other languages at this level

where it is spoken

Map and countries

A distribution map from Wikimedia Commons, as linked from Wikidata; borders of language areas are approximate.

Map of the area where Chadian Arabic is spoken — Map: Fobos92 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Chad117 languages in the index Sudan73 languages in the index South Sudan63 languages in the index Central African Republic47 languages in the index Cameroon243 languages in the index Nigeria415 languages in the index Niger18 languages in the index

Also spoken in Chad

araArabicAfroasiatic · 315.4 mSafe fraFrenchIndo-European · 285.4 m0 · International hauHausaAfroasiatic · 43.9 m2 · Provincial kauKanuriNilo-Saharan · 15 m kncCentral KanuriNilo-Saharan · 9.3 m3 · Wider Communication mnkMandinkaNiger–Congo · 1.4 m5 · Developing fvrFurNilo-Saharan · 746,0005 · Developing sagSangoNiger–Congo · 500,0001 · National ankGoemaiAfroasiatic · 347,0056b · Threatened mdeMabaNilo-Saharan · 296,0003 · Wider Communication