So I've been wondering about this . Does somali poetry have any narrative poetry that depicts past events or heroes. I'm talking something several hundred lines long like the swahili utezi or scadnavian sagas.

From the socialist somalia song called 'towradatan barakeeysan'

to put it in a sentence, "waad qamaamtay"

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTL5xauWn/

The Somali language has a bunch of grey areas when it comes to Latin, other scripts make so much more sense for example c = ع and x= ح. Can somali be written in Arabic script like Farsi, Urdu, Kurdish?

Google translate is saying “Horaan u dhameeyay,” might be because they use the Waqooyi dialect but that doesn’t sound right to me. I feel like in my dialect it’s “iyoow aan dhameeyay.” Can anyone confirm? Please correct the spelling too lol.

Unfortunately for me, I'm one of those 'hoyoo mataalo' kids (LMAO) but recently been wanting to learn Somali. For context, I'm full Somali (Northern Somalia), but my parents decided there was never any point in teaching me Somali since they assumed I would learn from the internet when I grew up. Now I actually want to learn, I realised there's only a few resources to fully self-teach the language. I don't have a lot of Somali family near me to practice/learn from. I am young (18) and think I have the capability to pick up the language well alone (the dialect of the North specifically). Does anyone have any recommendations for resources? I just want to absorb the language well. I'm looking for:

• Somali films / shows (preferably with English translation + entertaining)
• Songs
• Videos where I can learn grammar / more words so I improve my Somali proficiency level
• Translation websites / apps

My goal is to speak Somali without people back home immediately clocking I'm from the diaspora. I already know some Somali here and there from family gatherings and I can adopt an accent quickly, I guess I just want help on how to get there.

Any help would be appreciated!!

Context to use this phrase, think I used it wrong. For example, you meet your neighbour for the first time and part ways saying this phrase? Is it wrong since you will obviously be seeing them?

Hello there, I am part of a Group that helps a family from Somalia settle in Germany. It is really difficult for us to communicate because they don't speak English. Whenever we use Google translate it doesn't make much sense what is translated.

Can you recommend an app or website that is good at translating Somali to either German or English?

Are there words or sayings that never translate correctly in normal conversation over going to buy groceries or clothes. We just try to ask if they need to go to the supermarket, when do they want to go, do they need anything... so really not difficult.

Thanks for your help.

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I went to Somalia when I was 19 spent 6 months there. Lived amongst natives and talked constantly. I came back to the states and would still speak somali often, I live in a pretty somali area. I started learning somali at 15.

I listen to somali lectures, talk to my friend back home often, and interact with only somali speaking elders often, such as my grandma who I live with.

Even after all that I just can't seem to get the intricacies of the somali language and it's grammar.

At this point I'm starting to think I will always just be a say wallahi.

I can say simple phrases with no worrie, but when ir comes to complex senteces with muliple clauses i just bucher the language.

Verbs are what really mess me up.

I remember when time in Somalia a bunch of kids were gathered around my uncle and I staring, which I thought was cute at first until it lasted a few minutes and then it wasn't. I said, "gof walba bax" like how you'd say in english, "everyone leave." My uncle laughs and corrects me and says, "it's just: Baxxa"

The funny thing is I understood the difference immediately and if you asked to pluralize any other command word in somali I would do flawlessly. I just never connected the dots consciously until that moment.

There are 100s of tiny things like that and I'm at a point I think only consistent paid professional help can fix since I've built up to many bad habits speak broken somali for 3 years and I don't have the energy or the money to just speak more intelligently. I understand better than all my friends, but since somali was their first language growing up unlike me they have no problem speaking.

I will have people explaining what an orgi is or a rati, or just speak to me like a child thinking I can't understand them. They will ask someone to translate what they're saying to me even though I have no trouble understanding.

I even had funny situations where my friend who has hard understand this one guys af waqooyi accent and I'll translate into English, but when I say something to him in Somali he can't understand me, so my friend who couldn't even understand him but speaks better has to translate for me, causing the conversation to be triangular.

Unless the only other help I think is if I forgot how to speak and just read books and listened to start losing these bad habits, but again it would take so much time and dedication I dint even know I have or want to do at this point. Like I gave this language 6 months plus of my time at least. Do want to give more...

My mom said this earlier and when I asked for the meaning, she just went on a rant about how I’m such a say wallahi as if speaking in Somali riddles is meant to come naturally to me lol.

“Barar ka weyn orgiga”

I think/know it literally translates to “the tears/wailing is bigger than the male goat” or something but I don’t even know what’s that supposed to mean lmao. She used it in the context of my sister complaining about doing the dishes so I know it’s about how marwalbo way uusta.

If I would say 'Come join our group' in somali how would I say it?

Ku soo biira ururkeena/jameecadeena/kooxdeena'

Koox, jameecad and urur, doest quite fit in for group I my opinion. Are there other words that might fit better?

Is it maxa kaa si ah? or maxa ka khaldan?

Asalamu alaikum!

I wanted to ask if you could share common words of comfort/ duas for the following occasions:

• wedding/newlyweds
• Deceased person/funeral
• Hardship

Please share, I never really know how to comfort or encourage someone in af Somali.

Jazakallah Khair & Ramadan Mubarak

If there's no existing word for neurotypical, please invent one. Which new word would you coin to define neurotypical?

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Hello, Can someone make sense of what is written? Thank you 🙏🏽

I’m a young somali living in the west and I wanted to improve my somali. I currently understand the language very well and can speak it decent, it’s just my pronunciation needs working on. I was wondering if anyone here has any advice for me on what To do (Btw I’ve heard “speak somali often” but what if I don’t feel comfortable speaking it to others, for example, I will get discouraged if I mess up one word)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgItb51Zkp4&ab_channel=HagardiidProduction

I heard the word "bustaan" and I don't exactly know it's meaning. Once I heard in a song by Aun Sahra Ahmed with xasan ismaciil uurcade(if iyo Akhiro) she said "Sida Busaanka arabsiyoo, beerihii kuyiiliyo, laamuhuu batiiqiyoo mirihii bislaadeen" I am not sure but with this context she seems to be describing the city of arabsiyo farming fields.

also in another song I heard this word "bustaan" the song is by Farduusa VIP (borama) and she said "barwaaqada ciida borame, badarka ka baxaaya beeraha, babaayga kuyaal bustaanada" so again the word is related to the farming industry. I asked one of my friend from bur'o and he doesn't know. it seems this word is from northern west cities like Gabiley or Borama even it could be from DJibouti.

What do you think about the meaning of this word is?

Do you know what is called hemorrhoid in Somalia? you probably think its called baabasiir but you are wrong, Baabasiir Is Arabic.

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The Somali word for is Qoormaaley.

It seems plausible because Somali identity originates as a religious confederation which sought to "sooc" (differentiate) themselves from either pagan or earlier Abrahamic counterparts. It seems the voiced pharyngeal fricative was eventually, over centuries, dropped from its original pronunciation. So that means Somalis originally saw themselves as religious sorters / religious differentiators.