Afro-Asiatic · ISO 639-3 apd
Sudanese Arabic Language لهجة سودانية
Sudanese Arabic is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken by about 37 million people in 1 country. It is written in the Perso-Arabic script.
Where Sudanese Arabic is spoken
- Official language
- Regional official
- Spoken by 10%+
- 1–10%
- Smaller communities
Countries that speak Sudanese Arabic
Language family
- Afro-Asiatic
- Semitic
- West Semitic
- Central Semitic
- Arabian
- Arabic
- Egyptic Arabic
- Egypto-Sudanic Arabic
- Sudanese-Chadian Arabic
- East Sudanic Arabic
- Sudanese Arabic
Writing system
Perso-Arabic script
Related languages
About the Sudanese Arabic language
Sudanese Arabic (لهجة سودانية) is spoken by about 37 million people, which makes it the 47th most spoken language in the world — just behind Yoruba (38 million) and ahead of Amharic (36 million). It belongs to the Afro-Asiatic language family and, more precisely, to the East Sudanic Arabic group within the West Semitic branch.
Where is Sudanese Arabic spoken?
Sudanese Arabic is used in 1 country. The largest communities live in Sudan (31 million). More than half of the population speaks it in Sudan — the places where travellers will hear it everywhere.
Sudanese Arabic is not a national official language anywhere.
Writing system and status
Sudanese Arabic is written in the Perso-Arabic script. It is a safe, widely transmitted language: children still learn it at home as their first language.
Its closest relatives in the same branch of the family are Chadian Arabic, Egyptian Arabic, Saidi Arabic, Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Arabic, Standard Arabic, Levantine Arabic and 2 more.
ISO codes: ISO 639-3 apd.
Frequently asked questions about Sudanese Arabic
How many people speak Sudanese Arabic?
Where is Sudanese Arabic spoken?
What language family does Sudanese Arabic belong to?
What is Sudanese Arabic called in Sudanese Arabic?
Is Sudanese Arabic an endangered language?
Data: Languages of the World dataset (MIT) — ISO 639-3, Glottolog (CC BY 4.0), Unicode CLDR, Google LinguaMeta (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata; country lists: samayo/country-json (MIT). Speaker numbers include first- and second-language speakers where sources report them.