| Karai-karai | |
|---|---|
| كاراي-كاراي (Ajami) | |
| Native to | Nigeria |
| Region | Bauchi State, Yobe State, Gombe state |
| Ethnicity | Karai-Karai |
Native speakers | 1.8 million (2010)[1] |
Afro-Asiatic
| |
| Latin (Karai-karai alphabet) Arabic script (formerly) | |
| Official status | |
Official language in |  Nigeria |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | kai |
| Glottolog | kare1348 |
 Ethnic territories (pink) of the Karai-karai-speaking people (Bakwaró) in Nigeria | |
Karai-karai (Francophonic spelling: Karekare, Kerrikerri, Ajami: كاراي-كاراي)[2] is a language spoken in West Africa, most prominently North eastern Nigeria. The number of speakers of Karai-karai is estimated between 1,500,000 to 1,800,000 million, primarily spoken by the ethnic Karai-Karai people. It is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken principally in Nigeria with communities in Bauchi State, Yobe State, Gombe State and other parts of Nigeria. Many Karai-karai words share a common origin with the Northwest Semitic languages of Hebrew and Arabic. The Karai-karai language is most closely related to the Ngamo and Bole languages (spoken in north eastern Nigeria) which are both considered derivatives of the Karai-karai language.[1]
- ^ a b Karai-karai at Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)
- ^ "OLAC resources in and about the Karai-Karai language".
