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Sudan / South Sudan: 'Native types in Southern Sudan', line drawing, c.1875

Sudan / South Sudan: 'Native types in Southern Sudan', line drawing, c.1875

Southern Sudan is composed of more than 200 ethnic groups and is, along with the adjacent Nuba Hills, one of the most linguistically diverse regions of Africa.

The official languages are Arabic and English. Colloquial Arabic is spoken widely, though Juba Arabic, a pidgin, is spoken around the capital. The most populous language by native speakers is Dinka, a dialect spoken by 2–3 million people. Dinka is a Western Nilotic language; closely related to Southern Sudan's second most populous language, Nuer, and a bit more distant is Shilluk. Major Eastern Nilotic languages are Bari and Otuho. Besides the Nilotic family, Zande, Southern Sudan's third most populous language, is Ubangian.

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