Kresh language

{{Short description|Central Sudanic language of South Sudan}}

{{distinguish|Gbaya languages}}

{{Infobox language

|name=Kresh

|altname=Kresh-Ndogo

|states=South Sudan

|speakers=unknown: 16,000 including Dongo

|date=2013

|ref=e18

|familycolor=Nilo-Saharan

|fam2=Central Sudanic?

|fam3=Birri–Kresh

|fam4=Kresh languages

|iso3=krs

|iso3comment=(Kresh–Gbaya–Woro–Dongo)

|glotto=gbay1288

|glottorefname=Kresh-Woro

}}

Kresh, also known ambiguously as Gbaya, is a Central Sudanic language of South Sudan.

Naomi Baki, a native Kresh speaker who became a French citizen in 2015, has released an autobiography in 2013 in which she describes her Kresh Gbaya environment in Raga County.Naomi Baki, '[https://www.amazon.ca/suis-encore-vivante-Naomi-Baki/dp/2204101079 Je suis encore vivante] (Paris, Le Cerf, 2013). The title's meaning in English is "Still Alive".

Dialects

The Kresh varieties have varying mutual intelligibility, with northernmost Dongo being most distinct and southernmost Woro being next, though mutually intelligible with Kresh proper. 'Kresh' is what the people are called by their neighbors; they call themselves Gbaya, an ambiguous name in English, shared with many of the unrelated Gbaya languages.

  • Ndogo (Gbaya)
  • Naka (Boro, Kpara)
  • Kresh-Hofra (Gbaya-Ngbongbo)
  • Woro (Orlo)

Ndogo is the prestige dialect, and Naka the most populous.

Locations

A 2013 survey reported that ethnic Kresh reside in Dar Seid Bandas and Kata Bomas, Ringi Payam, Raja County, South Sudan.{{cite web|title=Village Assessment Survey|url=https://iomsouthsudan.org/tracking/vas|publisher=International Organization for Migration South Sudan|date=2013}}

References

{{Reflist}}

  • [http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/Nilo-Saharan/General/NS%20language%20list.pdf Blench (2000 ms)]

{{Languages of South Sudan}}

{{Central Sudanic languages}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Central Sudanic languages

Category:Languages of South Sudan

Category:Kresh languages

{{Ns-lang-stub}}

{{SouthSudan-stub}}

{{CentralAfricanRepublic-stub}}