Language policy of Sudan in the 2nd half of the XX century

https://doi.org/10.20339/PhS.2-20.041 

Blinov Andrey A.,

Candidate of Philology, Senior Scientific Researcher,

Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences

e-mail: progrock1@yandex.ru

The paper reviews the language policy of Sudan in the second half of the 20th century, which was initiated in the country after gaining independence and the rise of Arabic-speaking elite to power. The necessity of its implementation was caused by an extremely complex and complicated ethnolinguistic situation in Sudan, where more than 60 indigenous languages co-existed on the vast territory along with the Arabic language, Juba Arabic pidgin and English language inherited by Sudan from the period of British Empire rule. This paper describes language policies adopted by the local government on various stages of historic development, shows uneasy relationships between the north and the south of the country due to the language issue, which are mainly associated with non-acceptance of the Arabization process by Southerners and ignorance of their indigenous languages by current regimes. Particular attention is given to the regional language policy of South Sudan developed in 1975 in view of the multilingualism phenomenon in this part of the country. The article also explains the peculiarities of the Sudanese educational system, touches upon the problem of preparation of teachers, books and training materials, analyzes the reasons for the inefficiency of the Sudanese language policy in the second half of the 20th century.

Keywords: Sudan, North Sudan, South Sudan, Arabic language, Juba Arabic, English language, language policy, linguistic situation.

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