Somali Language - Britannica

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adaptation of orthography

  • Somalia In Somalia: Languages

    The Somali language belongs to the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Despite several regional dialects, it is understood throughout the country and is an official language. The second official language is Arabic, which is spoken chiefly in northern Somalia and in the coastal towns.…

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  • Somalia In Somalia: The era of Scientific Socialism

    …1973 and 1974, which made Somali a written language (in Latin characters) for the first time.

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Cushitic languages

  • In Cushitic languages

    …million speakers) in southern Ethiopia; Somali, the official language of Somalia, with about 15 million speakers; and Saho-Afar, two closely related languages, spoken by more than 1 million people in Djibouti and adjacent areas. Agau languages are spoken by a few thousand people in scattered enclaves in northern and central…

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distribution

  • Ethiopia In Ethiopia: Ethnic groups and languages

    Cushitic languages are Oromo, Somali, and Afar. Oromo is native to the western, southwestern, southern, and eastern areas of the country. Somali is dominant among inhabitants of the Ogaden and Hawd, while Afar is most common in the Denakil Plain.

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use in African literature

  • Athol Fugard (center) In African literature: Somali

    Hikmad Soomaali (“Somali Wisdom”), a collection of traditional stories in the Somali language recorded by Muuse Xaaji Ismaaciil Galaal, was published in 1956. Shire Jaamac Axmed published materials from the Somali oral tradition as Gabayo, maahmaah, iyo sheekooyin yaryar (1965; “Poems, Proverbs, and Short…

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