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)[1]
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/.^[2]

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