Egyptian plays marked Sudanese as inferior by teaching them proper Arabic pronunciation

Evidence

Sanüa clearly defines who is an Egyptian by the way his characters speak, but he is not as clear when it comes to the Sudanese or Nubians. In plays and other representations of the time, the Sudanese were just as constant a source of laughter when they spoke. But with the Sudanese, many of whom spoke Arabic as their native tongue, the linguistic stereotyping assumes another dimension in assertions of Egyptian authority.The Sudanese and Nubian characters' problems in Arabic come not from having a poor grasp of grammar or a lack of vocabulary, as the Turks and British had, but from a seeming inability to pronounce key Arabic letters correctly, for instance, the ayn, the hard h, and the kaf. There emerges, then, a linguistic tutorial between Egyptian and Nubian in Sanüa's work, in which the Egyptian instructs the latter in how to speak his native tongue. — <cite>Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 362</cite> (#expands`, via linked claim)

Sanüa clearly defines who is an Egyptian by the way his characters speak, but he is not as clear when it comes to the Sudanese or Nubians. In plays and other representations of the time, the Sudanese were just as constant a source of laughter when they spoke. But with the Sudanese, many of whom spoke Arabic as their native tongue, the linguistic stereotyping assumes another dimension in assertions of Egyptian authority.The Sudanese and Nubian characters’ problems in Arabic come not from having a poor grasp of grammar or a lack of vocabulary, as the Turks and British had, but from a seeming inability to pronounce key Arabic letters correctly, for instance, the ayn, the hard h, and the kaf. There emerges, then, a linguistic tutorial between Egyptian and Nubian in Sanüa’s work, in which the Egyptian instructs the latter in how to speak his native tongue. The lessons are dictated by educated, middleto upper-class Egyptians. This tutorial reinforces the intimate ties between Egyptian and Sudanese cultures while also repeating the pattern and goals of domination established by both the khedive’s foreign policy and the traditional employment of the Sudanese as servants in Egyptian homes. — <cite>Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 362</cite> (#corroborates`, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Egyptian plays reenacted Egypt’s civilizing domination over Sudan linguistically; Egyptians asserted cultural dominance by mocking foreign accents in Arabic; Egyptian theater’s easy comedy fueled stereotypes instead of nuance (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Sudanese depiction as mispronouncing Arabic letters reinforced Egyptian tutelage over Sudan #expands (0.95) — Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 362
• Egyptians asserted cultural authority over Sudanese through language instruction in plays #corroborates (0.95) — Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 362
• Egyptian plays reenacted Egypt’s civilizing domination over Sudan linguistically #expands (0.85)
• Egyptians asserted cultural dominance by mocking foreign accents in Arabic #expands (0.75)