Is Somali a rich language?

[Luggooyo]

Originally posted by Farxan:

 

 

Baliskuday in aad ku sheegto soomali kelmadahan.

 

1)watch(clock)

2)spoon

3)Tea

4)speed

5)acceleration

6)Velocity

 

wasalaam

1) Watch = Goor-sheeg

2) Spoon = Qaaddo

3) Tea = Shaah

4) Speed = Xawli

5) Acceleration =

6) Velocity = Xawaare

[AYOUB]

Ngonge

As long as you know how to ask where the John is, who bloody cares? I suggest you read the above posts and make-up your mind.

 

Somali is a rich language but (like Discreet1 put it) "stagnant". The reason as I understand is, we've stopped adding new 'original' words or copying from other languages. Its easier for Somalis to communicate without using words copied from Arabic or english for example, compared to other African or European languages.

 

You may consider english rich, but is it? I have my doubts when I see the phrases like "day before yesterday" "mother in-law" and "paternal uncle". And what percentage of it is copied from other languages, correct me if i'm wrong, 'blue' is taken from the French.

 

 

Shoobaro

Don't worry about it mate, its a bit difficult to discuss pronunciation using this media.

[NGONGE]

^^^^ Relax, saaxib. There is no need to go on the defensive. My aim in this thread was to learn new words. So instead of using the usual Somali word for urination, I wanted to see if there were other words to describe that act. I also wanted to know the synonyms of any other words that you might think of. I already said the exact thing about English or any other language. Here, I was only interested in increasing my Somali vocabulary by knowing that a camel for example, has fifty different names to describe it (does it?).

[Sincere]

This topic had me thinking backwards, and i looked for a somali word that has been "assimilated" into the english language. There is one word that is pure reer miiy somali that has been taken from us..(at least they give us partial credit for it ) Albeit its not a common word or phrase it's roots hail from somali lingiustics, and it's in the english dictionary. Its a species of gazelle indigenous to somalia.

 

Gerenuk - An African gazelle (Litocranius walleri) having long legs, a long slender neck, and backward-curving horns in the male.

 

In somali this is spelled or pronounced garanuug, and is a pure somali word.

[checkmate]

Thaanx D1 that was very informative brother...

 

The bottom line is, if u want ta find out how "rich somali language" is. Listen to the "maahmaahooyinka, murtida, gabayada, geeraarka and so on n so forth"....then you can decide your self "how powerful and rich somali language is "

 

asxantu

[Alle-ubaahne]

Waxaan haayaa eray Soomaali ah oo runtii cajiib ah markaad eegtid macnihiisa iyo hadba sida uu u dhaco:

 

DHIG = QORID

DHIG = WAX AAD MEEL DHIGTID ama SAARTID

DHIG = DHIGTA GURIGA EE AQALADA BAADIYAHA

[Warmoog]

I don't really agree with af-Somali being “stagnantâ€. Even if its validity were incontestable, the assertion seems to stop just short of suggesting there’s an inherent deficiency making the language so (i.e. that it’s ‘primitive’). As far as I know, human languages are equal when it come to their most basic components (it’s called “grammatical parity†or something like that) and every language has the capacity to expand its vocabulary, so we’d be on the verge of err if we were to take one language as being more ‘advanced’ than another simply because it has a greater selection of scientific or technological terms.

 

As Viking already suggested, the expansion of grammar is very much a reflection of the domain in which it’s forged and, in that sense, its progression might only occur naturally in time as the social conditions shaping it shift and change.

 

Also, when we talk of the Somali language having been interwoven with non-Somali terms or ‘diluted’ as some would say, I get the feeling that I’m venturing into a fog of uncertainty because my knowledge of the topic is so… limited. Maybe these exchanges have always been inevitable considering the geographical crossroads on which Somalia is sprawled, so they might not only be OK but things that can actually be excepted.

 

Moreover, this adoption of non-Somali terms in itself might demonstrate the language is still growing and moving - perhaps not in a direction that some “traditionalists†would like, but moving nonetheless – and it, as a result, cannot be stagnant… or not. I’m not exactly sure, it could just depend on who you ask because people seem to have different views on what they think is/isn’t acceptable af-Somali. As I’ve said before, I’m not an expert on this so pardon my confusion... But what I really wanted to say was that there really is no pristine state from which the Somali language has deteriorated so we shouldn’t think that its present form is somehow inferior to an earlier form, of which we have no/little knowledge, yet which is presumably ‘perfect’ or ‘better’. That’s all.

 

Interesting topic by the way...

[Kowneyn]

I dont remember the thread but somebody mentioned that the word Gaadhi was borrowed from hindi...actually its more plausible that its the other way around.

 

Somali= Gadiid--transportation Gaadh--to reach a destination Geedi-- journey and so on...

Gaadhi- vehicle

 

in hindi--the word gaadhi is solitary, unique and unconnected to otherwords, besides hindi is a language that was actually created during the reign of Moghul king Akbar the great... this a period when somalis coastal areas were heavily populated and heavily traded with as far places as china and probably dominated a large junk of the indian ocean and red sea trade.

 

Kowneyn