Sudanese languages six years after the Implementation of CPA Brimes 2011 By : Abdelrahim hamid Mugaddam University of Khartoum

Sudan is the largest country in the African continent and according to the ethnologue database there are 142 languages of which 134 are categorized as living languages, and eight as extinct (James 2008). Throughout the history of the Sudan the national and official language of the Sudan was Arabic up until 2005. However, this excludes the southern Sudan even though ‘Southern Arabic’ has quite a long history ... when it served as an informal lingua franca’ (James 2008:73).

In the northern Sudan Arabic is a widely spread language because historically this part of the country was and still is viewed as Arabic. There are multiple varieties of Arabic spoken in the northern part (as well as in southern Sudan). These include; a) Standard Arabic, which is used as a language of government transactions, education, and broadcasting; b) Khartoum Arabic (i.e., Sudanese colloquial Arabic), a variety spoken by around 15,000,000 persons (see Ethnologue).

Although variation in language is a default sociolinguistic reality, some of the Arabic linguists in the Sudan subscribe to the language ideology that Sudanese Arabic is the purest and the closest variety to Classical Arabic (see Sharkey 2008 for a discussion). As mentioned previously, the cultural factor has played a very important role in shaping the social and political identity of today's Sudan.

The Arabic language has played the biggest role in the process as it was the medium of communication between the early Arab immigrants and Sudan's local people. This interaction is further reflected in the demographic distribution of Arabs in different parts of the country. The Arab immigrants settled in big numbers in areas of their preferences as farmers or herdsmen.

The dominance of local languages was a result of ethnic languages that are used exclusively in their immediate environments where the contact with speakers outside the group membership is minimal. In other words, non -Arab tribes such as Nubians, Baja, Mahas Zaghawa and Fur in the Nuba mountains, eastern Sudan, northern and western Sudan use their ethnic languages in all aspects of communication. Nevertheless, Arabic is used in limited interactions especially during economic and social activities involving people from different linguistic backgrounds.

On the other hand, young generations shift from their ethnic native languages to Arabic and thus creating bilingualism including Arabic and local languages . The reason behind this shift is that Arabic has a higher social and economic status compared to other languages in the area. It is the lingua franca among different language groups and its domain of use widens every now and then till it replaces the other languages from all domains of communication

So when an ethnic language group emigrates from its homeland and settles in a new area, it will find no choice better than learning Arabic as a second language and gradually abandons its ethnic language in favour of Arabic. Such cases of language shift have been reported in a number of studies (Miller and abuManga 1992, Mugaadam 2006a, Mugaddam2006b).

Lastly, a monolingual situation of Arabic only is evident in areas where the predominance of Arabic language is related primarily to that Arab tribes in particular and Arabic speaking people in general who reside permanently in the areas concerned

A closer look at the linguistic map of Sudan indicates that Arabic is spoken as a mother tongue in the area extending from north Atbara along the River Nile up to the southern borders of the Gezira as well as vast areas in northern Kordofan and Darfur.

Bearing in mind that the specified areas represent attractive economic and cultural centers for people from different parts of Sudan and different ethnicities and language groups, it is plausible to assume that large numbers of people are attracted to these areas as permanent residents for economic reasons

Such groups become minority language groups in the new environment and lack the necessary political and economic power to resist assimilation by the dominant group, and therefore tend to shift towards Arabic. Whatever language these ethnic groups spoke, these have become extinct. One such language group is the Berti who assimilated to Arabic.  

  It is believed that language has been used as a tool for creating to conflicting identities in the Sudan, Africans in the South and the Nuba Mountains and Arabs/Arabised groups in the North. Abdelhay (2008) argues that language was the most important in the construction of the two identities:

Employing their European conceptual apparatuses, the British colonial rule invented ‘indigenous languages’ out of the existing linguistic resources created artificial tribal boundaries, established ‘imperial families’ in the north, and constructed different racial hierarchical classifications of the populations (Abdel Hay 2008: )

The process of the colonial manipulation of the linguistic differences in Sudan presented Arabic and Islam as congruent markers of northern Sudan. English, indigenous languages, and Christianity, on the other hand, have been designated as signs of southern Sudan's identity.

Postcolonial politicians have strategically reinforced the link between Arabic and Islam as a semiotic aspect of the Sudanese national identity. If indigenous languages are a colonial product, this follows that the correspondence between languages and ethnic identities should be viewed as ideologically motivated. Such a practice, which amounts to cultural and linguistic determinism, is in the very heart of the struggle over wealth and power in the Sudan.

To construct the two conflicting identities: the North and the South, a number of procedures and strategies have been adopted. First, a conference on languages known as Juba Conference was held to achieve the following objectives:   To look into the possibility of adopting a system of group languages for educational purposes (Which of these languages should be selected, for the various areas); To discuss the to the adoption of a unified system of orthography for indigenous languages in the South; To consider proposals for producing textbooks; adopting skeleton grammars, reading book, and primers for general use.

The conference came up with a number of recommendations among which was the selection of some six languages for use in education (Dinka, Bari, Nuer, Lotuko, Shilluk, Zande. The conference also recommended the adoption of Latin script for writing the chosen languages. The second procedure was creating what is so called 'the no-man' land' which was meant to prevent the penetration of Arabic language and culture into the South and the Nuba Mountains. Third, English was considered an alternative to Arabic but not to local languages.

As such, English served alongside with local languages in the resistance of Arabicisation. This resulted in hostile attitudes towards Arabic language and culture in Southern Sudan. Arabic is viewed as a colonial language and thus it is opposed by all means. The southerners believe that Arabic is used as a tool for destroying their own languages and cultures.

Features of a new language policy This attitude was reflected in the strong rejection of the Arabicisation policy applied at school level in the 1970s and university level in the 1990s. The problem of language was also strongly present in the armed conflict in Southern Sudan and the Nuba Mountains which came to an end after signing the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005. The CPA recognizes the role of indigenous languages as symbols of the ethnic affiliations of their speakers.  

Arabic language is the widely spoken national language in the Sudan Arabic, as a major language at the national level, and English shall be the official working languages of the National Government business and languages of instruction for higher education. All the indigenous languages are national languages which shall be respected, developed and promoted. In addition to Arabic and English, the legislature of any sub-national level of government may adopt any other national language(s) as additional official working language(s) at its level.

The use of either language at any level of government or education shall not be discriminated against.

A quick look at the of the CPA statements on language reveals that all Sudanese languages are recognized as official languages, granted freedom of use in whatever domains decided by their speakers, and protected against any sort of discrimination.

Theoretically, all of the Sudanese languages are granted the right to survive and flourish. But, in practice one can seriously question the vitality of these statements. While the agreement explicitly emphasizes the importance of the Sudanese languages and their right to survive, it keeps silent on the strategies and procedures necessary for making this a reality.

Another observation is that the agreement pronounces Arabic and English as the official languages as well as media of instruction at university level. This statement presupposes that other Sudanese languages are at least represented in the educational system. This representation is indicated by statement (4) which gives ethnic groups the right to use their languages in whatever domains they choose. Again, nothing practical has been stated showing how this right could be practiced.

What has been achieved! The establishment of the National council for the promotion of Sudanese languages. Members represent all parts of the Sudan Objectives promotion and development of Sudanese languages Achevements two training workshops on documenting languages and cultures A few publications No single language has been documented by the council

University of Khartoum efforts (Department of Linguistics & Institute of African and Asian studies): Documenting Tima language Documenting the grammar of Katla (in Collaboration with La Trobe University australia) An ongoing project for documenting Tagoi language Facilitating research on language documentation and description for scholars from abroad Designing a postgraduate diploma on Nubian languages Training language activists on language description and documentation

Popular efforts Speakers of local languages have form language committees to look after their own languages by writing them, using them when talking to the youngsters, helping researchers study and document them. Dilling, Lumun literacy program, Tima , Tabag, Tagoi, Nubian Society, etc.

Constraints The governments in the North and South were not serious about maintaining local languages No cooperation or coordination between the two governments in language related issues No budget allocated for describing and documenting the indigenous Sudanese languages

Conclusion The situation after six years of the CPA indicates that Arabic and English will continue their predominant role in official domains including education in the North and the South, respectively. Parents' wish to see their children Arabic and English, strongly confirms this assumption (Mugaddam 2006a, Mugaddam 2006b).