Learning Somali

[Sherban Shabeel]

I started learning Somali about a year and a half ago. I finished this book by Martin Orwin:

 

 

I did most of the exercises and a lot of the stuff inside stuck with me pretty well. Of course, some of it didn't. For instance for the life of me I can't remember how to use the different subordinate clauses. Like how would you say these different sentences:

 

 

The letter the man read is long.

 

The doctor wrote the letter the man read.

 

The man who read the letter is dead.

 

The man found the doctor who wrote the letter.

 

 

There's a bunch of little things like that, that I still find confusing. I also could use a lot more vocabulary. I can't really understand the written news stories in Somali, nor the stuff on the radio. As long as the conversation is really basic (hunger, thirst, trips, things like that) and the people speak slow (lol) I can kinda understand.

 

But my skills are limited to that, and I was wondering if anyone is down to help me get better at Somali.

[Indhoos]

Now this explains it....I was shocked when I saw you writing on a another thread...Jimce Wanaagsan, suddenly...But I am still suspicious of you...Are you sure you are not Somali in a Romanian robes?

 

do you have a Somali Dictionary?

[nuune]

You are in the right place Sherban Shabeel

 

And considering you are from Romania(u said it several times), it would be good if you share with us your fascination with the Somali language and interest of Somalia as a whole(people & politics), you seem to know alot about Alshabaab & Ahlu Sunna.

 

 

Hopefully, this topic of yours would be a place where you will practice your Somali & vocabulary.

 

 

I will come back to the topic a bit later!

[Lt-Qalbi-Adeyg]

Dr. Orwin martin, who is this professor who wrote the book? and where did he learn somali, I just googled him and it's interesting that they offer somali learning class at SOAS.

 

I'm gonna look for that book. It's too bad it was written by a non somali though.

[Paragon]

^Dr. Orwin of SOAS is a good teacher. The late polish Dr Guush was better though.

 

Shabeel if you want some pdf files (somali/english) of literary nature I might be of some help. Poetic nature actually.

[Fabregas]

Originally posted by Indhoos:

Are you sure you are not Somali in a Romanian robes?

 

do you have a Somali Dictionary?

ha, wa Xiinfanin o romanian sheikh shariff supporter iska digaya. lollllllllllllllllll

 

 

Yeah, I met that professor. cool dude.

[Chimera]

post more examples so i can practice with you Sherban, my Somali skills are lacking aswell and my brain shuts down whenever i read more than 2 paragraphs of a news story in Somali, and don't get me started on newsanchors or radio presenters they sound like there in a hurry to get home for some Hiliib and Maraq and therefore have to read news stories ultrafast, so your not alone there my friend..

 

here is my attempt at those four sentences:

 

Warqaadka ninka arkhiyay wa dheeryahay

 

Dhaqtarka qoray waarqadka niinka arkhiinayaaaa(lol)

 

Niinku warqaadka arkhiyay uu dhimtay

 

Niinku uu heelay dhaqatarkii warqaadkan qoray

 

to the experts find the typo's so i can correct them.

[Lt-Qalbi-Adeyg]

^ Mr somali culture himself, and you can't even write the language correctly?

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

at Aaden Seylac. Afsoomaaligaaga saas muu heersare u yahay. Waaw.

 

The letter the man read is long.

 

The doctor wrote the letter the man read.

 

The man who read the letter is dead.

 

The man found the doctor who wrote the letter.

So far I assume you have a rudimentary knowledge of Soomaali language, including the letters 'c' and 'x' and how they are used differently in Soomaali language.

 

If I try to translate in a basic way of your four sentences, here we go:

 

The letter the man read is long.

 

Ninka waraaqda uu aqriyey wey dheertahay.

 

The doctor wrote the letter the man read.

 

Waraaqda uu ninka aqriyey waxaa qoray dhaqtarka.

 

The man who read the letter is dead.

 

Wuu dhintay ninkii aqriyey waraaqda (or waraaqdii).

 

The man found the doctor who wrote the letter.

 

Ninkii wuu helay dhaqtarkii qoray waraaqda.

[Chimera]

Thanks for those translations MMA, very interesting!

[Gheelle.T]

^Aqriye=Akhriyay?

[nuune]

The letter the man read is long.

 

The doctor wrote the letter the man read.

 

The man who read the letter is dead.

 

The man found the doctor who wrote the letter.

There are so many ways in translating them, I will write some of it!

 

 

The letter the man read is long:

Warqada(the letter) ninka uu akhriyey wey dheereyd

Ninka(the man) warqada uu akhriyey wey dheereyd

 

 

The doctor wrote the letter the man read:

Dhakhtarka(the doctor) waxa uu qorey warqada uu ninka akhriyey

Warqada(the letter) uu dhakhtarka qorey waxaa akhristey ninka

Ninka(the man) waxa uu akhriyey warqadii uu dhakhtarka qorey

 

 

The man who read the letter is dead:

Ninka akhriyey warqada waa uu geeriyoodey(dhintey)

Ninka warqada akhriyey waa uu geeriyoodey(dhintey)

 

 

The man found the doctor who wrote the letter:

Ninka(the man) waxa uu helay dhakhtarkii warqada qorey.

 

 

PS: Hope the heavyweights can add more!

 

 

EDIT: The heavyweight Mr MMA ayaa horteey qorey, classic stuff sxb

[Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar]

The man found the doctor who wrote the letter:

Ninka(the man) waxa uu helay dhakhtarkii warqada qorey.

Nuunka, dhaqtarka is not a 'shay' wax ah, so ma isticmaali kartid 'waxa' erey in that sentence.

 

'Waxa' wax shay ayaa loo isticmaalaa, ee dhaqtar ama qof shay ma noqon karo koley saa u garto ani. Hadduu waraaqda heli lahaa haa markaas 'waxa' waa isticmaali kartaa.

[AminaTammy]

I'd love to learn Somali as well.

 

I know a few sentences. I will write them in English since I don't know Somali

 

1. strashow = facecloth

2. shoekooman = towel

3. wariya

niya

marskusha = bathroom

fariso = sit

seho = sleep

 

I know a Canadian sister and she pretty much only speaks Somali to the kids. Not bad considering she isn't Somali

 

Tammy's Somali Home

[Lt-Qalbi-Adeyg]

Sherban shabeel

 

Somali language is actually easy and simple, it's written the way it sounds(phonetically) . The difficult comes in increasing your vocabulary and knowing that there are different dialect and different words could have different meaning depending on the regional dialect. I actually think speaking the language is more difficult than writing it.

 

The following might be helpful:

 

A few words about the spelling of Somali:

 

Consonants in Somali are for the most part the same as English except for the following:

 

J is always pronounced as j in 'jet'

 

G is always pronounced g as in 'get'

 

The Somali language has no P, no V, and no Z, so when Somalis speak English they will often substitute the sounds b, f and s respectively; the English 'p' sound is particularly difficult for Somali speakers. Th and Ch are not present in Somali, but Sh is.

 

X, Q, C, Dh, and KH, are used to represent special consonant sounds in Somali which do not have English equivalents. While Kh is similar to the kh in "khakhi' and 'khan', the other four sounds you should hear pronounced by a Somali speaker. They are very difficult for English speakers to reproduce -- or even to hear accurately and are often completed ignored. A simple example will illustrate this: the conventional Anglicized spelling of the proper names Ali and Hassan would be written as Cali and Xasan in the Somali orthography, reflecting the presence of the c and x consonants"