South Sudan Language
Keeping a diverse group of people together is not easy. Unless they have to stay together because of shared interests, there aren’t many chances of people sticking together. There are stories of societies that were only together because it was feasible. Sometimes, due to one reason or another, people can’t afford to live in separate communities so they end up forming a society. In that society, there are no close bonds keeping them together but shared interests. As soon as the common grounds end and stop being a reason for staying together, such societies can fall apart pretty easily. There are culturally and ethnically diverse population in various countries which have managed to stay together because they share a piece of land or simply because they have no other option.
In such states, loyalty to the state and to each other is not a real thing. People may still feel deeply for their country but they don’t feel a connection with their fellow countrymen. This is why it is quite easy for the enemies of such countries to break them apart. Just a spark of controversy or the opportunity to survive in a better community and everything will fall apart. Governments of such fragile states know that they need something solid to keep the public together and for that purpose, they take various steps.
Some countries recognize the majority’s religion in the constitution to give the people a sense of belonging. They won’t feel alone and isolated in such a society where the majority shares their belief system. Some states also recognize the minority’s religions in the constitution too and those that can’t do that, try their luck with languages. Majority of countries in the world don’t have only one language’s speakers which means there is linguistic diversity in most areas. But when the people of a country cannot understand each other due to a language barrier, their relationship will get worse instead of getting better.
The governments can’t function properly in an unstable society which is why they need to keep their people united at all times. Sometimes, they recognize multiple languages at the national level to make sure no community feels left out. But when more than a hundred languages are spoken in a country, they can’t all be recognized by the constitution. In such a situation, it can be pretty difficult for the state to select one language as the official tongue. If they choose a majority language, they will be offending the minority and vice versa. Which is why sometimes governments select tongues that are not native and can work as the lingua franca among the people of the country.
South Sudan:
The world’s most recent sovereign state declared independence in 2011. But sometimes, freedom is not enough for the prosperity of a nation and that has been proven pretty clearly in South Sudan. Ethnic violence and political instability mean that the people have not gotten to reap the benefits of freedom and they are still living without peace. This is a very sad situation for those who fought for the independence of South Sudan, but they need to understand that it is never too late to make a comeback.
South Sudan may have been suffering after getting its independence but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any hope for it in the future. If the government takes important steps and people start viewing the land as their country that the state can bounce back and reclaim its identity. So far, the horrible circumstances have been the only thing known around the world about South Sudan but if we start showing the good too, then people will realize its not just the negative bits.
One of the biggest challenges this country has had to face is recognize a language on the state level. It was a difficult decision because South Sudan is a multilingual country. It is home to over sixty indigenous languages, all of whom are spoken fluently in different areas. But they cannot be understood by every person living in the country which is why they couldn’t be chosen as an official language. Choosing a tongue that no one has heard of will result in people not being able to understand each other and government offices failing to communicate with the public. This is why the tongue spoken by the minority is just as important.
So, to get out of this mess, South Sudan named English as its official language. The identity of various groups is associated with the indigenous languages Dinka, Bari, Nuer, and Zande. But English is the lingua franca in South Sudan to avoid any confusions. Another language which is considered a lingua franca in the state is Juba Arabic. It developed during the time when African states were doing business with the Arabs. When the Arabs and locals didn’t know how to communicate with each other, they started forming a tongue which would come to be known as Juba Arabic.
Majority of the South Sudanese know both English and Juba Arabic, which makes communication pretty easy for the people. They can get to know each other and discuss all kinds of life experiences with the help of the lingua franca. Keeping English as the language of the state will help the government easily represent the country on the international front. All the thought process behind this decision is worth it because it will bring together the public of the country.
