Sara-Bagirmi Languages Database Project

FAIN: FN-50134-14

John M. Keegan
Unaffiliated Independent Scholar (Sunnyvale, CA 94086-4915)

The Sara-Bagimi Languages form a group of approximately 29 languages of the Bongo-Bagimi grouping of the Central-Sudanic branch of Nilo-Saharan. They are spoken primarily in southern and central Chad. This project is an expansion of the Sara Languages Database projects (NEH grants FN50074-10 and FN50104-12). The framework for the organization, storage, and distribution of the data has been established through these projects. This project focuses on four languages: the work on Bagirmi and Kulfa, involves creation of lexicons with sample sentences and recordings. The work on Na and Nangnda, involves expanding lexicons to produce dictionaries. Each of the dictionaries will also include sample sentences and recordings. Collaborators for the fieldwork in Chad have already been identified. Grant products will be printed for distribution by language promotion organizations in Chad and copies will be donated to educational institutions in Chad and made available to interested linguists. There also will be a DVD version, and all materials will be available on the project website. The data will be archived at existing major language archives: the Endangered Languages Archive (London) and at Living Tongues (Portland, Oregon). (Edited by staff)

Associated Products

Sara-Bagirmi Languages Database Project (Web Resource)
Title: Sara-Bagirmi Languages Database Project
Author: John Keegan
Abstract: This project is dedicated to the study of the Sara-Bagirmi languages, a group of the Central Sudanic branch of the Nilo-Saharan languages. They are spoken principally in Chad and northern Central African Republic. A outline of current information about the languages' geographical location, distribution, numbers of speakers, and classification can be found with SIL's Ethnologue. It is often difficult to find all the sources for these languages, and one is constantly coming across unpublished works -- student theses, missionary works, etc -- for which it is difficult to find a published reference. All languages will be additionally identified by their Ethnologue tag, indicated by square brackets. For example, the Bagirmi language is tagged as [bmi].
Year: 2015
Primary URL: http://morkegbooks.com/Services/World/Languages/SaraBagirmi/ProjectOverView.htm

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