ABSTRACT
The data presented here derive from an investigation into Shilluk, a Nilotic language spoken in southern Sudan. During the period of my research a number of reasons, in particular the war in southern Sudan, made it impossible for me to stay for any long period of time in Shilluk-speaking areas. As a result, the collection of data took place instead principally in Khartoum. During the early stages it was essential that my informants should have a reasonably good command of English and therefore I relied on several university students and a few Shilluk Catholic priests and Protestant ministers; later I also obtained information from people with a lower level of education or none, conducting the interviews in Khartoum Arabic, Southern Sudanese Arabic (Janûbî) and Shilluk.
