Topic: 2024-Indigenous Languages
Country: Sudan
Delegate Name: Matthew Seshul
Sudan has numerous indigenous languages spoken within its borders. Most of these languages are regional languages popular before the widespread adoption of Arabic in many nations in Africa including Sudan. There has been tension between the many groups of Sudan in the past due to the lack of connection and cohesion as a nation. Previously this has lead to civil wars including the war that resulted in the creation of South Sudan. Indigenous languages only being spoken in small parts of Sudan is a problem because it lead to further separation between cultural groups.
Sudan has prioritized the connection of indigenous languages as well as the mixing of cultures between its diverse groups. One way of this being implemented is by stating the protection of indigenous languages in the constitution when it says,” all indigenous languages of South Sudan are national languages and shall be respected, developed, and promoted.” This inclusion of all indigenous languages as national languages helps protect these languages by officially stating their meaning to the nation. This isn’t the only step Sudan has taken to protect these languages. Sudan also created the Council for the Development and Promotion of National Languages in 2009. These steps have greatly helped promote these languages.
Although many steps have been taken to protect these indigenous languages, the main problem is that there is a lack of education in Sudan. The average age that a child spends in school is between seven and eight years. This lack of education limits the learning of other languages and cultures found within Sudan and leads to sectionalism. Since children aren’t sufficiently learning other languages, there are greater divides between the groups found within Sudan. A further focus of education could help solve this problem by teaching the diverse indigenous languages found within Sudan and allowing Sudan to become a more cohesive nation.
