Editing Sango language (section)

{{Short description|Ngbandi-based creole of the Central African Republic}}
{{Other uses|Sango (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Sangu language (disambiguation){{!}}Sangu language}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Sango
| altname          = Sangho, Sangoic
| nativename       = {{lang|sg|yângâ tî sängö}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|[jáŋɡá tí sāŋɡō]|}}
| states           = [[Central African Republic]]<br />[[Chad]]<br />[[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
| region           = * [[Central Africa]]
| speakers         = sag: {{sigfig|617,000|2}}
| date             = 2017
| ref              = e25
| speakers2        = snj: {{sigfig|34,500|2}} (1996)
| familycolor      = Creole
| fam2             = [[Ngbandi language|Ngbandi]]-based [[Creole language|creole]]
| script           = [[Latin script]]
| nation           = {{CAF}}
| agency           = 
| iso1             = sg
| iso2             = sag
| lc1              = sag
| ld1              = Sango
| lc2              = snj
| ld2              = Riverain Sango
| lingua           = 93-ABB-aa
| notice           = IPA
| glotto           = sang1327
| glottorefname    = Sangoic
| minority         = {{Flag|Chad}}
<br/>{{Flag|Democratic Republic of the Congo}}<ref>{{cite book |first=William J. |last=Samarin |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jSByTfudlIcC&pg=PA301 |pages= 301–34|chapter=The Status of Sango in Fact and Fiction: On the One-Hundredth Anniversary of its Conception | title=Language Change and Language Contact in Pidgins and Creoles|series=Creole language library |volume=21 |editor1-first=John H. |editor1-last=McWhorter |author-link=John McWhorter |publisher=John Benjamins |year=2000
|isbn=9789027252432}}</ref>
| map              = SangoOfficialRecognition.jpg
| mapcaption       = Countries where Sango holds official status or recognized language:<ref>{{cite book |first=William J. |last=Samarin |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jSByTfudlIcC&pg=PA301 |pages= 301–34|chapter=The Status of Sango in Fact and Fiction: On the One-Hundredth Anniversary of its Conception | title=Language Change and Language Contact in Pidgins and Creoles|series=Creole language library |volume=21 |editor1-first=John H. |editor1-last=McWhorter |author-link=John McWhorter |publisher=John Benjamins |year=2000
|isbn=9789027252432}}</ref> 
{{Legend|Green|Central African Republic; (official)}}
{{Legend|Orange|Democratic Republic of the Congo;(recognized)}}
{{Legend|Yellow|Chad; (recognized)}}
}}

'''Sango''' (also spelled '''Sangho''') is a major language spoken in [[Central Africa]], especially the [[Central African Republic]], southern [[Chad]] and [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]. It is an [[official language]] in the Central African Republic,<ref>{{cite book |first=William J. |last=Samarin |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jSByTfudlIcC&pg=PA301 |pages= 301–34|chapter=The Status of Sango in Fact and Fiction: On the One-Hundredth Anniversary of its Conception | title=Language Change and Language Contact in Pidgins and Creoles|series=Creole language library |volume=21 |editor1-first=John H. |editor1-last=McWhorter |author-link=John McWhorter |publisher=John Benjamins |year=2000
|isbn=9789027252432}}</ref> where it is used as a [[lingua franca]] across the country; though there are no statistics to quantify people who speak it as a first language versus a second tongue, almost everyone in CAR, estimated at 5,500,000<ref>https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/central-african-republic-population/</ref> in 2025, speaks it (or are infants who will speak it) at some level.

Sango is a language with contested classification, with some linguists considering it a [[Northern Ngbandi language|Ngbandi]]-based [[Creole language|creole]], while others argue that the changes in Sango structures can be explained without a creolization process. It has many French loanwords, but its structure remains wholly Ngbandi. Sango was used as a [[trade language|lingua franca for trade]] along the [[Ubangi River]] before [[Ubangi-Shari|French colonisation]] in the late 1800s and has since expanded as an interethnic communication language. In colloquial speech, almost all of the language's vocabulary is Ngbandi based, whereas in more technical speech French loanwords constitute the majority. Sango has three distinct sociolinguistic norms: an urban "radio" variety, a "pastor" variety, and a "functionary" variety spoken by learned people who make the highest use of French loanwords.

Sango is a tonal language with subject-verb-object word order, and its orthography was officially established in 1984. It has limited written material, mainly focused on religious literature. Sango is considered easy to learn,{{clarify|date=December 2024}} although reaching true fluency takes time, as with any other language. The main difficulties for English speakers are pronunciation and tone management.