Nara

A language of Eritrea

ISO 639-3

Alternate Names

“Barea” (pej.), “Baria” (pej.), “Barya” (pej.)

Population

81,400 (2006).

Location

West, Barentu area and north, Kunama territory south.

Language Status

6a (Vigorous).

Classification

Dialects

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

Typology

SOV; case suffixes; passive verbs; reciprocal verbs

Language Use

Home, community. All ages. Positive attitudes. Use Tigré [tig] for intercommunication, or Arabic [arb]. The Koyta use also Kunama [kun].

Language Development

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

Language Resources

Writing

Latin script, used since 1988.

Other Comments

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