Southern Sudan is composed of more than 200 ethnic groups and is, along with the adjacent Nuba Hills, one of the most linguistically diverse regions of Africa.

The official languages are Arabic and English. Colloquial Arabic is spoken widely, though Juba Arabic, a pidgin, is spoken around the capital. The most populous language by native speakers is Dinka, a dialect spoken by 2?? million people. Dinka is a Western Nilotic language