This is a good video on Youtube that explains how to ask people's names. I put this video up so you can get a feel for the sounds of Somali. Pay attention to the pronunciation.
Note : The word 'inan' can mean either 'young boy' or 'young girl'. Somali is a tonal language like Swedish or Mandarin. So, the same word can have a different meaning based on the way the tones of the syllables are pronouned. When you say 'inan' with a rising intonation, it means 'young girl'; with a falling intonation it means 'young boy'. Another way of knowing the difference is by looking at the definite article. To say 'the young boy' is 'inanka', to say 'the young girl' is 'inanta'.
'Inankana magaciis?' means 'And what is his name?'. The suffix 'na' here means 'and'. You put it at the end of the noun that you are referring to. So if you see a man together with a boy, you might ask the man first 'Magacaa?' or 'Magacaagu muxuu yahay?' (What is your name?) and then after 'Inankana magaciis?' (And what is the boy's name?) . I will review this more fully in a later post.
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