Somali

Also known as so, Af Soomaali, Somali, Somali language

Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch

AI overview

Somali is a language spoken primarily in Somalia and surrounding regions in the Horn of Africa, and it belongs to the Cushitic branch of the larger Afroasiatic language family. It matters because it is the primary language of millions of people in the region and serves as an important marker of cultural and ethnic identity for Somali-speaking communities.

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Wikidata facts

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Commons category: Somali language
Wikimedia language code: so
native label: 𐒖𐒍 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘
number of speakers, writers, or signers: 16200000
exact match: publications.europa.eu/resource/authority/language/SOM
short name: самалійская
P10369: PHP
P11012: 1975 Uber Cup
entry in abbreviations table: сомал.

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Article

Somali (/səˈmɑːli, soʊ-/ sə-MAH-lee, soh-; Latin script: Af Soomaali; Wadaad: اف صومالِ‎; Osmanya: 𐒖𐒍 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘 [af soːmaːli]) is an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch. Somali is spoken primarily in Greater Somalia, and the Somali diaspora as a mother tongue. It is an official language in Somalia and Ethiopia, and serves as a national language in Djibouti. It is also a recognised minority language in Kenya. The language is officially written with the Latin alphabet, although the Arabic script and several Somali scripts like Osmanya, Kaddare and the Borama script are informally used.

Classification