The sociolinguistic repertoires of individuals in Sudan are products of institutionalised orders of normalisation. The visibility of language in popular and official discourses in Sudan is always linked with wider cultural and political projects. This paper intends to engage with and explicate this observation by, first, examining how the dominant…

Although ethnicity is a contributing factor to the ongoing crisis in South Sudan, particularly after the re-escalation of violence in December of 2013, the characterization of the conflict as an ethnic crisis is insufficient. This analysis will reframe the violence in terms of both its proximate and root causes, including a comprehensive…

This study treats Mà'dí naming patterns, a system of names which developed in a specific socio-religious and political environment that practiced patrilocal residence and relied primarily on farming for subsistence. Most Mà'dí names are social commentary names, recalling some event or circumstance parents experienced around the time a child was…

Scholarship has isolated internal economic conditions and political institutions as essential factors in political development and democracy-building, this research suggests that external influences are at play. During times of civil war and post-conflict reconstruction, governmental and socioeconomic structures are likely weak or nonexistent, and…

Syllabus designers and materials writers in developing nations must treat English for specific purposes as a language-policy solution to language-policy problems. They must familiarize themselves with sociopolitical factors affecting course design and subsequently the relevance of courses produced. Examples are illustrated through a case study of…