Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 14, 2026

Pare language

Pare (Kipare), also known as Asu, is a Northeast Coast Bantu language spoken by the Pare people of Tanzania.

Last revised
Jul 14, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
164 w
Citations
5
Source
Pare
Kipare, Casu
Native toTanzania
Native speakers
(500,000 cited 2000)1
Language codes
ISO 639-3asa
Glottologasut1235
G.222

Pare (Kipare), also known as Asu (Casu, Chasu, Athu, Chathu), is a Northeast Coast Bantu language spoken by the Pare people of Tanzania.

Phonology

Consonants3
Labial Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar
Plosive p b t d k g
Prenasalized ᵐp ᵐb ⁿt ⁿd ⁿz ⁿdʑ ᵑk ᵑg
Fricative f v (θ) (ð) s z ɕ x ɣ
Nasal m n ŋ
Approximant w r, l j
  • The dental fricatives /θ ð/ are only found in Swahili loanwords.
  • /m/ can be syllabic.
Vowels3
Front Central Back
High i u
Mid e o
Low a

Additionally, Pare distinguishes between high tone and low tone.3

References

References

  1. Pare at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. Jouni Filip Maho, 2009. New Updated Guthrie List Online
  3. Kagaya, Ryohei (1989). "A Classified Vocabulary of the Pare Language". Bantu Vocabulario Series. 6. Tokyo: Institute for the Study of Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa: 1–179.