Language and Conflict: The Political History of A rabisation in S udan and A lgeria

Upon decolonisation, nationalist leaders in two N orth A frican countries, A lgeria and S udan, promoted a policy called A rabisation ( ta'rib ), which sought to impose standard literary A rabic at the expense of E nglish (in S udan), F rench (in A lgeria), and other local languages (in both places). This language policy reflected the worldview of M uslim leaders, who hoped to break from the colonial past and start afresh while forging alliances with A rab Islamic states. A rabisation succeeded in expanding the use of literary A rabic in S udanese and A lgerian government bureaus as well as in schools and universities. However, in some circles it helped to stimulate oppositional identities that rejected pan‐ A rabism as a focal point for national pride and that challenged the cultural foundations of national cohesion. Taking a comparative approach, this study argues that A rabic language policy in A lgeria and S udan featured strongly in postcolonial nationalism and civil conflict. It concludes by considering the status of language cultures and policies today in A lgeria, the R epublic of the S udan, and the newly independent R epublic of S outh S udan, and contends that state‐led efforts at ‘language rationalisation’ have not eliminated multilingualism in practice.