Somali writing

The first experience of applying Latin letters to the Somali language dates back to 1897, when the missionaries published the book “Practical Grammar of the Somali Language” ^[1] . In it, the authors proposed the following alphabet: A a, B b, D d, Ḋ ḋ, E e, F f, G g, H h, Ḥ ḥ, Ḫ ḫ, K k, I i, J j, L l, M m, N n, O o, R r, S s, Sh sh, T t, U u, W w, Y y, ʻ ^[2] .

Later, other books were published on various versions of the Latin alphabet, however, these were mainly scientific works of foreign authors. An attempt by the authorities of British Somalia to introduce in 1938 the study of the Latin script in one of the schools led to riots by adherents of the Arabic script. In Italian Somalia , where Arabic writing was not widespread, the introduction of Latin writing was more successful. In 1956, the book Hikmad Soomaali ^[1] was printed in Latin script. In this edition, the alphabet looked like this: A a, Ą ą, B b, C c, D d, Ɖ ɖ, E e, Ę ę, F f, G g, H h, Ħ ħ, I i, Į į, J j, K k, Kh kh, L l, M m, N n, O o, Ǫ ǫ, Q q, R r, S s, Sh sh, T t, U u, Ų ų, W w, Y y, ʾ ^[3] . Soon, the Latin alphabet began to appear in the media - in 1957, it printed a Somali page in the Italian-language newspaper Corriere della Somalia ^[4] . A slightly modified version of this alphabet was used in 1960 in the book Afkayaga Hoyo published in Mogadishu ^[3] .

In 1960, British and Italian Somalia gained independence and merged into one state . In this regard, the question arose of the need to create a unified spelling and writing of the Somali language ^[1] . A year later, a special commission on the Somali language established that 18 different graphic systems were used in the country ^[5] . In 1965, a new version of Latin writing, generally not very different from the previous ones, was proposed by Shire Jama Ahmed . This option was approved a year later by the UNESCO Commission ^{[3] [4]} . After the 1969 coup, the issue of a single spelling was again raised at the state level. Finally, in 1972, the Somali alphabet based on Latin graphics was approved as official. This version of the letter continues to function today, and is currently the only used type of writing for the Somali language ^[4] .

The modern Somali alphabet looks like this ^[6] :

Table of discrepancies in the styles of Latin alphabets ^[3] :

Attempts to adapt Arabic script to the Somali language have been made since the 19th century. Among the authors of such projects are known J.S. King, Uvais al-Baravi and Muhammad Abdi-Makahil. The latter published the first Somali book in Arabic in the 1930s. For the transmission of consonants, the standard Arabic alphabet was used in it, and for the transmission of vowels, the letters ا, و, ى with various diacritical signs ^{[1] [3]} .

In 1954, Musa Haji Ismail Galal published in the London journal The Islamic Quarterly a series of Somali texts using his version of the Arabic script. The designations of consonants were standard, and to designate vowels, he invented his own characters, different from the characters of Arabic writing ^[3] .

Another version of the Arabic letter for the Somali language in 1963 was proposed by Ibrahim Hashi Mahmoud. This option was generally similar to that of al-Baravi, although it had some differences ^[3] . Two more alphabets in Arabic graphic form were proposed for consideration by the Somali language commission in 1960. They did not have significant differences from the above alphabets; the differences were mainly in the method of recording vowels ^[5] . After the official introduction of the Latin script, the Arabic script became obsolete ^[4] .

Differences in Arabic alphabets for the Somali language ^[3]

At the beginning of the 20th century, an original alphabetical letter was invented in Somalia, called Ismania ( Ottomania ). Its author was Isman-Yusuf , son of Sultan Hobyo . The alphabet developed in 1920-1922 graphically had traces of the influence of the Latin alphabet, Arabic and, possibly, Ethiopian writing. From the Latin letter, the author borrowed the direction of the letter (from left to right) and individual signs for vowels; from Arabic letters - the order of letters ^[7] .

Initially, ismania was used only in private correspondence within the clan to which its inventor belonged. In 1945, the first Somali national party, the Somali Youth League, was formed in Mogdaisho. The League in its program proclaimed Somali as the official language of the future independent Somalia, and recognized ismania as an official letter. In Mogdaisho and other cities of Somalia (as well as beyond its borders - in Ethiopia , Kenya , Zanzibar and Yemen ) schools were opened where this letter was taught ^[4] .

At the same time, the alphabet of ismania was reformed. The author of the reform is Yasin-Isman, the son of Isman-Yusuf. During the reform, the style of the letters was changed, which outwardly brought them closer to European italics, the principle of writing long vowels was changed ^[7] . The Society of Somali Language and Literature founded by Yasin-Isman in 1949 was engaged in the further promotion of Ismania as a general Somali writing. In 1957, the Sahan newspaper began to appear in Ismania. In 1971, the textbook “ 𐒖𐒍𐒏𐒜𐒒𐒒𐒖 𐒘𐒕𐒙 𐒍𐒖𐒇𐒂𐒕𐒈𐒖 ” ( Our language and its written language ) was published in Ismania, but already in 1972 the Latin alphabet became the official written language of the Somali language, and Ismania gradually became obsolete ^[4] .

The letter Boram (also known as the letter Gadabursi ) was invented around 1933. Its author was Abdurahman Sheikh Nur . The first name this letter received in the city of Boram , next to which it was invented, and the second - according to the Somali clan of gadabursi , to which its creator belonged. The letter was an alphabet with signs for both consonants and vowels. It was recorded from left to right. This writing was not widespread and was used only by the author and his inner circle ^[4] . The texts on the Boram / Gadabursi letter with Latin transcription were published in 1958 in the journal of the University of London ^[8] .

Another script for the Somali language, Qaddara , was invented around 1952. Its author was Hussein Sheikh Ahmed Qaddare from the city of Adale . The letter was an alphabet with signs for both consonants and vowels. It was recorded from left to right. Information on the functioning of writing has been extremely scarce. It is known that two styles were developed - “printed” and italic ^[4] . The Qaddara alphabet was recommended by the 1960 commission for use as official Somali writing, but was not further developed ^[5] .

The correspondence of the letters of the letters Boram and Qaddar to the Latin and other Somali alphabets is published in the book “Sprache und Staat. Sprachpolitic in Somalia ” ^[9] .

In addition to the above alphabets, in 1928-1961 another 8 original versions of the Somali language were created. They did not receive any noticeable distribution ^[5] .

Compiled by: ^{[3] [4]}