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Maban languages
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Maban languages

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Maban languages, group of related languages spoken in the border area of Chad, Sudan, and the Central African Republic. The Maban languages form a branch of the Nilo-Saharan language family. Maba (also called Bura Mabang) is the largest Maban language in terms of number of speakers (more than 250,000). Other members of the group include Karanga, Kibet, Massalat, Masalit (Massalit), Marfa, and Runga. Maban also includes two languages known by the names of their first investigators as Mimi of Nachtigal and Mimi of Gaudefroy-Demombynes (the latter also being referred to as Mime), both spoken in southeastern Chad. (See Sidebar: The Peoples Known as Mimi.)

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy McKenna.