A sociolinguistic survey of the Ubi language of Chad

This report presents the findings of a survey conducted January 2001 of the Ubi language community. This group is located in the Bidiyo Canton of Chad. The survey investigated four research issues.

1. The internal dialect situation as well as the relationship and any inherent intercomprehension between Ubi and other related languages, especially the Mawa language,
2. The patterns of bilingualism among the Ubi population, and their level of proficiency in Chadian Arabic, as well as in the neighboring languages of Bidiyo, Dadju, and the Jegu dialect of Mogum,
3. The vitality of the Ubi language, that is, the likelihood that the Ubi will continue using Ubi as their primary language in future years instead of replacing it with another language, and
4. The interest and attitudes of the Ubi towards the possibility of developing literature and a literacy program in Ubi, or in another language that they know.

Wordlists are included in the report.