Tama language

Not to be confused with Tama language (Colombia).

Tama, or Tamongobo, is the primary language spoken by the Tama people in Ouaddai, eastern Chad and in Darfur, western Sudan.^[2] It is a Taman language which belongs to the Eastern Sudanic branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family. Miisiirii is often considered a dialect, though it is not particularly close.

Tama
Tamongobo
Native to	Chad, Sudan
Region	Wadi Fira, West Darfur, South Darfur
Ethnicity	Tama, Kimr[1]
Native speakers	460,000 (2022–2023)[1]
Language family	Nilo-Saharan? Eastern Sudanic Northern Eastern Taman Tama–Sungor Tama
Dialects	Tama Orra Girga Haura Erenga Murase Mileere Madungore
Writing system	Unwritten
Language codes
ISO 639-3	tma
Glottolog	tama1331
Linguasphere	05-DAA-aa

Linguistic map of the non-Arab peoples of Darfur, showing the extent of the Taman languages in Sudan.

Demographics

Tama is spoken by 63,000 people in Dar Tama, a well irrigated area near Guéréda that extends from Kebkebiya village to nearby Sudan. There are two nearly identical dialects, one spoken in the northern and central areas, and another one spoken in the south.^[3]

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Dental	Alveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Stop	voiceless		t̪				k
	voiced	b	d̪			ɟ	g
	implosive	ɓ	ɗ̪
Fricative		f		s		ʃ		h
Nasal		m		n		ɲ	ŋ
Rhotic				r	ɽ
Lateral				l	ɭ
Approximant		w				j

Vowels

	+ATR			-ATR
	Front	Central	Back	Front	Central	Back
Close	i		u	ɪ		ʊ
Mid	e		o	ɛ		ɔ
Open		ʌ̈			a

Vowel length is also distinctive.^[4]