Language policy in the Sudan

This paper had been presented for promotion at the university of Khartoum. To get the full text please contact the other at Sudan_98@hotmail.comSudan is home to approximately 120 different languages. The areas of greatest linguistic diversity are: the South, the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) recognized the right of the of people in the areas to continue speaking their indigenous languages and established a framework for the recording and documentation of Sudan’s endangered languages. It was hoped that these provisions for the protection of endangered languages would serve as a tangible means of demonstrating to Sudan’s marginalized communities that CPA could result in a more equitable division of political and economic power. However, the provisions for the protection of languages have not been implemented, with the NCP (National Congress Party) and SPLM (Sudan People Liberation Movement) instead focusing on power and wealth sharing arrangements. This paper argues that the recent marginalization of minority languages in Sudan is indicative of wider historical trends within Sudanese society, where some communities have abandoned their indigenous languages in favour of Arabic and English - the languages of the elite. This paper traces the evolution of language policy in Sudan from the colonial period to the present day