Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 8, 2026

Didinga language

The Didinga language (’Di’dinga) is a Surmic language spoken by the Chukudum and Lowudo peoples of the Didinga Hills of South Sudan. It is classified as a member of the southwest branch Surmic languages. Its nearest relative is Longarim.

Last revised
Jun 8, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
149 w
Citations
2
Source
Didinga
Lango
Native toSouth Sudan
RegionDidinga Hills
EthnicityDidinga (Chukudum, Lowudo)
Native speakers
100,000 (2017)1
Language codes
ISO 639-3did
Glottologdidi1258

The Didinga language (’Di’dinga) is a Surmic language spoken by the Chukudum and Lowudo peoples of the Didinga Hills of South Sudan. It is classified as a member of the southwest branch Surmic languages (Fleming 1983). Its nearest relative is Longarim.

The New Testament in the Didinga language was dedicated in March 2018.2

References

References

  1. Didinga at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed access icon
  2. Didinga New Testament. https://find.bible/bibles/DIDWBT/

Relevant literature

  • De Jong, N., 2001. The ideophone in Didinga. Typological studies in language 44, pp.121–138.
  • Fleming, Harold. 1983. "Surmic etymologies," in Nilotic Studies: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Languages and History of the Nilotic Peoples, Rainer Vossen and Marianne Bechhaus-Gerst, 524–555. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer.
  • Odden, David. 1983. Aspects of Didinga phonology and morphology. Nilo-Saharan language studies, pp. 148–176.
External links