| Peer-Reviewed

The Endangerment of the Nubiin Language: Sociolinguistics, Language Policy and Literacy Perspectives

Received: 31 December 2015    Accepted: 16 January 2016    Published: 19 February 2016
Views:       Downloads:
Abstract

Nubiin (Nobiin) is the language of the Nubian people (the Nubians), who live along the banks of the Nile River; mainly in far south of Egypt and far north of Sudan. Nubiin is a language of Nilo-Saharan phylum. This study aims at exploring the position or standing of Nubiin language, and evaluate whether Nubiin is endangered or not, and identifying the importance of having orthography or writing system for Nubiin in order to be used in the education and learning system. The demographic, sociolinguistic background of the region has been discussed and explained. Finally, the researchers have concluded that Nubiin is not certainly endangered unless it is investigated by applying the UNESCO’s criteria of evaluating endangerment. The researchers, furthermore, recommend Arabic script as a writing system for Nubiin for several reasons explained in the research. Therefore, they recommend further studies to be conducted to investigate the opinions and attitudes of the Nubians towards this suggestion.

Published in International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation (Volume 2, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.ijalt.20160201.11
Page(s) 1-7
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Nubiin (Nobiin) Language, Language Policy, Endangered Languages, Literacy, Identity Awareness

References
[1] Abakar, A. (1989) “Toward a Different Language Policy in the Sudan”, Language Problems and Language Planning (in French). Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 291-297.
[2] Abdalla, M. (ed.) (1974) Studies in Ancient Languages of the Sudan. Khartoum: KUP.
[3] Abdel-Hafiz, S. (2009) A Reference Grammar of Kunuz Nubian. Saarbrücken Germany: VDM Verlag Dr. MÜller, e. k.
[4] Abou Ras, S. (2012) the Attitude of Egyptian Nubian University Students towards Arabic and Nubian Languages, M. A. thesis, The American University in Cairo.
[5] Abu-Baker, Y. & A. Abu-Manga (1997) “Language Situation and Planning in the Sudan”, a paper presented to the Intergovernmental Conference on Language Policies in Africa, organized by UNESCO. Harari.
[6] Abu-Manga, A. (2005) Language, Culture and Identity in Sudan. Sudan Vision, March 16/17, pp. 7 each.
[7] Abu-Manga, A. (2006) “Linguistic Diversity and Language Endangerment in the Sudan”, a paper presented to the Expert Meeting on Identification of Intangible Heritage of Sudan: UNESCO. Khartoum. 21-22 march 2006.
[8] Adams, W. (1982) "The coming of Nubian speakers to the Nile Valley", in Ehret, C. & Posnansky, M. (eds.) The Archeological and Linguistic Reconstruction of African History. Berkeley/Los Angeles, 11–38.
[9] Ahmed, A. (2002) Anthropology in the Sudan. NL: International Books.
[10] Ahmed, A. (2004), "Suggestions for Writing Modern Nubian Languages", and Muhammad J. A. Hashim, "Competing Orthographies for Writing Nobiin Nubian", in Occasional Papers in the Study of Sudanese Languages No. 9, SIL/Sudan, Entebbe 2004.
[11] Bianchi, R. (2004). Daily Life of the Nubians. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. (2-5).
[12] Childs, G. (2003) An Introduction to African Languages, John Benjamins Publishing Company.
[13] Christopher, M. (ed. 2010). Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger. Memory of Peoples (3rd ed.). Paris: UNESCO Publishing. ISBN 978-92-3-104096-2. Retrieved 2015-04-11.
[14] Edwards, J. (1996) "Language, Prestige, and Stigma." Contact Linguistics. Ed. Hans Goebel. New York: de Gruyter.
[15] Granville, J. (2008). The Nubians, In The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World, Oxford University Press, retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/13716966/Nubians-of-Egypt-and-Sudan-Past-and-Present.
[16] Jakobi, A. & Kumerle,. (1993) The Nubian Langugaes: An Annotated Bibliography. Verlag: Koln.
[17] Johan, A. (2011) The Nubis of Kibera: a social history of the Nubians and Kibera slums, PhD Dissertation, Universiteit Leiden.
[18] Hollman, J. (1995) "The Role of Vernacular in Education in the Sudan", a paper presented to the 3rd Conference in Sudan (language situation in Sudan). Khartoum 5-7 September 1995.
[19] Lewis, P. (2005) Towards a Categorization of Endangerment of the World’s Languages, SIL International.
[20] Mahalingham, R. & C. McCarthy, (eds.) (2000) Multicultural Curriculum: New Directions for Social Theory, Practice, and Policy. New York: Routledge.
[21] Mahmoud, U. A. (1981) “Language Spread as a Wave-Like Diffusion Process”, in Cooper, R. (ed.) Language Spread. Indiana: IUP.
[22] Mahmoud, U. A. (1983) Arabic in the Southern Sudan: History and Spread of Pidgin-Creole. Khartoum: Fal.
[23] Mahmoud, U. A. (1988) “The Cultural Question in the New Sudan Discourse”, a paper presented to the conference of Sudanese Studies: Past, Present and Future. IAAS. Khartoum 5-8 Jan. 1988 (Unpublished).
[24] May, S. (2001) Language and Minority: Ethnicity, Nationalism and the Politics of Language. London: Longman.
[25] UNESCO Ad Hoc Expert Group on Endangered Languages (2003). "Language Vitality and Endangerment" (pdf). Retrieved Nov 2015.
[26] Pennycook, A. (2001) Critical Appliedlinguistics: A Critical Introduction. London: Lawrence Erlbaum.
[27] Phillipson, R. (2003) English-Only Europe? Language Policy Challenges. London: Routledge.
[28] Poeschke, R. (1996) Nubians in Egypt and Sudan: Constrains and Cooping Strategies. Verlag: Ricento, T. (ed.) (2006) an Introduction to Language Policy: Theory and Method. London: Blackwell.
[29] Rababah, H. (2014) Language Planning and Terminology Management: Case Study, Medical Terminology in Jordan, Science Publishing Group-USA.
[30] Woodbury, A. Edited by Birner, B., (n. d.) What is an endangered language? publications of the Linguistic Society of America, accessed Dec. 2015 http://www.linguisticsociety.org/sites/default/files/Endangered_Languages.pdf.
[31] Wright, S. (2004) Language Policy and Planning from Nationalism to Globalization. London. Palgrave Websites: SIL Ethnologue (Summer Institute of Linguistics) Edition 17th 3 Volumes 2000) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnologue.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Ahmed A. Beriar, Hussein Abdo Rababah. (2016). The Endangerment of the Nubiin Language: Sociolinguistics, Language Policy and Literacy Perspectives. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation, 2(1), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20160201.11

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Ahmed A. Beriar; Hussein Abdo Rababah. The Endangerment of the Nubiin Language: Sociolinguistics, Language Policy and Literacy Perspectives. Int. J. Appl. Linguist. Transl. 2016, 2(1), 1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20160201.11

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Ahmed A. Beriar, Hussein Abdo Rababah. The Endangerment of the Nubiin Language: Sociolinguistics, Language Policy and Literacy Perspectives. Int J Appl Linguist Transl. 2016;2(1):1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ijalt.20160201.11

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ijalt.20160201.11,
      author = {Ahmed A. Beriar and Hussein Abdo Rababah},
      title = {The Endangerment of the Nubiin Language: Sociolinguistics, Language Policy and Literacy Perspectives},
      journal = {International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation},
      volume = {2},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-7},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijalt.20160201.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20160201.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijalt.20160201.11},
      abstract = {Nubiin (Nobiin) is the language of the Nubian people (the Nubians), who live along the banks of the Nile River; mainly in far south of Egypt and far north of Sudan. Nubiin is a language of Nilo-Saharan phylum. This study aims at exploring the position or standing of Nubiin language, and evaluate whether Nubiin is endangered or not, and identifying the importance of having orthography or writing system for Nubiin in order to be used in the education and learning system. The demographic, sociolinguistic background of the region has been discussed and explained. Finally, the researchers have concluded that Nubiin is not certainly endangered unless it is investigated by applying the UNESCO’s criteria of evaluating endangerment. The researchers, furthermore, recommend Arabic script as a writing system for Nubiin for several reasons explained in the research. Therefore, they recommend further studies to be conducted to investigate the opinions and attitudes of the Nubians towards this suggestion.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - The Endangerment of the Nubiin Language: Sociolinguistics, Language Policy and Literacy Perspectives
    AU  - Ahmed A. Beriar
    AU  - Hussein Abdo Rababah
    Y1  - 2016/02/19
    PY  - 2016
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20160201.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijalt.20160201.11
    T2  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
    JF  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
    JO  - International Journal of Applied Linguistics and Translation
    SP  - 1
    EP  - 7
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2472-1271
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijalt.20160201.11
    AB  - Nubiin (Nobiin) is the language of the Nubian people (the Nubians), who live along the banks of the Nile River; mainly in far south of Egypt and far north of Sudan. Nubiin is a language of Nilo-Saharan phylum. This study aims at exploring the position or standing of Nubiin language, and evaluate whether Nubiin is endangered or not, and identifying the importance of having orthography or writing system for Nubiin in order to be used in the education and learning system. The demographic, sociolinguistic background of the region has been discussed and explained. Finally, the researchers have concluded that Nubiin is not certainly endangered unless it is investigated by applying the UNESCO’s criteria of evaluating endangerment. The researchers, furthermore, recommend Arabic script as a writing system for Nubiin for several reasons explained in the research. Therefore, they recommend further studies to be conducted to investigate the opinions and attitudes of the Nubians towards this suggestion.
    VL  - 2
    IS  - 1
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Sudan National Centre for Languages, Khartoum, Sudan

  • College of Languages and Translation, Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, KSA

  • Sections