The sociolinguistics of nationalism in the Sudan: the politicisation of Arabic and the Arabicisation of politics: The Politicization of language and the Arabicization of Politics

This chapter serves as an update to the monograph on the sociolinguistics of nationalism in Sudan and a reflection on the potential impact the new changes have especially to the education system in Sudan. As in most African countries, linguistic diversity, although not always acknowledged, is a feature of the Republic of Sudan. This diversity is often considered a symbol of multiple religious, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic identities. In 2011, pressures to impose Sharia law and to declare Arabic as the official language of the Republic of Sudan were intensified by the Islamic Constitution Front (ICF) coalition's threat to fight President al-Bashir if he did not fully implement a constitution with Sharia law as the governing law and Arabic as the official language. Most scholarly work on the Sudan has focused on an Arab-Muslim North versus an African-Christian South and has downplayed the level of ethnic, social, and cultural diversity within the two regions.
“libratory” postcolonial discourse of the CPA