Kadugli language

Not to be confused with Miri language.

Kadugli, also Katcha-Kadugli-Miri or Central Kadu, is a Kadu language or dialect cluster of the Nilo-Saharan language family spoken in South Kordofan, Sudan. Stevenson treats the varieties as dialects of one language, and they share a single ISO code, though Schadeberg (1989) treats them as separate languages.

Kadugli
Central Kadu
Native to	Sudan
Region	South Kordofan
Ethnicity	Kadugli people, Katcha, Damba, Tumma
Native speakers	75,000 (2004)
Language family	Nilo-Saharan? Kadugli–Krongo Central Kadugli
Dialects	Kadugli Katcha Miri Damba Tumma
Writing system	Latin
Language codes
ISO 639-3	xtc
Glottolog	katc1249

Dialects

There are five commonly cited varieties. Three of them are rather divergent, on the verge of being distinct languages:

• Katcha (Tolubi, Dholubi)
• Kadugli proper (Dakalla, Talla, Dhalla, Toma Ma Dalla, Kudugli, Morta)
• Miri

However, they share a single orthography and use the same literacy materials (Ethnologue).

Of the two other commonly cited varieties, Damba is somewhat closer to Kadugli, while Tumma appears to be a (sub)dialect of Katcha.

Villages in which the dialects are spoken according to the 22nd edition of Ethnologue:

• Katcha dialect: Belanya, Dabakaya, Farouq, Kafina, Katcha, and Tuna villages
• Kadugli dialect: ’Daalimo, Kadugli, Kulba, Murta, Takko, and Thappare villages
• Miri dialect: Hayar al-Nimr, Kadoda, Kasari, Kuduru, Kya, Luba, Miri Bara, Miri Guwa, Nyimodu, Sogolle, Tulluk, and Umduiu villages

Phonology

Consonants

		Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	Retroflex	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosive	voiceless	p	t̪	ʈ	c	k	(ʔ)
	voiced	(b)			ɟ
	implosive	ɓ	ɗ
Fricative		f	s
Nasal		m	n		ɲ	ŋ
Trill			r
Approximant		w	l		j

• [b] is heard as an allophone of /p/.

Vowels

	+ATR		-ATR
	Front	Back	Front	Central	Back
Close	i	u	ɪ		ʊ
Mid		o	ɛ		ɔ
Open				a

External links

• Katcha-English Dictionary (one of the Kadu languages)
• Katcha, Kadugli, and Miri basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database