Waa buug. It is a book
koob cup
sac cow
libaax lion
guri house
suuq market
shimbir bird
You use 'waa' to say 'It is'.
Sunday, 30 January 2011
The tough letters
Somali shares most of its letters with Arabic; if you can pronounce Arabic characters, you should be able to pronounce Somali ones without difficulty.The tough letters to pronounce are 'c', 'q', 'x', 'kh', 'dh'. 'c' corresponds to the Arabic letter ع , 'q' toق'x' to خ to 'kh' ح
Use the video above to get a feel for the sounds of the letters. (Note: the sound 'kh' was not pronounced correctly)
Friday, 28 January 2011
Elongated and short vowels
Many words in Somali have elongated (long) vowels. English words have them also (e.g. the long 'a' sound in 'bath'), but in Somali elongated vowels are represented by an extra letter. Hence,
'a' (short vowel) : 'aa'( elongated vowel)
'e' (short vowel) : 'ee'( elongated vowel; like the 'ee' sound in 'bear')
'i' (short vowel) : 'ii'( elongated vowel)
'o' (short vowel) : 'oo'( elongated vowel; like the 'o' sound in 'door' )
'u' (short vowel) : 'uu'( elongated vowel; like the 'u' sound in 'food')
Above is a good video that shows the difference between long and short vowels. Short vowels in Somali is 'Shaqal gaab', long vowels are 'Shaqal dheer'.
'a' (short vowel) : 'aa'( elongated vowel)
'e' (short vowel) : 'ee'( elongated vowel; like the 'ee' sound in 'bear')
'i' (short vowel) : 'ii'( elongated vowel)
'o' (short vowel) : 'oo'( elongated vowel; like the 'o' sound in 'door' )
'u' (short vowel) : 'uu'( elongated vowel; like the 'u' sound in 'food')
Above is a good video that shows the difference between long and short vowels. Short vowels in Somali is 'Shaqal gaab', long vowels are 'Shaqal dheer'.
Monday, 24 January 2011
How to say hello
Ma nabad baa? - How are you? (lit. 'Is it peace?')
Waa nabad. - I'm fine (lit.'It is peace.')
Maxaad sheegtay? - How are things? (lit.'What did you say?')
Waa nabad. - I'm fine (lit.'It is peace.')
Maxaad sheegtay? - How are things? (lit.'What did you say?')
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