Native to Chad ISO 639-3 bvo | Native speakers 1,800 (1993 census) Glottolog bolg1251 | |
Language family Niger–Congo
Atlantic–Congo
Mbum–Day
Bua
Bolgo | ||
The Bolgo language is a member of the Bua languages spoken in south-central Chad, in the villages of Koya, Boli, Gagne, and Bedi southeast of Melfi, by about 1,800 people (SIL 1993.) According to de Rendinger, it has two principal dialects, Bolgo Werel around Daguela and Bolgo Mengo around Aloa-Niagara, as well as a dialect called Bolgo Bormo; according to the Ethnologue, its principal dialects are called Bolgo Dugag and Bolgo Kubar ("small" and "great" Bolgo.) Great Bolgo is spoken to the north, bordering Mogum and Saba; Little Bolgo is spoken to the south, bordering the closely related language Koke as well as Chadian Arabic.
Its typical word order is subject–verb–object, noun–adjective, aspect–verb, possessor–possessed. There is no true plural, but -gi serves as a collective marker. The verb is negated with ta, placed at the end of the sentence.
Example sentences: