An Overview of Somali Language

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AnOverview of Somali Language
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Guud Mar Af Soomali

• Af iyo Somaali
• Fac weynida afka
• Abla-ablaynta afka
• Astaamaha Afka
• Suugaanta Oraaheed ee afka
• Qoraalka afka
• Waayaha afku hadda ku suganyahay
• Kaalinta dhallinyarada ee badbaadinta afka

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Classification and characteristics-(Abla-ablaynt
a iyo astaamaha

• Spoken in Somalia and Eastern part of
  Ethiopia,Parts of Rep. of Jabouti and N.E kenya
• Region East Africa
• Total speakers 15-25 million
• Ranking not in top 100
• Genetic Classification Hamito-semitic
  (Afro-Asian)? Cushitic? Eastern Cushitic ?Somali

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Language Map

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Characteristics

• Closely related to Oromo, Afar and Saho languages
• Distantly related to Arabic and other Semitic
  languages
• Heavily influenced by Arabic because of
  historically and Islamic ties.
• Official Status official language of
• Somalia and Eastern Ethiopia Somali zone
• Language Codes
• ISO 639-1 SO
• ISO 639-2 Som

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Historical Background(Musduleedka Taariikheed)

• 2.Historically Somali is an ancient language
• As one of the hamito-semitic bridging between
  African and Asian language(Afro-Asiatic)
• One of the surviving Hamitic languages to which
  semitic languages are related and were in use
  about 3000 B.C
• Quotation from a book book

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Historical .

• ..There must have been a hamito-semitic language
  which was the common ancestor of all Semitic and
  Hamitic languages. The language of ancient Egypt
  belonged to the Hamitic group.Surviving Hamitic
  groups are spoken across a large part of North
  Africa, and include Somali and the many dialects
  of Berber.
• Referred in the book
• Barber, Charles Cambridge univ. press 1993
• Somali was found to have relations with ancient
  Egyptian Heliographic scripts.

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Da weynida Af-Soomaaliga
Da' weynida Af Soomaaliga waxaa laga gartaa abtirsigiisa uu ka mid yahay afafaka Hemito-semitic(afro-Asian) oo ah kuwa fac weyn, uuna ka siiyahay afafka Kushatic kuwooda kushatiga bari oo la bah wadaagsadoo kuwa Oromo, Cafar, Saho. Waxaala sheegay in afafka Hemito- Semitigu lahaan karayeen Af sal u ah oo ay labada laamoodba ka abuurmeen, waxa loo dhowaynayaa in afkaasu u dhowaa inuu xamatig ahaa laguna hadli jirey 3000 sano dhalshadii Nebi Ciise ka hor.......

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.Characteristics

• Somali is a gender language
• Somali is an agglutinative language
• Could be a four color language
• Somali is phonetic language

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Somali Oral Literature(Suugaanta oraaheed)

• Somali language remained to be unwritten oral
  language hence, accumulated a rich oral
  literature.
• 3. Somali oral literature Preserved all forms of
  literature, the culture, history and language
  itself
• Oration and art of word is highly valued, hence
  the terms of Af-tahan, Af-maal, Af-garooc,
  Af-miishar.
• Rich in proverbs, sayings, anecdotes, figurative,
  puzzles, folktales and animal fables in
  storytelling,
• Various work chants, childrens verses, numerous
  poetry genres

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Kaalinta Sugaanta ee Dhaqanka

• Poetry plays central role in Somali life and
  thought
• Many of day-to-day task which people have poetry
  associated with them in one form or another
• Without the twin inspiration of their faith and
  verse, Somalis would waste themselves in
  desperation
• The poetic creativity and the lyric verse are
  survival mechanism

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Somali Poetry(Maansada Soomaaliyeed)

• Is the medium whereby an individual or a group
  can present a case most persuasively.
• Functions are versatile, concerned not only with
  matters of art and creativity but also with
  questions of social significance.
• Is a public forum and a principal medium of mass
  communication and a repository of knowledge about
  the past.
• It illuminates culture, society and history
• Is a monopolistic craft, relatively small number
  of people is endowed with the talent to compose
  high quality verse- as artistic geniuses are
  hardly in abundance.
• Contributed the most to the structure of other
  forms of modern Somali poetry and to the
  development of other cultural expressions like
  the theater.

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The poets who practice classical poetry
(Kaalinta Maansayahanka)

• Comment on public affairs of their immediate
  community, their nation and the whole world.
• Compose verse on all-important events to express
  and formalize in verse the dominant issues of the
  age.
• Influence the course of events by modeling public
  opinion and stirring their listeners to action.
• Often act as spokesmen for clans, territorial
  groups, presenting their views in poetic form
  using praise, flattery, censure, derision or even
  downright verbal abuse as the occasion demands.
• Incite people to war or counsel peace.
• Compose to give the expression to inform,
  educate, persuade, and convince others and to
  express to their private inspirations.
• Look after their own prestige very carefully but
  by custom are allowed to boast about themselves
  and about their properties.
• Have a privileged status and occupy a prominent
  place in society.

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Somalis are often described as nation of bards

• In 1854, The English explorer Richard Burton
  traveled through Somali territory in the horn of
  Africa. He commented about Somali poetic
  traditions
• The country teems with poets, poetasters,
  poetitos, poetaccios every man has his
  recognized position in literature as accurately
  defined as though he had been reviewed in a
  century of magazines- the fine ear of this people
  causing them to take the greatest pleasure in
  harmonious sounds and poetical expressions,
  whereas a false quantity prosaic phrase excite
  their violent indignation.

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Nature and genres

• Somali poetry is alliterative in each line
  there should be one or two, depending on the
  length of the line, words beginning with same
  consonant or with a vowel, all vowels alliterate
  with each other.
• There are many poetic genres Gabay,
  Geerar,Guurow and Jiifto are the classical verse.
• Other genres may include Wiglo, hirwo, Dhaanto
  and balwo described by John Johnson as Miniature
  genres. Buraanbur, Giish, hees dhallaan (lalebey)
  Saar, maanyo, chants of many of work songs,
  animal songs, Childrens and dance songs.
• Each genre of poetry has its own particular
  metrical template.
• Metre is vocalically quantitative defined in
  terms of the number and patterning of long and
  short vowels.
• Scansion Patterns depend on the lengeth of the
  syllables, with short syllables treated as having
  one time unit and long ones as having two.
• Length of syllables is determined by the length
  of its vowel or diphthong.
• The gabay and guurow lines are 18-20 vowel units
  long.
• Anigoo dukaan lay dhigoo, dhab u cashaynaaya
• 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 2
  1 1 1 1 2 1 18
• Baan soo dhaqaaqoo ma helin, dhuunigaan rabeye
• 2 2 1 2 2 1
  1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1

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Qoraalka Afka

• Heerar Taariihkeed ayaa qoraalka Afku so maray.
• Summadda xarfaha Laatiinku waxay rasmi ahaan
  hirgashay Oktoobar 21,1972.
• Waxa lagu hirgeliyey tallaabooyin kala danbayey
• -Taaxanihii hawlihii guddigii Af Soomaaliga
• -Ololihii magaalooyinkaimtixaankii shaqaalaha
• -O.H.R.M Billadii ahkris-qorista/literacy ee
  caalamiga ahayd
• -Ololihii buug qoraalka ee manaahijta
• - Hawla horumarinta Afka ilaa 1977gaar ahaan 3
  Hayadood

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Waayaha Af Soomaaliga ee Hadda

• Burburkii Dalka iyo hawlaha Afka oo qabya ahaa.