Bongor Arabic

Bongor Arabic is an Arabic-based creole language that serves as a lingua franca in and around the town of Bongor, Chad. It is a direct descendant of Turku Arabic, a former lingua franca of Chad.

Main changes

These are some of the main distinctive features of Bongor Arabic:

• long vowels are replaced by short stressed vowels.
• /x/ tends to be replaced by /k/.
• /f/ tends to be replaced by /p/.
• /ʕ/ is lost.
• no gender distinction.
• no definite article (al-/il-).
• no personal affixes on verbs.
• the root system typical to Arabic and other Semitic languages is no longer productive.

Vocabulary

References