Dilling (also Delen, Warkimbe; autonym: ''Warki'') is a
Hill Nubian
The Hill Nubian languages, also called Kordofan Nubian, are a dialect continuum of Nubian languages spoken by the Hill Nubians in the northern Nuba Mountains of Sudan.
Classification
The Hill Nubian languages are generally classified as being ...
language spoken in the northwestern
Nuba Mountains
The Nuba Mountains ( ar, جبال النوبة), also referred to as the Nuba Hills, is an area located in South Kordofan, Sudan. The area is home to a group of indigenous ethnic groups known collectively as the Nuba peoples. In the Middle Age ...
in the south of Sudan. It is spoken by around 11,000 people in the town of Dilling and surrounding hills, including Kudur. ''Ethnologue'' reports that Dilling is moribund, with only older adults speaking the language and not using it with their children. All speakers also use
Sudanese Arabic
Sudanese Arabic, also referred to as the Sudanese dialect (), Colloquial Sudanese () or locally as Common Sudanese () refers to the various related varieties of Arabic spoken in Sudan as well as parts of Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Chad. Sudan ...
. The Dilling call themselves ''Warki'', while the Dilling speakers of Kudur call themselves ''Kwashe''. Another ethnic minority that speak Dilling are the Debri people, a group of several thousands from
South Kurdufan
South Kordofan ( ar, جنوب كردفان ') is one of the 18 wilayat or states of Sudan. It has an area of 158,355 km² and an estimated population of approximately 1,100,000 people (2000).Sudan
Dialects
Dilling has one dialect – Debri, which is spoken on the mountain Gebel Debri, south of Ghulfan.