View source for Somali language

{{Short description|Cushitic language of the Horn of Africa}}
{{distinguish|Somali languages}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Somali
| nativename       = {{lang|so|Af Soomaali}},<ref>{{cite web|title=Somali alphabets, pronunciation and language|url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/somali.htm|website=Omniglot|access-date=16 June 2017}}</ref> {{lang|so|Soomaali}}<ref>{{cite web|title=cldr/so.xml at master · unicode-org/cldr|url=https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/master/common/main/so.xml|publisher=Unicode|access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref><br />{{lang|so|𐒖𐒍 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘}}, {{lang|so|𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘}}<br /> {{lang|so|اف صومالِ}}, {{lang|so|صومالِ}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|so|af soːmaːli|}}
| ethnicity        = [[Somali people|Somalis]]
| region           = [[Horn of Africa]]<!-- Per [[Template:Infobox language]], parameter is reserved for "geographic region in which it is mainly spoken ← you do not have to define both this and states; use this parameter for a single statement about geographic distribution. It is not for the broader region where the states are located, but rather the regions within the country, or across countries, where it is spoken. (That is, do not add SE Asia if we state it's in Laos, or West Africa if we state it's in Mali.)" -->
| speakers         = {{sigfig|23.774850|2}} million
| date             = 2019–2024
| ref              = <ref name="eth"/>
| familycolor      = Afro-Asiatic
| fam2             = [[Cushitic languages|Cushitic]]
| fam3             = [[East Cushitic languages|East]]
| fam4             = [[Lowland East Cushitic languages|Lowland]]
| fam5             = [[Macro-Somali languages|Macro-Somali]]
| fam6             = [[Somali languages]]
| script           = [[Somali Latin alphabet]] <small>([[Latin script]]; official)</small><br />[[Wadaad's writing]] <small>([[Arabic script]], occasional)</small><br />[[Osmanya script]] <small>(occasional)</small>
| nation           = {{SOM}}<br/>{{DJI}} <br />{{ETH}}
| minority         = {{KEN}}
| agency           = [[Regional Somali Language Academy]]
| iso1             = so
| iso2             = som
| iso3             = som
| lingua           = 14-GAG-a
| map              = Somali map.jpg
| mapcaption       = Primary Somali ''[[Sprachraum]]''
| dia1             = [[Northern Somali|Northern]] 
| dia2             = [[Benadiri Somali|Benadiri]]
| dia3             = [[Ashraf dialect|Ashraf]]
| dia4             = [[Maay language|Maay]]
| notice           = IPA
| glotto           = soma1255
| glottorefname    = Somali
}}
'''Somali''' ({{IPAc-en|s|ə|ˈ|m|ɑː|l|i|,_|s|oʊ|-}} {{respell|sə|MAH|lee|,_|soh|-}};{{refn|{{Citation |last=Jones |first=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Jones (phonetician) |title=English Pronouncing Dictionary |editor=Peter Roach |editor2=James Hartmann |editor3=Jane Setter |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |orig-year=1917 |year=2003 |isbn=3-12-539683-2 }}}}<ref name="Cllds">{{cite web |title=Somali |publisher=Collins Dictionary |url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/somali |access-date=21 September 2013}}</ref> Latin script: {{lang|so|Af Soomaali}}; [[Wadaad's writing|Wadaad]]: {{Script/Arabic|اف صومالِ}}; [[Osmanya]]: 𐒖𐒍 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘 {{IPA|so|af soːmaːli|}})<ref name="s107">{{Harvcoltxt|Saeed|1999|p=107}}</ref> is an [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic]] language belonging to the [[Cushitic languages|Cushitic]] branch. It is spoken primarily in [[Greater Somalia]], and by the [[Somali diaspora]] as a mother tongue. Somali is an official language in both [[Somalia]] and [[Ethiopia]],<ref>{{Cite web|last=AfricaNews|date=2020-03-04|title=One to five: Ethiopia gets four new federal working languages|url=https://www.africanews.com/2020/03/04/one-to-five-ethiopia-gets-four-new-federal-working-languages/|url-status=dead|access-date=2021-11-11|website=Africanews|archive-date=2020-10-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028052106/https://www.africanews.com/2020/03/04/one-to-five-ethiopia-gets-four-new-federal-working-languages/}}</ref> and serves as a national language in [[Djibouti]]. It is also a recognised minority language in [[Kenya]]. The Somali language is officially written with the [[Somali Latin alphabet|Latin alphabet]], although the [[Arabic script]] and several Somali scripts like [[Osmanya script|Osmanya]], [[Kaddare script|Kaddare]] and the [[Gadabuursi Somali Script|Borama script]] are informally used.<ref name="Lewis175">{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=I.M.|title=A Pastoral Democracy: A Study of Pastoralism and Politics Among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa|year=1999 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster|isbn=3825830845|page=175 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yoMBQCr4LysC}}</ref><ref name="Lewis">Lewis, I.M. (1958), [https://www.scribd.com/doc/15957443/The-Gadabursi-Somali-Script The Gadabuursi Somali Script], ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'', [[University of London]], Vol. 21, pp. 134–156.</ref>

==Classification==
{{main|Afroasiatic languages|Cushitic languages}}
Somali is classified within the Cushitic branch of the Afroasiatic family, specifically, [[Lowland East Cushitic languages|Lowland East Cushitic]] in addition to [[Afar language|Afar]] and [[Saho language|Saho]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Lewis|first=I.|year=1998|title=Peoples of the Horn of Africa: Somali, Afar and Saho|publisher=Red Sea Press|isbn=9781874209829|page=11}}</ref> Somali is the best-documented of the Cushitic languages,<ref name="lm22"/> with academic studies of the language dating back to the late 19th century.<ref name="d9">{{Harvcoltxt|Dubnov|2003|p=9}}</ref>

==Geographic distribution of Somali==

The Somali language is spoken in Somali inhabited areas of [[Somalia]], [[Djibouti]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Kenya]], [[Yemen]] and by members of the [[Somali diaspora]]. It is also spoken as an adoptive language by a few ethnic minority groups and individuals in Somali majority regions.

Somali is the most widely spoken Cushitic language in the region followed by [[Oromo language|Oromo]] and [[Afar language|Afar]].<ref name="s3">{{Harvcoltxt|Saeed|1999|p=3}}</ref>

As of 2021, there are approximately 24 million speakers of Somali, spread in [[Greater Somalia]] of which around 17 million reside in Somalia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Somalia {{!}} Ethnologue Free |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/SO/ |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=Ethnologue (Free All) |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Somali - Worldwide distribution |url=https://www.worlddata.info/languages/somali.php |access-date=2024-03-05 |website=Worlddata.info |language=en}}</ref> The language is spoken by an estimated 95% of the country's inhabitants,<ref name="d9" /> and also by a majority of the population in Djibouti.<ref name="lm22">{{Harvcoltxt|Lecarme|Maury|1987|p=22}}</ref>

Following the start of the [[Somali Civil War]] in the early 1990s, the Somali-speaking diaspora increased in size, with newer Somali speech communities forming in parts of the Middle East, North America and Europe.<ref name="eth">{{cite web |date=2021 |title=Somali |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/som |access-date=June 28, 2021 |publisher=[[SIL International]]}}</ref>

===Official status===
{{Culture of Somalia}}
Constitutionally, Somali and [[Arabic]] are the two [[List of official languages by country and territory|official languages]] of [[Somalia]].<ref name="Frspc">{{cite web|title=The Federal Republic of Somalia - Provisional Constitution|url=http://www.somaliweyn.com/pages/news/Aug_12/Somalia_Constitution_English_FOR_WEB.pdf|access-date=13 March 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130124010543/http://www.somaliweyn.com/pages/news/Aug_12/Somalia_Constitution_English_FOR_WEB.pdf|archive-date=24 January 2013}}</ref> Somali has been an official national language since January 1973, when the [[Supreme Revolutionary Council (Somalia)|Supreme Revolutionary Council]] (SRC) declared it the [[Somali Democratic Republic]]'s primary language of administration and education. Somali was thereafter established as the main language of academic instruction in [[Form (education)|forms 1 through 4]], following preparatory work by the government-appointed Somali Language Committee. It later expanded to include all 12 forms in 1979. In 1972, the SRC adopted a [[Somali Latin alphabet|Latin orthography]] as the official national alphabet over several other writing scripts that were then in use. Concurrently, the [[Italian language|Italian]]-language daily newspaper ''Stella d'Ottobre'' ("The October Star") was nationalized, renamed to ''Xiddigta Oktoobar'', and began publishing in Somali.<ref name="Ammon">{{Harvcoltxt|Ammon|Hellinger|1992|pp=128–131}}</ref> The state-run [[Radio Mogadishu]] has also broadcast in Somali since 1951.<ref name="The New York Times 2010 x241">{{cite web |date=March 30, 2010 |title=A Guiding Voice Amid the Ruins of a Capital City |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/world/africa/30mogadishu.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230820135347/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/world/africa/30mogadishu.html |archive-date=August 20, 2023 |access-date=August 25, 2023 |website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="Radio Muqdisho 2022 m972">{{cite web |date=April 9, 2022 |title=Radio Muqdisho |url=https://radiomuqdisho.so/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230822062210/https://radiomuqdisho.so/ |archive-date=August 22, 2023 |access-date=August 25, 2023 |website=Radio Muqdisho}}</ref> Additionally, other regional public networks like [[Somaliland National TV]] and [[Puntland TV and Radio]] and, as well as [[Eastern Television Network]] and [[Horn Cable Television]], among other private broadcasters, air programs in Somali.<ref name="Smmhctv">{{cite web|title=Somali Media Mapping Report|url=http://www.printfriendly.com/print?url=http://somali-media.so/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/2014_05_01_Somali-Media-Mapping-Report.pdf|publisher=Somali Media Mapping|access-date=31 August 2014}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Somali is recognized as an official working language in the [[Somali Region]] of Ethiopia.<ref name="Llicuv">{{cite book|editor-last1=Kizitus |editor-first1=Mpoche|editor-last2=Mbuh|editor-first2=Tennu |title=Language, literature, and identity|year=2006|publisher=Cuvillier|isbn=3-86537-839-0|pages=163–164|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PNEiAQAAMAAJ}}</ref> Although it is not an official language of [[Djibouti]], it constitutes a major national language there. Somali is used in television and radio broadcasts,<ref name="d9" /><ref name="Ethndjib">{{cite web|title=Ethnologue - Djibouti - Languages|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/country/DJ/languages|publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=25 April 2013}}</ref> with the government-operated [[Radio Television of Djibouti|Radio Djibouti]] transmitting programs in the language from 1943 onwards.<ref name="d10">{{Harvcoltxt|Dubnov|2003|p=10}}</ref>

The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation also broadcasts in the Somali language in its Iftin FM Programmes. The language is spoken in the Somali territories within North Eastern [[Kenya]], namely [[Wajir County]], [[Garissa County]] and [[Mandera County]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Mobile Urbanity Somali Presence in Urban East Africa|page=34|year=2019|first=Neil|last=Carrier|publisher=Berghahn Books|isbn=9781789202977}}</ref><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/5g2xHqL7Eyo Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20200316013804/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g2xHqL7Eyo&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g2xHqL7Eyo| title = KBC yazindua kitua kipya cha redio kwa lugha ya Kisomali | website=[[YouTube]]| date = 18 November 2015 }}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The Somali language is regulated by the [[Regional Somali Language Academy]], an intergovernmental institution established in June 2013 in [[Djibouti (city)|Djibouti City]] by the governments of Djibouti, Somalia and Ethiopia. It is officially mandated with preserving the Somali language.<ref name="Crslalid">{{cite web|title=Regional Somali Language Academy Launched in Djibouti|url=http://www.comesaria.org/site/en/news_details.php?chaine=regional-somali-language-academy-launched-in-djibouti&id_news=17578&id_article=119|publisher=COMESA Regional Investment Agency|access-date=28 February 2014|archive-date=21 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150121105039/http://www.comesaria.org/site/en/news_details.php?chaine=regional-somali-language-academy-launched-in-djibouti&id_news=17578&id_article=119|url-status=dead}}</ref>

As of 2025, Somali, [[Afar language|Afar]] and [[Oromo language|Oromo]] are the only 3 Cushitic languages available on [[Google Translate]].<ref name="Gtniel">{{cite news|title=Google Translate - now in 80 languages|url=http://googletranslate.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/google-translate-now-in-80-languages.html|access-date=30 December 2013|newspaper=Google Translate|date=10 December 2013}}</ref>

==Varieties==
{{main|Somali languages|Northern Somali|Benadiri Somali}}
[[File:Distribution-of-Somali-dialectals.png|thumb|Distribution of Somali dialectal groups in the Horn of Africa]]
The [[Somali languages]] are broadly divided into three main groups: [[Northern Somali]], [[Benadiri Somali|Benadir]] and [[Maay language|Maay]].<ref name="Dalby2">{{Harvcoltxt|Dalby|1998|p=571}}</ref> [[Northern Somali]] forms the basis for Standard Somali.<ref name="Dalby2"/> It is spoken by the majority of the Somali population<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Dalby|1998|p=571}}</ref> with its speech area stretching from [[Djibouti]], and the [[Somali Region]] of [[Ethiopia]] to the [[Northern Frontier District]].<ref name="Mwv2">{{cite book|title=Mundus, Volumes 23-24|publisher=Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft|year=1987|page=205 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JQlJAQAAIAAJ}}</ref> This widespread modern distribution is a result of a long series of southward population movements over the past ten centuries from the [[Gulf of Aden]] littoral.<ref name="Andrzlewis2">{{Harvcoltxt|Andrzejewski|Lewis|1964|p=6}}</ref> Lamberti subdivides Northern Somali into three dialects: Northern Somali proper (spoken in the northwest; he describes this dialect as Northern Somali in the proper sense), the Darod group (spoken in the northeast and along the eastern Ethiopia frontier; greatest number of speakers overall), and the Lower Juba group (spoken by northern Somali settlers in the southern riverine areas).<ref name="Lamberti">{{cite book|last=Lamberti|first=Marcello|date=1986 |title=Map of Somali dialects in the Somalia Democratic Republic|publisher=H. Buske|url=http://dspace-roma3.caspur.it/bitstream/2307/3034/1/Map%20of%20the%20Somali%20Dialects%20in%20the%20Somali%20Democratic%20Republic.pdf|isbn=9783871186905}}</ref> The sub dialect of Northern Somali that the [[Isaaq]] speak has the highest prestige of any other Somali dialect.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pia |first=John Joseph |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AFE-AAAAIAAJ |title=Somali Sounds and Inflections |date=1968 |publisher=[[Indiana University Press]] |pages=6 |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Shaxmednuradc1.ogg|thumb|upright=0.81|Speech sample in Standard Somali (an Islamic discourse containing many Arabic loanwords)]]
[[Benadiri Somali|Benadir]] (also known as Coastal Somali) is spoken on the central [[Indian Ocean]] seaboard, including [[Mogadishu]]. It forms a relatively smaller group. The dialect is fairly [[mutually intelligible]] with Northern Somali.<ref name="s4">{{Harvcoltxt|Saeed|1999|p=4}}</ref>
[[File:Northern_Somali_Dialects.png|thumb|Northern Somali (Nsom) dialect subgroups]][[Maay language|Maay]] is principally spoken by the Digil and Mirifle ([[Rahanweyn]]) clans in the southern regions of Somalia.<ref name="Dalby">{{Harvcoltxt|Dalby|1998|p=571}}</ref> Its speech area extends from the southwestern border with Ethiopia to a region close to the coastal strip between Mogadishu and [[Kismayo]], including the city of [[Baidoa]].<ref name="s4" /> Maay is partially mutually comprehensible with Northern Somali,<ref>Somali Dialects in the United States: How intelligible is Af-Maay to Speakers of Af-Maxaa? by Deqa Hassan (Minnesota State University - Mankato)</ref> with the degree of divergence comparable to that between [[Spanish language|Spanish]] and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P5AZyEhMtbkC|title=Saints and Somalis: Popular Islam in a Clan-based Society|last=Lewis|first=I. M.|date=1998-01-01|publisher=The Red Sea Press|isbn=9781569021033|page=74|language=en}}</ref> Despite these linguistic differences, Somali speakers collectively view themselves as speaking a common language.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c81yAAAAMAAJ|title=Somali nationalism: international politics and the drive for unity in the Horn of Africa|publisher=Department of Linguistics and the African Studies Center, University of California, Los Angeles|year=1963|page=24|isbn=978-0-674-59435-7 }}</ref> It is also not generally used in education or media. However, Maay speakers often use Standard Somali as a lingua franca,<ref name="s4" /> which is learned via mass communications, internal migration and urbanization.<ref name="Ethnymm">{{cite web|title=Maay - A language of Somalia|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/ymm|publisher=Ethnologue|access-date=7 May 2013}}</ref>

==Phonology==
{{main|Somali phonology}}

=== Vowels ===
[[File:Somali vowel chart.svg|thumb|upright=1.13|[[Monophthong]]s of Somali on a vowel chart, from {{Harvcoltxt|Saeed|1993}}]]
Somali has five vowel articulations that all contrast [[murmured voice|murmured]] and [[harsh voice]]<!--with modal voice or with one another?--> as well as [[vowel length]].{{Clarify|date=April 2012}}<!--see talk for ref to check actual number of resulting vowels. (Are all the harsh vowels front & the breathy ones back, or are those two divisions independent?--> There is little change in vowel quality when the vowel is lengthened. Each vowel has a harmonic counterpart, and every vowel within a harmonic group (which notably can be larger than a word in Somali) must harmonize with the other vowels. The Somali orthography, however, does not distinguish between the two harmonic variants of each vowel.

Different analyses have proposed somewhat different [[vowel]] inventories and features for Somali, depending on the set of speakers whose dialects are studied. Up to four features may be phonologically [[Distinctive feature|distinctive]]: [[Vowel#Height|height]], [[Vowel#Backness|backness]], [[Advanced and retracted tongue root|tongue root]], and [[Vowel length|length]]. 

Saeed (1982) and Orwin (1994) both propose systems with five core vowels, but only Orwin's system makes a tongue root distinction.<ref name=Saeed1982>{{cite journal |last1=Saeed |first1=John I. |title=Central Somali--A Grammatical Outline |journal=Afroasiatic Linguistics |date=1982 |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=1--43 |url=https://arcadia.sba.uniroma3.it/bitstream/2307/933/1/Central%20Somali.%20A%20grammatical%20Outline%20%28John%20I.%20Saeed%29.pdf |access-date=12 April 2025}}</ref>{{rp|3}}<ref name=Orwin1994>{{cite book |last1=Orwin |first1=Martin |title=Aspects of Somali Phonology |date=1994 |url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/33834/1/11010624.pdf |access-date=12 April 2025}}</ref>{{rp|61}} Gabbard (2010) proposes a system with six core vowels, with a tongue root distinction, but only on front vowels.<ref name=Gabbard2010>{{harvcoltxt|Gabbard|2010|p=15}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+Vowels (based on Orwin's analysis)<ref name=Orwin1994 />
!
![[Front vowel|Front]]
![[Central vowel|Central]]
![[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
![[Close vowel|High]]
|{{IPA link|i}}{{efn|name=front vowel|The short vowel {{IPA link|i}} is sometimes lowered to a, for example; “F'''a'''lastiin” {{IPA|so|falastiːn}}, {{lit}} 'Palestine'. Also when we see “S'''i'''dee Tahay” {{IPA|so|sadĕː tahaj}}, {{lit}} 'How are you?', it is clear that it is merely dialectical.}}  {{Grapheme|i}} {{IPA link|iː}} {{Grapheme|ii}}
|
|{{IPA link|u}}{{efn|name=back vowel|The short vowel {{IPA link|u}} is sometimes lowered to a, for example; “J'''a'''mhuuriyadda” {{IPA|so|d͡ʒamhuːriyada}}, {{lit}} 'Republic' but however, it is clear that it is merely dialectical southerly.}} {{Grapheme|u}} {{IPA link|uː}} {{Grapheme|uu}}
|-
![[Mid vowel|Mid]]
|{{IPA link|e}} {{Grapheme|e}} {{IPA link|eː}} {{Grapheme|ee}}
|
|{{IPA link|o}} {{Grapheme|o}} {{IPA link|oː}} {{Grapheme|oo}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Low]]
|
|{{IPA link|a}} {{Grapheme|a}} {{IPA link|aː}} {{Grapheme|aa}}
|
|}

Orwin argues that, in addition to the vowels listed above, each of these five vowels has a fronted (advanced tongue root) variant, based on the existence of [[Minimal pair|minimal pairs]] such as:
* ''duul'' ("fly!") vs. ''du̘u̘l'' ("attack!")
* ''keen'' ("bring!") vs. ''ke̘e̘n'' ("he brought")

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Somali monophthongs
|-
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | Front series
! colspan="2" | Back series
|- style="font-size: smaller;"
! short
! long
! short
! long
|-
| [[Close front unrounded vowel|Close front unrounded]] /<br>[[Near-close near-front unrounded vowel|Near-close near-front unrounded]]
| {{IPA|i}}
| {{IPA|iː}}
| {{IPA|ɪ}}
| {{IPA|ɪː}}
|-
| [[Close-mid front unrounded vowel|Close-mid front unrounded]] /<br>[[Open-mid front unrounded vowel|Open-mid front unrounded]]
| {{IPA|e}}
| {{IPA|eː}}
| {{IPA|ɛ}}
| {{IPA|ɛː}}
|-
| [[Near-open front unrounded vowel|Near-open front unrounded]] /<br>[[Open back unrounded vowel|Open back unrounded]]
| {{IPA|æ}}
| {{IPA|æː}}
| {{IPA|ɑ}}
| {{IPA|ɑː}}
|-
| [[Open-mid central rounded vowel|Open-mid central rounded]] /<br>[[Open-mid back rounded vowel|Open-mid back rounded]]
| {{IPA|ɞ}}
| {{IPA|ɞː}}
| {{IPA|ɔ}}
| {{IPA|ɔː}}
|-
| [[Close central rounded vowel|Close central rounded]] /<br>[[Close back rounded vowel|Close back rounded]]
| {{IPA|ʉ}}
| {{IPA|ʉː}}
| {{IPA|u}}
| {{IPA|uː}}
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Somali diphthongs
|-
! colspan="2" | First element is front
! colspan="2" | First element is back
|- style="font-size: smaller;"
! short
! long
! short
! long
|-
| {{IPA|æi}}
| {{IPA|æːi}}
| {{IPA|ɑɪ}}
| {{IPA|ɑːɪ}}
|-
| {{IPA|æʉ}}
| {{IPA|æːʉ}}
| {{IPA|ɑu}}
| {{IPA|ɑːu}}
|-
| {{IPA|ei}}
| {{IPA|eːi}}
| {{IPA|ɛɪ}}
| {{IPA|ɛːɪ}}
|-
| {{IPA|ɞi}}
| {{IPA|ɞːi}}
| {{IPA|ɔɪ}}
| {{IPA|ɔːɪ}}
|-
| {{IPA|ɞʉ}}
| {{IPA|ɞːʉ}}
| {{IPA|ɔu}}
| {{IPA|ɔːu}}
|}

Gabbard claims that only the front vowels ({{IPA slink|i}} and {{IPA slink|e}}) have advanced variants, though his system includes a sixth vowel, {{IPA slink|ɑ}}. Both Orwin and Gabbard agree that the precise phonetic and phonological difference between the advanced and retracted tongue root vowels are unclear.<ref name=Orwin1994 />{{rp|61}}<ref name=Gabbard2010 />

=== Consonants ===
Somali has 22 consonant [[phoneme]]s.<ref name="s7">{{Harvcoltxt|Saeed|1999|p=7}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Somali consonant phonemes<ref name="s7-10">{{Harvcoltxt|Saeed|1999|pp=7–10}}</ref><ref name="g6">{{Harvcoltxt|Gabbard|2010|p=6}}</ref><ref>{{harvtxt|Edmondson|Esling|Harris|2004}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |
! [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! [[Coronal consonant|Coronal]]
! [[Postalveolar consonant|Post-<br>alveolar]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! [[Pharyngeal consonant|Pharyn-<br />geal]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}} {{Grapheme|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}} {{Grapheme|n}} 
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive]]
! {{small|[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
|
| {{IPA link|t̪}} {{Grapheme|t}}
|
| {{IPA link|k}} {{Grapheme|k}}
| {{IPA link|q}} {{Grapheme|q}}
|
| {{IPA link|ʔ}} {{Grapheme|'}}
|-
! {{small|[[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| {{IPA link|b}} {{ref|lent|†}} {{Grapheme|b}}
| {{IPA link|d̪}} {{ref|lent|†}} {{Grapheme|d}} 
| {{IPA link|ɖ}} {{Grapheme|dh}}
| {{IPA link|ɡ}} {{ref|lent|†}}{{Grapheme|g}}
|
| 
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Affricate]]
|
|
| {{IPA link|d͡ʒ}} {{Grapheme|j}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Fricative]]
! {{small|[[Voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| {{IPA link|f}} {{Grapheme|f}}
| {{IPA link|s}} {{Grapheme|s}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}} {{Grapheme|sh}}
| {{IPA link|x}} {{Grapheme|kh}} 
| ({{IPA link|χ}}){{efn|name=uvular|{{IPA|/q/}} is pronounced {{IPA|[χ]}} as a syllable coda, as in the word ''a'''q'''ri'' (read).<ref name="Edmondson 2004 5">{{Harvcoltxt|Edmondson|Esling|Harris|2004|p=5}}</ref>}} 
| {{IPA link|ħ}} {{Grapheme|x}}
| {{IPA link|h}} {{Grapheme|h}}
|-
! <small>[[voiced]]</small>
|
|
| 
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|ʕ}} {{Grapheme|c}}
| 
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
| {{IPA link|r}} {{Grapheme|r}}
| ({{IPA link|ɽ}}){{efn|name=postalveolar|{{IPA|/ɖ/}} is pronounced {{IPA|[ɽ]}} intervocally.}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant]]
| 
| {{IPA link|l}} {{Grapheme|l}}
| {{IPA link|j}} {{Grapheme|y}}
| {{IPA link|w}} {{Grapheme|w}}
|
|
|
|}

:{{note|lent|†|The consonants {{IPA link|/b d̪ ɡ/}} often lenite to {{IPA link|[β̞ ð ɣ]}} intervocalically.<ref name="s8">{{Harvcoltxt|Saeed|1999|p=8}}</ref>}}
The retroflex plosive {{IPA|/ɖ/}} may have an implosive quality for some Somali Bantu speakers, and intervocalically it can be realized as the flap {{IPA|[ɽ]}}. Some speakers produce {{IPA|/ħ/}} with [[epiglottal trill]]ing as /{{IPA link| ʜ}}/ in retrospect.<ref name="g14">{{Harvcoltxt|Gabbard|2010|p=14}}</ref> {{IPA|/q/}} is often [[epiglottal]]ized.<ref name="Edmondson 2004 5">{{Harvcoltxt|Edmondson|Esling|Harris|2004|p=5}}</ref>

The letter {{grapheme|dh}} is pronounced as a retroflex flap {{IPAblink|ɽ}} when it occurs intervocalically, as in ''qu'''dh'''aanjo''.

The letter {{grapheme|kh}}, found in Arabic loanwords, is rarely pronounced as a velar fricative. It is more often conflated with {{IPAslink|q}}, which is pronounced {{IPAblink|χ}} in syllabic coda position.

=== Tone ===
Pitch is phonemic in Somali, but it is debated whether Somali is a [[pitch accent]], or it is a [[tonal language]].<ref name="Ceolotw">{{cite book|last=Keith Brown|first=Sarah Ogilvie|title=Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World|year=2010|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-0080877754|page=987|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F2SRqDzB50wC}}</ref> Andrzejewski (1954) posits that Somali is a tonal language,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Andrzejewski|first1=Bogumit Witalis|title="Is Somali a Tone-language?", Proceedings of the Twenty-Third International Congress of Orientalists|date=1954|publisher=Royal Asiatic Society|pages=367–368|oclc=496050266}}</ref> whereas Banti (1988) suggests that it is a [[pitch accent|pitch]] system.

=== Phonotactics ===
The syllable structure of Somali is (C)V(C).

Root morphemes usually have a mono- or di-syllabic structure.

Clusters of two consonants do not occur word-initially or word-finally, i.e., they only occur at syllable boundaries. The following consonants can be geminate: /b/, /d/, /ɖ/, /ɡ/, /ɢ/, /m/, /n/, /r/ and /l/. The following cannot be geminate: /t/, /k/ and the fricatives.

Two vowels cannot occur together at syllable boundaries. Epenthetic consonants, e.g. [j] and [ʔ], are therefore inserted.

==Grammar==
{{main|Somali grammar}}

{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ Somali personal pronouns
! rowspan="2" colspan="3" | Person
! rowspan="2" | Emphatic
! colspan="2" | Clitic (short)
|-
! Subject
! Object
|-
! rowspan="3" | 1
! colspan="2" | singular
| aniga
| aan
| i
|-
! rowspan="2" | plural
! {{small|inclusive}}
| innaga
| aynu
| ina
|-
! {{small|exclusive}}
| annaga
| aannu
| na
|-
! rowspan="2" | 2
! colspan="2" | singular
| adiga
| aad
| ku
|-
! colspan="2" | plural
| idinka
| aydin
| idin
|-
! rowspan="3" | 3
! rowspan="2" | singular
! {{small|masculine}}
| isaga
| uu
| --
|-
! {{small|feminine}}
| iyada
| ay
| --
|-
! colspan="2" | plural
| iyaga
| ay
| --
|}

===Morphology===
Somali is an [[agglutinative]] language, and also shows properties of [[inflection]]. Affixes mark many grammatical meanings, including aspect, tense and case.<ref name="d11">{{Harvcoltxt|Dubnov|2003|p=11}}</ref>

Somali has an old prefixal verbal inflection restricted to four common verbs, with all other verbs undergoing inflection by more obvious suffixation. This general pattern is similar to the stem alternation that typifies [[Egyptian Arabic|Cairene Arabic]].<ref name="Kraska">{{cite book|last=Kraska|first=Iwona|title=Analogy: the relation between lexicon and grammar|year=2007|publisher=Lincom Europa|isbn=978-3895868986|page=140|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FFxiAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

Somali has two sets of pronouns: independent (substantive, emphatic) pronouns and clitic (verbal) pronouns.<ref name="s68">{{Harvcoltxt|Saeed|1999|p=68}}</ref> The independent pronouns behave grammatically as nouns, and normally occur with the suffixed article -ka/-ta (e.g. ''adiga'', "you").<ref name="s68" /> This article may be omitted after a conjunction or focus word. For example, ''adna'' meaning "and you..." (from ''adi''-''na'').<ref name="s68" /> Clitic pronouns are attached to the verb and do not take nominal morphology.<ref name="s72">{{Harvcoltxt|Saeed|1999|p=72}}</ref> Somali marks [[clusivity]] in the first person plural pronouns; this is also found in a number of other East Cushitic languages, such as [[Rendille language|Rendille]] and Dhaasanac.<ref name="w43">{{Harvcoltxt|Weninger|2011|p=43}}</ref>

As in various other Afro-Asiatic languages, Somali is characterized by [[polarity of gender]], whereby plural nouns usually take the opposite gender [[agreement (linguistics)|agreement]] of their singular forms.<ref name="Tosco">{{cite journal|last=Tosco|first=Mauro|author2=Department of Anthropology |author3=Indiana University |title=Is There an "Ethiopian Language Area"?|journal=Anthropological Linguistics|year=2000|volume=42|issue=3|page=349|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MOZoAAAAIAAJ|access-date=8 May 2013}}</ref><ref name="zp389">{{Harvcoltxt|Zwicky|Pullum|1983|p=389}}</ref> For example, the plural of the masculine noun ''dibi'' ("bull") is formed by converting it into feminine ''dibi''.<ref name="Tosco"/> Somali is unusual among the world's languages in that the object is unmarked for case while the subject is marked, though this feature is found in other Cushitic languages such as Oromo.<ref name="Saeed84">{{cite book|last=John I. Saeed|title=The Syntax of Focus & Topic in Somali|year=1984|publisher=H. Buske|isbn=3871186724|page=66|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JxoOAAAAYAAJ}}</ref>

===Syntax===
Somali is a [[subject–object–verb]] (SOV) language.<ref name="eth"/> It is largely [[Head-directionality parameter|head final]], with [[postposition]]s and with obliques preceding verbs.<ref name="hn253">{{Harvcoltxt|Heine|Nurse|2000|p=253}}</ref> These are common features of the Cushitic and Semitic Afroasiatic languages spoken in the Horn region (e.g. [[Amharic language|Amharic]]).<ref name="Wedekind">{{cite book|last=Klaus Wedekind|first=Charlotte Wedekind, Abuzeinab Musa|title=A learner's grammar of Beja (East Sudan): grammar, texts and vocabulary (Beja-English and English-Beja)|year=2007|publisher=Rüdiger Köppe Verlag|isbn=978-3896455727|page=10|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vs4XAQAAIAAJ}}</ref> However, Somali noun phrases are head-initial, whereby the noun precedes its modifying adjective.<ref name="hn253" /><ref name="s164173">{{Harvcoltxt|Saeed|1999|pp=164, 173}}</ref> This pattern of general head-finality with head-initial noun phrases is also found in other Cushitic languages (e.g. Oromo), but not generally in Ethiopian Semitic languages.<ref name="hn253" /><ref name="f53">{{Harvcoltxt|Fisiak|1997|p=53}}</ref>

Somali uses three [[focus (linguistics)|focus]] markers: ''baa'', ''ayaa'' and ''waxa(a)'', which generally mark new information or contrastive emphasis.<ref name="s117">{{Harvcoltxt|Saeed|1999|p=117}}</ref> ''Baa'' and ''ayaa'' require the focused element to occur preverbally, while ''waxa(a)'' may be used following the verb.<ref name="s240">{{Harvcoltxt|Saeed|1999|p=240}}</ref>

==Vocabulary==
[[File:Somlangbooks.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.81|Somali language books on display.]]
Somali [[loanword]]s can be divided into those derived from other Afroasiatic languages (mainly Arabic), and those of [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] extraction (mainly Italian).<ref name="d71" />

Somali's main lexical borrowings come from Arabic, and are estimated to constitute about 20% of the language's vocabulary.<ref name="l25">{{Harvcoltxt|Laitin|1977|p=25}}</ref> This is a legacy of the Somali people's extensive social, cultural, commercial and religious links and contacts with nearby populations in the Arabian peninsula. Arabic loanwords are most commonly used in religious, administrative and education-related speech (e.g. ''aamiin'' for "faith in God"), though they are also present in other areas (e.g. ''kubbad-da'', "ball").<ref name="d71">{{Harvcoltxt|Dubnov|2003|p=71}}</ref> Soravia (1994) noted a total of 1,436 Arabic loanwords in Agostini a.o. 1985,<ref name="Versteegh">{{Harvcoltxt|Versteegh|2008|p=273}}</ref> a prominent 40,000-entry Somali dictionary.<ref name="s5">{{Harvcoltxt|Saeed|1999|p=5}}</ref> Most of the terms consisted of commonly used nouns. These lexical borrowings may have been more extensive in the past since a few words that Zaborski (1967:122) observed in the older literature were absent in Agostini's later work.<ref name="Versteegh"/> In addition, the majority of personal names are derived from Arabic.<ref name="s2">{{Harvcoltxt|Saeed|1999|p=2}}</ref>

The Somali language also contains a few Indo-European loanwords that were retained from the colonial period.<ref name="Ammon"/> Most of these lexical borrowings come from English and [[Italian language|Italian]] and are used to describe modern concepts (e.g. ''telefishen-ka'', "the television"; ''raadia-ha'', "the radio").<ref name="d73">{{Harvcoltxt|Dubnov|2003|p=73}}</ref> There are 300 loan words from Italian, such as ''garawati'' for "tie" (from [[Italian language|Italian]] ''{{lang|it|cravatta}}''), ''dimuqraadi'' from ''{{lang|it|democratico}}'' (democratic), ''mikroskoob'' from ''{{lang|it|microscopio}}'', and so on.

Additionally, Somali contains lexical terms from [[Persian language|Persian]], [[Urdu]] and [[Hindi]] that were acquired through historical trade with communities in the [[Near East]] and [[South Asia]] (e.g. ''khiyaar'' "cucumber" from {{langx|fa|خيار}} ''khiyār'' ).<ref name="d73"/> Other loan words have also displaced their native synonyms in some dialects (e.g. ''jabaati''  "a type of flat bread" from Hindi:  चपाती ''[[Chapati|chapāti]]'' displacing ''sabaayad).'' Some of these words were also borrowed indirectly via Arabic.<ref name="d73"/><ref name="Admmahe">{{Harvcoltxt|Sheik-ʻAbdi|1993|p=45}}</ref>

As noted by Somali historian Mohammed Nuuh Ali, the Somali language also incorporates various loanwords from [[Old Harari]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ali |first1=Mohamed |title=History in the Horn of Africa, 1000 B.C.-1500 A.D. Aspects of Social and Economic Change Between the Rift Valley and the Indian Ocean |publisher=UCLA |page=151 |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/History_in_the_Horn_of_Africa_1000_B_C_1/7gYucAAACAAJ?hl=en}}</ref>

As part of a broader governmental effort of [[linguistic purism]] in the Somali language, the past few decades have seen a push in Somalia toward replacement of loanwords in general with their Somali equivalents or [[neologism]]s. To this end, the Supreme Revolutionary Council during its tenure officially prohibited the borrowing and use of English and Italian terms.<ref name="Ammon"/>

==Writing system==
{{main|Somali alphabets}}
[[File:Ciismaniya.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Osmanya alphabet|Osmanya]] writing script for Somali.]]
[[File:10437 2015 9184 Fig8 HTML.webp|thumb|Shaláw Sabaean writing, Sanaag (Photo: by Sada Mire, 2007). Inscription dates between 900 BCE and 300 CE.]]
Archaeological [[Excavation (archaeology)|excavations]] and research in Somalia uncovered [[Ancient inscriptions in Somalia|ancient inscriptions]] in a distinct [[writing system]].<ref name="MOIANG">Ministry of Information and National Guidance, Somalia, ''The writing of the Somali language'', (Ministry of Information and National Guidance: 1974), p.5</ref> In an 1878 report to the [[Royal Geographical Society]] of Great Britain, scientist [[Johann Maria Hildebrandt]] noted upon visiting the area that "we know from ancient authors that these districts, at present so desert, were formerly populous and civilised[...] I also discovered ancient ruins and rock-inscriptions both in pictures and characters[...] These have hitherto not been deciphered."<ref>Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain), ''Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London'', Volume 22, "Mr. J. M. Hildebrandt on his Travels in East Africa", (Edward Stanford: 1878), p. 447.</ref> According to the 1974 report for Ministry of Information and National Guidance, this script represents the earliest written attestation of Somali.<ref name="MOIANG"/>

Much more recently, Somali archaeologist [[Sada Mire]] has published ancient inscriptions found throughout [[Somalia]]. As for much of Somali linguistic history the language was not widely used for literature, Dr. Mire's publications however prove that writing as a technology was not foreign nor scarce in the region.<ref name=Mire>{{Cite journal|last=Mire|first=Sada|date=2015-03-01|title=Mapping the Archaeology of Somaliland: Religion, Art, Script, Time, Urbanism, Trade and Empire|journal=African Archaeological Review|volume=32|issue=1|pages=111–136|doi=10.1007/s10437-015-9184-9|issn=1572-9842|doi-access=free|hdl=1887/3198283|hdl-access=free}}</ref> These pieces of writing are from the Semitic [[Himyaritic language|Himyarite]] and [[Sabaean language|Sabaean]] languages that were largely spoken in what is modern day Yemen —"there is an extensive and ancient relationship between the people and cultures of both sides of the Red Sea coast" Mire posits. Yet, while many more such ancient inscriptions are yet to be found or analyzed, many have been "bulldozed by developers, as the Ministry of Tourism could not buy the land or stop the destruction".<ref name=Mire/>

Besides Ahmed's Latin script, other orthographies that have been used for centuries for writing the Somali language include the long-established [[Arabic script]] and [[Wadaad's writing]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Somali writing scripts |url=http://www.omniglot.com/writing/somali.htm|website=Omniglot|access-date=8 May 2013}}</ref> According to [[Bogumił Andrzejewski]], this usage was limited to Somali clerics and their associates, as sheikhs preferred to write in the liturgical Arabic language. Various such historical manuscripts in Somali nonetheless exist, which mainly consist of Islamic poems ([[qasida]]s), recitations and chants.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Andrezewski|first1=B. W.|title=In Praise of Somali Literature|date=July 2013|publisher=Lulu|isbn=978-1291454536|pages=130–131 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=90CdBQAAQBAJ|access-date=17 January 2015}}</ref> Among these texts are the Somali poems by Sheikh Uways and Sheikh Ismaaciil Faarah. The rest of the existing historical literature in Somali principally consists of translations of documents from Arabic.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Andrezewski|first1=B. W. |title=In Praise of Somali Literature|date=July 2013|publisher=Lulu|isbn=978-1291454536|page=232 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=90CdBQAAQBAJ|access-date=17 January 2015}}</ref>

Since then a number of writing systems have been used for transcribing the Somali language. Of these, the [[Somali Latin alphabet]], officially adopted in 1972, is the most widely used and recognised as official orthography of the state.<ref>Economist Intelligence Unit (Great Britain), ''Middle East annual review'', (1975), p.229</ref> The script was developed by a number of leading scholars of Somali, including [[Musa Haji Ismail Galal]], [[B. W. Andrzejewski]] and [[Shire Jama Ahmed]] specifically for transcribing the Somali language, and uses all letters of the English Latin alphabet except ''p'', ''v'' and ''z''.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Abdullahi|2001|p=[https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00diri/page/n98 73]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lewis|first=I. M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eK6SBJIckIsC&pg=PR17|title=A Pastoral Democracy: A Study of Pastoralism and Politics Among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa|date=1999|publisher=James Currey Publishers|isbn=978-0-85255-280-3}}</ref> There are no [[diacritic]]s or other special characters except the use of the apostrophe for the [[glottal stop]], which does not occur word-initially. There are three consonant [[Digraph (orthography)|digraphs]]: DH, KH and SH. Tone is not marked, and front and back vowels are not distinguished.

Writing systems developed in the twentieth century include the [[Osmanya alphabet|Osmanya]], [[Borama alphabet|Borama]] and [[Kaddare alphabet]]s, which were invented by [[Osman Yusuf Kenadid]], [[Abdurahman Sheikh Nuur]] and [[Hussein Sheikh Ahmed Kaddare]], respectively.<ref name="laitin">{{Harvcoltxt|Laitin|1977|pp=86–87}}</ref>

==Resources==

Several digital collections of texts in the Somali language have been developed in recent decades. These corpora include [[Somali Corpus|Kaydka Af Soomaaliga]] (KAF), Bangiga Af Soomaaliga, the Somali Web Corpus (soWaC),<ref>Sketch Engine. https://www.sketchengine.eu/sowac-somali-corpus/. Retrieved October 19, 20204.</ref> a Somali read-speech corpus, Asaas (Beginning in Somali) and a Web-Based Somali Language Model and text Corpus called Wargeys (Newspaper in Somali).<ref>Nimaan, Abdillahi. 2014. Building and Evaluating Somali Language Corpora. In Jeff Good, Julia Hirschberg & Owen Rambow (eds.), Proceedings of the 2014 Workshop on the Use of Computational Methods in the Study of Endangered Languages, 73–76. Baltimore, Maryland, USA: Association for Computational Linguistics. https://doi.org/10.3115/v1/W14-2210.</ref>

== Numbers and calendrical terms ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2020}}

===Numbers===

{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" | English || colspan="3" | Somali
|-
!Latin
!Osmanya
!#
|-
|Zero
| ''Eber''
|𐒗𐒁𐒗𐒇
|𐒠
|-
| One || ''kow''
|𐒏𐒙𐒓
|𐒡
|-
| Two || ''laba''
|𐒐𐒖𐒁𐒖
|𐒢
|-
| Three || ''saddex''
|𐒈𐒖𐒆𐒆𐒗𐒄
|𐒣
|-
| Four || ''afar''
|𐒖𐒍𐒖𐒇
|𐒤
|-
| Five || ''shan''
|𐒉𐒖𐒒
|𐒥
|-
| Six || ''lix''
|𐒐𐒘𐒄
|𐒦
|-
|Seven|| ''toddoba''
|𐒂𐒙𐒆𐒆𐒙𐒁𐒖
|𐒧
|-
|Eight|| ''siddeed''
|𐒈𐒘𐒆𐒆𐒜𐒆
|𐒨
|-
|Nine|| ''sagaal''
|𐒈𐒖𐒌𐒛𐒐
|𐒩
|-
|Ten|| ''toban''
|𐒂𐒙𐒁𐒖𐒒
|𐒡𐒠
|}
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |English
! colspan="3" |Somali
|-
! Latin
!Osmanya
!#
|-
| Eleven || '' kow iyo toban''
|𐒏𐒙𐒓 𐒘𐒕𐒙 𐒂𐒙𐒁𐒖𐒒
|𐒡𐒡
|-
| Twelve || '' laba iyo toban ''
|𐒐𐒖𐒁𐒖 𐒘𐒕𐒙 𐒂𐒙𐒁𐒖𐒒
|𐒡𐒢
|-
| Thirteen || ''saddex iyo toban''
|𐒈𐒖𐒆𐒆𐒗𐒄 𐒘𐒕𐒙 𐒂𐒙𐒁𐒖𐒒
|𐒡𐒣
|-
| Fourteen || '' afar iyo toban''
|𐒖𐒍𐒖𐒇 𐒘𐒕𐒙 𐒂𐒙𐒁𐒖𐒒
|𐒡𐒤
|-
| Fifteen || ''shan iyo toban''
|𐒉𐒖𐒒 𐒘𐒕𐒙 𐒂𐒙𐒁𐒖𐒒
|𐒡𐒥
|-
| Sixteen || ''lix iyo toban''
|𐒐𐒘𐒄 𐒘𐒕𐒙 𐒂𐒙𐒁𐒖𐒒
|𐒡𐒦
|-
| Seventeen || ''toddoba iyo toban''
|𐒂𐒙𐒆𐒆𐒙𐒁𐒖 𐒘𐒕𐒙 𐒂𐒙𐒁𐒖𐒒
|𐒡𐒧
|-
| Eighteen || ''sideed iyo toban''
|𐒈𐒘𐒆𐒜𐒆 𐒘𐒕𐒙 𐒂𐒙𐒁𐒖𐒒
|𐒡𐒨
|-
| Nineteen || ''sagaal iyo toban''
|𐒈𐒖𐒌𐒛𐒐 𐒘𐒕𐒙 𐒂𐒙𐒁𐒖𐒒
|𐒡𐒩
|-
| Twenty || ''labaatan''
|𐒐𐒖𐒁𐒛𐒂𐒖𐒒
|𐒢𐒠
|}
For all numbers between 11 ''kow iyo toban'' and 99 ''sagaashal iyo sagaal'', it is equally correct to switch the placement of the numbers, although larger numbers is some dialects prefer to place the 10s numeral first. For example 25 may both be written as ''labaatan iyo shan'' and ''shan iyo labaatan'' (lit. Twenty and Five & Five and Twenty).

Although neither the Latin nor Osmanya scripts accommodate this numerical switching.

=== Multiples of 10 ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |English
! colspan="3" |Somali
|-
! Latin
!Osmanya
!#
|-
|Ten
|''toban''
|𐒂𐒙𐒁𐒖𐒒
|𐒡𐒠
|-
|Twenty
|''labaatan''
|𐒐𐒖𐒁𐒛𐒂𐒖𐒒
|𐒢𐒠
|-
| Thirty || ''soddon''
|𐒈𐒙𐒆𐒆𐒙𐒒
|𐒣𐒠
|-
| Forty || ''afartan''
|𐒖𐒍𐒖𐒇𐒂𐒖𐒒
|𐒤𐒠
|-
| Fifty || ''konton''
|𐒏𐒙𐒒𐒂𐒙𐒒
|𐒥𐒠
|-
| Sixty || ''lixdan''
|𐒐𐒘𐒄𐒆𐒖𐒒
|𐒦𐒠
|-
| Seventy || ''todobaatan''
|𐒂𐒙𐒆𐒙𐒁𐒛𐒂𐒖𐒒
|𐒧𐒠
|-
| Eighty || ''sideetan''
|𐒈𐒘𐒆𐒜𐒂𐒖𐒒
|𐒨𐒠
|-
| Ninety || ''sagaashan''
|𐒈𐒖𐒌𐒛𐒉𐒖𐒒
|𐒩𐒠
|}

=== Names of large numbers ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |English
! colspan="3" |Somali
|-
! Latin
!Osmanya
!#*
|-
| One hundred || ''boqol''
|𐒁𐒙𐒎𐒙𐒐
|𐒡𐒠𐒠
|-
| One thousand || ''kun''
|𐒏𐒚𐒒
|𐒡,𐒠𐒠𐒠
|-
| One million || ''milyan''
|𐒑𐒘𐒐𐒕𐒖𐒒
|𐒡,𐒠𐒠𐒠,𐒠𐒠𐒠
|-
| One billion || ''bilyan''
|𐒁𐒘𐒐𐒕𐒖𐒒
|𐒡,𐒠𐒠𐒠,𐒠𐒠𐒠,𐒠𐒠𐒠
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki>the commas in the Osmanya number chart are added for clarity

===Days of the week===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |English
! colspan="2" |Somali
|-
! Latin
!Osmanya
|-
| Sunday || ''Axad''
|𐒖𐒄𐒖𐒆
|-
| Monday || ''Isniin''
|𐒘𐒈𐒒𐒕𐒒
|-
| Tuesday || ''Salaasa/Talaado''
|𐒈𐒖𐒐𐒛𐒈𐒖/𐒂𐒖𐒐𐒛𐒆𐒙
|-
| Wednesday || ''Arbaca/Arbaco''
|𐒖𐒇𐒁𐒖𐒋𐒛/𐒖𐒇𐒁𐒖𐒋𐒙
|-
| Thursday || ''Khamiis''
|𐒅𐒖𐒑𐒕𐒈
|-
| Friday || ''Jimce/Jimco''
|𐒃𐒘𐒑𐒋𐒙
|-
| Saturday || ''Sabti''
|𐒈𐒖𐒁𐒂𐒘
|}

=== Months of the year ===
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |English
! colspan="2" |Somali
|-
!Latin
!Osmanya
|-
|January
|Janaayo
|𐒃𐒜𐒒𐒚𐒓𐒖𐒇𐒘
|-
|February
|Febraayo
|𐒍𐒛𐒁𐒇𐒚𐒓𐒖𐒇𐒘
|-
|March
|Maarso
|𐒑𐒛𐒃
|-
|April
|Abriil
|𐒖𐒁𐒇𐒕𐒐
|-
|May
|Maajo
|𐒑𐒖𐒕
|-
|June
|Juun
|𐒃𐒓𐒒
|-
|July
|Luuliyo
|𐒃𐒓𐒐𐒛𐒕
|-
|August
|Agoosto
|𐒝𐒌𐒖𐒈
|-
|September
|Sebteembar
|𐒈𐒘𐒁𐒂𐒖𐒑𐒁𐒖𐒇
|-
|October
|Oktoobar
|𐒙𐒏𐒂𐒝𐒁𐒖𐒇
|-
|November
|Nofeembar
|𐒒𐒝𐒍𐒖𐒑𐒁𐒖𐒇
|-
|December
|Diseembar
|𐒆𐒕𐒈𐒑𐒁𐒖𐒇
|}

== Computational linguistics ==
In recent years, the Somali language has become the subject of research in computational linguistics due to its complex morphology and low-resource status. Efforts have been made to develop lemmatization, part-of-speech tagging, and automatic speech recognition systems for Somali.<ref>{{cite arxiv |eprint=2308.01785 |class=cs.CL |author=Yusuf, A.; Hassan, M. |title=Advancing Somali Natural Language Processing: Morphological Analysis and Lemmatization |year=2023}}</ref>



==See also==
* [[Languages of Djibouti]]
* [[Languages of Somalia]]
* [[Languages of Kenya]]
* [[Somali Sign Language]]
* [[Somali literature]]
* [[Somali Studies]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|22em}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Abdullahi |first=Mohamed Diriye |title=Culture and Customs of Somalia |publisher=Greenwood |year=2001 |url=https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00diri |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-313-31333-2 }}
* {{cite book|last1=Ammon|first1=Ulrich|last2=Hellinger|first2=Marlis|year=1992|title=Status Change of Languages|publisher=Walter de Gruyter}}
* {{cite book|last1=Andrzejewski|first1=B.|last2=Lewis|first2=I.|title=Somali poetry: an introduction|year=1964|publisher=Clarendon Press|url=https://archive.org/details/somalipoetryintr0000andr|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last=Dalby|first=Andrew|title=Dictionary of languages: the definitive reference to more than 400 languages|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=1998}}
* {{cite book|last=Dubnov|first=Helena|title=A Grammatical Sketch of Somali|year=2003|publisher=Rudiger Koppe Verlag|location=Koln}}
* {{cite report |last1=Edmondson |first1=Jerold A. |last2=Esling |first2=John H. |last3=Harris |first3=Jimmy G. |year=2004 |title=Supraglottal cavity shape, linguistic register, and other phonetic features of Somali |url=http://ling.uta.edu/~jerry/somali.pdf |access-date=2020-11-21 |archive-date=2012-03-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315001803/http://ling.uta.edu/~jerry/somali.pdf |url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book|first=Jacek|last=Fisiak|title=Linguistic reconstruction and typology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zBV_O3Y4Ov0C&pg=PA53|year=1997|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-014905-0}}
* {{citation|last=Gabbard|first=Kevin|year=2010|title=A Phonological Analysis of Somali and the Guttural Consonants|publisher=The Ohio State University|hdl=1811/46639|type=Thesis}}
* {{cite book|last1=Heine|first1=Bernd|first2=Derek|last2=Nurse|title=African Languages: An Introduction|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C7XhcYoFxaQC&pg=PA349|year=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-66629-9}}
* {{cite book|last=Laitin|first=David|year=1977|title=Politics, Language, and Thought: The Somali Experience|publisher=University Of Chicago Press}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Lecarme|first1=Jacqueline|last2=Maury|first2=Carole|year=1987|title=A software tool for research in linguistics and lexicography: Application to Somali|journal=Computers and Translation|volume=2|pages=21–36|publisher=Paradigm Press|doi=10.1007/BF01540131|s2cid=6515240}}
* {{cite book|last=Saeed|first=John|year=1999|title=Somali|location=Amsterdam|publisher=John Benjamins|isbn=1-55619-224-X}}
* {{cite book|last=Sheik-ʻAbdi|first=ʻAbdi ʻAbdulqadir|title=Divine madness: Moḥammed ʻAbdulle Ḥassan (1856-1920)|year=1993|publisher=Zed Books}}
* {{cite book|last=Versteegh|first=Kees|title=Encyclopedia of Arabic language and linguistics, Volume 4|year=2008|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-9004144767|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OWQOAQAAMAAJ}}
* {{cite book|first=Stefan|last=Weninger|title=Semitic Languages: An International Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SMzgBLT87MkC&pg=PA42|year=2011|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|isbn=978-3-11-025158-6}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Zwicky|first1=Arnold|last2=Pullum|first2=Geoffrey|year=1983|title=Phonology in Syntax: The Somali Optional Agreement Rule|journal=Natural Language & Linguistic Theory|volume=1|issue=3|pages=385–402|url=http://www.stanford.edu/~zwicky/SomaliOptional.pdf|doi=10.1007/bf00142471|s2cid=170420275}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Armstrong |first=Lilias E. |author-link=Lilias Armstrong |year=1969 |title=The phonetic structure of Somali |orig-date=orig. pub. 1934, Mitteilungen des Seminars für Orientalische Sprachen zu Berlin, vol. 37 |hdl=2307/4698 |hdl-access=free |publisher=Gregg International Publishers |isbn=0576-11443-X}}
* {{cite book |last=Bell |first=C. R. V. |year=1953 |title=The Somali Language |location=London |publisher=Longmans, Green & Co.}}
* {{cite book |last=Berchem |first=Jörg |year=1991 |title=Referenzgrammatik des Somali |location=Köln |publisher=Omimee |isbn=3921008018}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Somaliland | volume= 25 |last= Cana |first= Frank Richardson |author-link= | pages = 378&ndash;384;see page 379 |quote= Inhabitants.—The Somali belong to the Eastern (Abyssinia) Hamitic family.... Their influence has been very slight even on the Somali language, whose structure and vocabulary are essentially Hamitic, with marked affinities to the Galla on the one hand and to the Dankali (Afar) on the other.|short= 1}}
* {{cite book |last=Cardona |first=G. R. |year=1981 |chapter=Profilo fonologico del somalo |title=Studi Somali I: Fonologia e Lessico |editor-first=G. R. |editor-last=Cardona |editor-first2=F. |editor-last2=Agostini |publisher=Ministero degli Affari Esteri, Dipartimento per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo, Comitato Tecnico Linguistico per l'Universita Nazionale Somala |location=Roma |language=it |oclc=15276449}}
* {{cite thesis |last=Diriye Abdullahi |first=Mohamed |year=2000 |title=Le Somali, dialectes et histoire |type=PhD dissertation |publisher=Université de Montréal |hdl=1866/30162 |hdl-access=free |lang=fr}}
* {{cite book |last=Dobnova |first=Elena Z. |year=1990 |title=Sovremennyj somalijskij jazyk |location=Moskva |publisher=Nauka}}
* {{cite book |last=Lamberti |first=M. |year=1986 |title=Die Somali-Dialekte |location=Hamburg |publisher=Buske}}
* {{cite book |last=Lamberti |first=M. |year=1986 |title=Map of the Somali-Dialects in the Somali Democratic Republic |location=Hamburg |publisher=Buske}}
* {{cite book |last=Puglielli |first=Annarita |year=1997 |chapter=Somali Phonology |title=Phonologies of Asia and Africa |volume=1 |editor-first=Alan S. |editor-last=Kaye |location=Winona Lake |publisher=Eisenbrauns |pages=521–535 |isbn=978-1-57506-019-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Saeed |first=John Ibrahim |year=1987 |title=Somali Reference Grammar |location=Springfield, VA |publisher=Dunwoody Press |isbn=0931745330 |oclc=18561242 |lccn= 87-073464}}

==External links==
{{InterWiki|code=so}}
{{Wikivoyage|Somali phrasebook|Somali|a phrasebook}}
{{Scholia|topic}}
{{Wikiquote|Somali proverbs}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/19991130050350/http://www.geocities.com/Paris/Louvre/2521/somali.html Somali Language Page: Resources, links and information on the Somali language.]
* [http://hooyo.web.free.fr/E_table.html Hooyo.Web - Somali Grammar]
* [http://hdl.handle.net/2077/51577 Somali Language and Linguistics: A Bibliography]
* [http://learn101.org/somali.php Learn101 - Learn Somali]
* [https://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/osmanya.htm Virtual keyboard for historical Osmanya script]. ''Lexilogos''.
* [http://www.digitaldialects.com/Somali.htm Digital Dialects - Somali language learning games]
* [https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7QxuLt-N559YjhzUXdXYmotaG8/view Enhancing the Quality of Google Somali Translations]

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