Nara

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A language of Eritrea

ISO 639-3
nrb
Alternate Names
Nara bana, Nera, “Barea” (pej.), “Baria” (pej.), “Barya” (pej.)
Autonym
Nara
User Population

103,000 (2020), increasing.

Location

Gash-Barka region: north of Barentu.

Language Maps
Language Status

4 (Educational).

Classification
Nilo-Saharan, Satellite-Core, Core, Eastern Sudanic, Northern (k languages), Nara
Dialects

Higir, Koyta, Santora. Little intelligibility of Kunama [kun].

Typology

SOV; case suffixes; passive verbs; reciprocal verbs.

Language Use

Home, community. Used by all. Positive attitudes. Also use Kunama [kun], especially the Koyta. Also use Standard Arabic [arb], for intercommunication. Also use Tigré [tig], for intercommunication. Used as L2 by Bilen [byn].

Language Development

Literacy rate in L1: Female: 21%. Most literate Nara use Arabic [arb]. Taught in some primary schools. Literature. Radio. Videos. Texts.

Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Nara
Writing

Latin script [Latn], used since 1988.

Other Comments

Considerable dialect variation within 4 main groups: Higir, Mogareb, Koyta, and Santora. Muslim.