Benadiri Somali

Summary

Benadiri Somali, also referred to as "Coastal Somali" (Somali: Af Reer Xamar), is a dialect of the Somali language. It is primarily spoken by the Benadiri people, who inhabit the southern Banaadir coast of Somalia.[2]

Benaadir
Af Reer Xamar
Native toSomalia
RegionBenadir coast
EthnicityBenadiri
Native speakers
(undated figure of 1.6 million)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottologbena1268

Overview edit

Benadiri Somali is spoken on the Benadir coast, from Adale to south of Merca including Mogadishu, as well as in the immediate hinterland. The coastal dialects have additional phonemes that do not exist in Standard Somali.[3]

Benadiri Somali is also referred to as Coastal Somali or Af-Reer Xamar ("Language of the People of Hamar").

Varieties edit

Blench (2006) structures the dialect into three general subdivisions:[4]

Notes edit

  1. ^ "Somali-English Language Pair Interpreter". Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  2. ^ Benadiri Somali reference at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
  3. ^ Andrew Dalby (1998) Dictionary of languages: the definitive reference to more than 400 languages, Columbia University Press, p. 571, ISBN 0-7136-7841-0.
  4. ^ Blench, 2006. The Afro-Asiatic Languages: Classification and Reference List (ms)

References edit

  • ALSintl - Somali language