When Language Loyalty Doesn't Work: The Case of a Small Language in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan

This paper describes the linguistic situation of Tima, a little-described and highly endangered language that is spoken in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. It aims to analyze the status and use of the Tima language in the region, focusing mainly on multilingualism, language use in different domains, and attitudes that Tima speakers have toward their own language. The main objective is to see whether there is a correlation between positive attitudes toward the language and its actual vitality among its immediate speech community. Many speakers of endangered languages express strong loyalty to their ethnic mother tongues while they shift at significant rates to the dominant languages. A sociolinguistic survey was conducted among 1,189 individuals selected primarily to represent five age groups (ranging from seven to 60+ years old). Questions were asked about demographic information, linguistic repertoire, language use, and language attitudes. Results showed that a vast majority of the sample population still has a mastery of the Tima language and uses it exclusively at home. However, multilingualism and the use of English and Arabic in more practical domains, together with positive attitudes toward these two languages, indicate a possible language shift among Tima speakers in the near future.