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Somali language facts for kids

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Somali
Af-Soomaali
اللغة الصومالية
Native to Somalia (and Somaliland), Djibouti, Ethiopia, Yemen, Kenya
Region Horn of Africa
Native speakers 16.6 million  (2006)
Language family
Writing system
  • Latin (official)
  • Arabic (official)
  • Osmanya
  • Borama
  • Kaddare
Official status
Official language in  Somalia
Regulated by Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education
Somali map.jpg
Somali-speaking region
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Somali (Arabic: الصوماليه) is a Cushitic language. It is spoken by ethnic Somalis in Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Yemen and Kenya, as well as by the Somali diaspora around the world -- an estimated total population of between 10 and 16 million speakers.

The writing system of the Somali language has been Latin alphabet since 1960.


Images for kids

  • Distribution-of-Somali-dialectals

    Distribution of Somali dialectal groups in the Horn of Africa

  • Northern Somali Dialects

    Northern Somali (Nsom) dialect subgroups

  • Somlangbooks

    Somali language books on display.

  • Ciismaniya

    The Osmanya writing script for Somali.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Idioma somalí para niños

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