Culture of Sudan - Ethnicity

Ethnicity

Sudan is one of the most ethnically and linguistically diverse countries in the world, It has nearly 400 ethnic groups speaking over 200 languages and dialects, though some of Sudan's smaller ethnic and linguistic groups have disappeared, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. Migration of various groups played a part, as migrants often forget their native tongue when they move to an area dominated by another language. Some linguistic groups were absorbed by accommodation, others by conflict. In all of this, however, due to the strong Arabic cultural influence in the country, particularly in the northern part of the country, the Sudanese dialect of Arabic is the lingua franca spoken amongst Sudanese peoples, though the English language may be spoken among the Sudanese elite and portions of the Sudanese populace. Many Sudanese are multilingual.