Documenting Tabaq, a Hill Nubian language of the Sudan, in its sociolinguistic context

The Endangered Language Documentation Programme (ELDP) provides grants worldwide to for the linguistic documentation of endangered language and knowledge. Grantees create multimedia collection of endangered languages. These collections are preserved and made freely available through the Endangered Languages Archive (ELAR) housed at the library of SOAS University of London.

Tabaq (kko) is a Hill Nubian language spoken by 800 speakers in the Nuba Mountains (N 11°55'53'' E 29°26'34'') of the Sudan. This entire region is characterized by an extreme linguistic diversity, and we know very little about the languages, their genetic affiliations and their contact histories. The project therefore takes a comparative perspective: it documents Tabaq in the form of an annotated audio/visual corpus, and collects parallel information on surrounding non-related languages (Katla, Julud, Tima). This approach allows us to investigate the historical and sociolinguistic context, and to trace contact influence in these languages. Primary investigator: Gerrit Dimmendaal

Project Details


Location: Sudan, Northern Africa, Africa Organiser(s): Endangered Languages Documentation Programme Project partner(s): University of Cologne Funder(s): Arcadia Funding received: £119,882.00 Commencement Date: 01/2007
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