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Sudanese Arabic, also referred to as the Sudanese dialect (, ), Colloquial Sudanese ( ) or locally as Common Sudanese ( ) refers to the various related varieties of Arabic spoken in Sudan as well as parts of Egypt, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Sudanese Arabic has also influenced a number of Arabic-based and Creole language, including Juba Arabic, widely used in South Sudan.
Sudanese Arabic is highly diverse. Famed Sudanese linguist Awn ash-Sharif Gasim noted that "it is difficult to speak of a 'Sudanese colloquial language' in general, simply because there is not a single dialect used simultaneously in all the regions where Arabic is the mother tongue. Every region, and almost every tribe, has its own brand of Arabic." However, Gasim broadly distinguishes between the varieties spoken by sedentary groups along the Nile (such as the Ja'aliyyin) and pastoralist groups (such as Baggara Arabs groups of west Sudan). The most widely-spoken variety of Sudanese is variably referred to as Central Sudanese Arabic, Central Urban Sudanese Arabic, or Khartoum Arabic, which more closely resembles varieties spoken by sedentary groups. Some, like researcher Stefano Manfredi, refer to this variety as "Sudanese Standard Arabic" due to the variety's comparative prestige and widespread use. Linguist Ibrahim Adam Ishaq identifies two varieties of Arabic spoken in Darfur besides Sudanese Standard Arabic, including Pastoral Arabic and what is generally termed Darfur Arabic, which refers to the Arabic primarily spoken by multilingual Darfuris living in rural parts of the region.ابراهيم آدم إسحاق. 2002. الأصول العربية للهجة دارفور العامية (القروية). كلية اللغة العربية, قسم اللسانيات, جامعة ام درمان الإسلامية. A number of especially distinct tribal varieties, such as the Arabic spoken by the Shaigiya tribe and Shukria clan, have also elicited special interest from linguists.
The variety evolved from the varieties of Arabic brought by Arabs who migrated to the region after the signing of the Baqt, a 7th-century treaty between the Muslim rulers of Egypt and the Nubian kingdom of Makuria. Testimonies by travelers to the areas that would become modern-day Sudan, like Ibn Battuta, indicate that Arabic coexisted alongside indigenous Sudanese languages, with multilingualism in Arabic and non-Arabic Sudanese languages being well attested by travelers to the region up until the 19th century.O'Fahey R. S. & Spaulding J. (1974). Kingdoms of the sudan
.Hassan Y. F. (1967). The Arabs and the Sudan: from the seventh to the early sixteenth century. Edinburgh U.P. Sudanese Arabic has characteristics similar to Egyptian Arabic. As a point of difference, though, the Sudanese dialect retains some archaic pronunciation patterns, such as the letter ج, and it also exhibits characteristics of the ancient Nobiin language that once covered the region. Accordingly, linguists have identified a variety of influences from Nubian languages, Beja language, Fur language, Nilotic, and other Sudanese languages on the vocabulary and phonology of Sudanese Arabic.
By the 16th and 17th centuries, the Sultanates of Darfur and Funj Sultanate emerged and adopted Arabic as an official language, employing the language in public documents and as an intermediary language between the myriad of languages spoken at the time. Under Funj Sultanate, Arabic was also employed in the writing of historical and theological books, most famously The Tabaqat of the Walis, the Righteous, the 'Ulema and the Poets in the Sudan () by Muhammad wad Dayf Allah. While the written Arabic used in these Sultanates more closely resembles the norms of Arabic, Dayf Allah's book features early attestations of some elements of modern Sudanese Arabic phonology and syntax.Hamad, Bushra Jarir. Wad Dayf Allah as a historian: Analytical, literary and linguistic study of "Kitab at-Tabaqat". The University of Texas at Austin ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 1992. 9225590.
Like other varieties of Arabic outside of Modern Standard Arabic, Sudanese Arabic is typically not used in formal writing or on Sudanese news channels. However, Sudanese Arabic is employed extensively on social media and various genres of Sudanese poetry (such as dobeyt and halamanteesh), as well as in Sudanese cinema and television.
| +Consonants of Central Urban Sudanese Arabic ! colspan="2" rowspan="2" | ! rowspan="2" | Labial consonant ! colspan="2" | Alveolar ! rowspan="2" | Palatal ! rowspan="2" | Velar consonant ! rowspan="2" | Pharyngeal ! rowspan="2" | Glottal |
Varieties of Sudanese Arabic spoken by non-Arab groups, such as Darfur Arabic, substitute pharyngeal or emphatic consonants with non-pharyngeal counterparts, i.e., for Modern Standard Arabic . The consonants , , and also have a marginal presence in Darfur Arabic and other varieties of Sudanese Arabic in loanwords from indigenous Sudanese languages. Some examples include:
The Arabic letter maintains an archaic pronunciation in Sudanese (other dialects typically have , or ), while Cairene Arabic has .
Formal greetings often begin with the universal As-salām ˤalaykom and the reply, Wa ˤalaykom as-salām, an exchange common to Muslims everywhere. However, other greetings typical to Sudan include Izzēyak (to men) or Izzēyik (to women). A rather informal way to say "How are you", is Inta shadīd? Inti shadīda? "Are you well? (to a male and a female, respectively)", the response to which is usually al-Hamdo lillāh "Praise God" assuming you are indeed feeling well, ma batal "not bad" or nosnos "half-half", if feeling only okay or taˤban showayya "a little tired" if not so well. Of course, there can be many other responses but these are used in everyday language.
Other everyday greetings include kwayyis(a), alhamdulilah "Good, thanks to Allah", Kēf al-usra? "how is the family?" or kēf al awlād? "how are the children". For friends, the question Kēf? can also be formed using the person's first name, prefixed by ya, for example; kēf ya Yōsif? "How are you, Joseph?". Another standard response in addition to al-hamdu lillāh is Allāh ybarik fik "God's blessing upon you". Additional greetings are appropriate for particular times and are standard in most varieties of Arabic, such as Sabāh al-khēr? / Sabāh an-Nōr.
Sudanese that know each other well will often use many of these greetings together, sometimes repeating themselves. It is also common to shake hands on first meeting, sometimes simultaneously slapping or tapping each other on the left shoulder before the handshake (particularly for good friends). Handshakes in Sudan can often last as long as greetings. A handshake between well-acquainted Sudanese will often be preceded by raising one's right hand and touching each other's left shoulder simultaneously before engaging in the handshake, all while exchanging verbal greetings.
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