Tama language

[Image:Darfur Linguistic Map.svg|thumb|right|Linguistic map of the non-Arab peoples of Darfur, showing the extent of the Taman languages in Sudan.]
Tama, or Tamongobo, is the primary language spoken by the Tama people in Ouaddai, eastern Chad and in Darfur, western Sudan. 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.

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.

Phonology

Vowels

Vowel length is also distinctive.