Languages of Sudan

Languages of Sudan

Sudan is a multilingual country with Arabic dominating in the north, and other languages in the south. In the 2005 constitution of the Republic of Sudan, the official languages of Sudan are Standard Arabic and English.

Languages

The total number of languages used or spoken in Sudan is 142 ("Ethnologue"). Of those, 134 are currently spoken and lived languages and 8 languages are extinct.

Sudanese Arabic is the most widely spoken language in the country, and is dominant in much of the north. It is the result of a mixing of Egyptian Arabic and Arabic from the Arabian peninsula with local languages (El Rutana). This has resulted in a variety of Arabic that is unique to Sudan, reflecting the way in which the country has been influenced by both African and Arabian cultures. Other languages in the north include Nubian languages and Beja or Bedawi.

Among the most spoken languages in southern Sudan, are Dinka and Nuer.

Language policies

Under the 1998 constitution, only Arabic was the official language (LeClerc).

Literacy and Education

*"Ethnologue" gives the literacy rate in Sudan is 20-27%.
*UNDP quotes a literacy rate of 60.9%.
*Neither indicates the language(s) in which literacy was measured

References

*Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 15th ed. Dallas: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/ ( [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=SD "Languages of Sudan"] )
*Leclerc, Jacques. [http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/soudan.htm "L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde", "Soudan"]
* [http://www.mpil.de/shared/data/pdf/inc_official_electronic_version.pdf Sudan constitution of 2005 (English version)]
*UNDP. 2006. "Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis. Human Development Report 2006." New York: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). [http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/indicators/3.html Human development index Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and older) (HDI)]

External links

* [http://www.panafril10n.org/wikidoc/pmwiki.php/PanAfrLoc/Sudan PanAfriL10n page on Sudan]


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