Somali language
Somali (/səˈmɑːli, soʊ-/ sə-MAH-lee, soh-; Latin script: Af-Soomaali; Wadaad: اَف سٝومالِ; Osmanya: 𐒖𐒍 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘 [æ̀f sɔ̀ːmɑ́ːlì]) is an Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic branch. It is spoken as a mother tongue by Somalis in Greater Somalia and the Somali diaspora. Somali is an official language in Somalia and Ethiopia, and a national language in Djibouti as well as in northeastern Kenya. The Somali language is written officially with the Latin alphabet although the Arabic alphabet and several Somali scripts like Osmanya, Kaddare and the Borama script are informally used.
| Somali | |
|---|---|
| Af Soomaali, Soomaali 𐒖𐒍 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘, 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘 اَف سٝومالِ, سٝومالِ, | |
| Region | Horn of Africa |
| Ethnicity | Somalis |
Native speakers | 22 million (2019) |
| Dialects | Northern Somali Benadiri Maay Ashraf |
| Somali Latin alphabet (Latin script; official) Wadaad's writing (Arabic script) Osmanya alphabet Borama alphabet Kaddare alphabet | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Somalia Somaliland Djibouti Ethiopia |
Recognised minority language in | |
| Regulated by | Regional Somali Language Academy |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | so |
| ISO 639-2 | som |
| ISO 639-3 | som |
| Glottolog | soma1255 |
| Linguasphere | 14-GAG-a |
Primary Somali Sprachraum | |
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