1. English and National Identity
46th IATEFL Annual Conference
Glasgow 19-23 March 2012
Dr. Nada Sid Ahmed El jack
Sudan University of Science and
Technology
College of Languages
Department of English
neljack@hotmail.com

2. Contents of the Presentation
• Creating a new national identity in the
RSS
• Re-shaping a new national identity in the
RS
• The impact of English on national identity
construction in learners (A Case Study)

3. Major Questions That Need Answers:
• The global impact of English
• Global educational status of English in
the Sudan

4. • English and local Sudanese languages
• Sudanese English
• The man in the street

5. • English and particular fields in Sudan
• Sudanese policy makers, applied linguists,
and educators

10. RSS
• Dinka, Nuer, Shiluk, Zandi and Bari
(65%of the population)
• 50 mother tongues present
• Local languages, different varieties of
Arabic and English (1956 - mid1990s)

11. The Constitution of the Republic of
South Sudan (CRSS) (2011)
•Indigenous
languages
• English
language
•Arabic
language

12. Expectations of the Role of English
in the RSS
• Common means of communication for
southerners
• The language of freedom and unity
• A gateway to social, economic and political
prosperity

13. • Strengthening regional ties and trade within
the EAC
• Re-shaping the national identity for
southerners
• To gain both individual and social
empowerment

14. • Juba Arabic, mother tongues and English
• Language of business

15. RS
Examining the Potentiality of SPINE 3
•Objectives of the study
•Methodology

16. Dimensions of National Identity
Psychological
Political Cultural
Historical Territorial

17. (Summary of Results):
Techniques Utilized by the Authors
• Topics of interest
• What they avoided
• Short texts
• Variety
• ‘Great Men and Women’
• National institutions

18. Dimensions of National & Ethnic
Identity

19. Recommendations
• Develop the sense of inclusion
• A marker both of education and modernity
• Spread the culture of difference and
hybridity

20. • Indigenous cultures and knowledge
• Food, traditions, names, etc
• Live in peace and tolerance
• How and why to respect the other

21. • A sense of ethnic tolerance and acceptance
of the other
• A peaceful co-existence among different
groups
• A redefinition of the Sudanese national
identity

22. References:
• Smith, A.D. (1991) National Identity
University of Nevada Press: USA
• Guibernau, B. M. (2007) The Identity of
Nations Polity: Cambridge
• El Jack, N.S.A (2011) Construction of
National Identity in the Sudan A Critical
Discourse Analysis (CDA) Study of the
Arabic Language School Textbooks at the
Basic Level . Unpublished Ph.D Thesis:
SUST