Bedawiyet

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A language of Sudan

ISO 639-3
bej
Alternate Names
Bedauye, Bedawi, Bedawiye, Bedja, Beja, Tu Bdhaawi, Tu-Bedawie
Population

951,000 in Sudan (1982 SIL). 30,000 Hadendoa, 15,000 Bisharin (1992). Population total all countries: 1,186,000.

Location

Red Sea and Kassala states, southeast River Nile. Also in Egypt, Eritrea.

Language Maps
Language Status

5 (Developing).

Classification
Afro-Asiatic, Cushitic, North
Dialects

Beni-Amir, Bisharin (Bisariab), Hadareb (Hadaareb), Hadendoa (Hadendiwa, Hadendowa). Little vocabulary in common with other Cushitic languages, but a great deal of the verbal morphology is similar.

Typology

SOV; prefixes, postpositions, causatives, reciprocals, reflexives, subject; suffixes distinguish person, number, gender

Language Use

All domains. All ages. Positive attitudes. Also use Sudanese Spoken Arabic [apd] or Tigré [tig].

Language Development
Poetry. New media. Radio programs. Dictionary. Bible portions: 2008–2010.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Bedawiyet
Writing
Arabic script. Latin script, used since 1990s.
Other Comments

Beja is the Arabic name. Not related to Western Egyptian Bedawi Spoken Arabic (Bedawi) [ayl] or Eastern Egyptian Bedawi Spoken Arabic (Bedawi) [avl].

Also spoken in:

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