Limited Resources for Learning SomaliI have never studied the Somali language and I do not have any intention of ever doing so. Nevertheless, I have noticed that, over the years, a few members have mentioned the Somali language in their logs and elsewhere in the LLORG and in the HTLAL. I conducted a quick search of both language forums and, apart from a number of passing comments, there does not seem to be a discussion of resources for Somali. While I would imagine that you have already conducted exhaustive searches of the Internet, I have listed a few resources below for archiving purposes. If you were to work through the
Routledge Colloquial course and the
DLI GLOSS files, this might be sufficient preparation for working with an expatriate Somali on a private tutoring basis. Here goes:
Somali Language – Wikipediahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somali_languageGlossika Somali FilesIt would appear that Glossika has (will have) files for practicing the Somali language. However, gaining access to them means accepting the new fee structure.
FSI / DLI / Peace CorpsI have not come across any Somali courses amongst the FSI, DLI, Peace Corps files on Ericounet’s FSI-Language-Courses website. I would assume that these organisations have updated language courses; however, accessing them would require special authorisation.
DLI GLOSS SomaliThe DLI GLOSS website contains exercise sets for practicing Somali.
https://gloss.dliflc.edu/Default.aspxOnline Phrase Book materialsA search of the Internet yields the usual fare:
ilanguages, learn101, memrise, mylanguageexchange, duolingo, digital dialects, and the like. It would appear that
Language Transfer has the intention of developing a course, but it is not yet available.
Somali Grammar Revision, by Liban A Ahmandhttps://www.amazon.com/Somali-Grammar-Revision-Liban-Ahmad/dp/148178174XAlthough, at 138 pages, this is a rather slim volume, it has the virtue of being quite recent. The author is a teacher of the language. While there is presently only one review of this grammar on Amazon, I greatly appreciated the customer’s comments including their recommendation of:
"A dictionary of Somali verbs in everyday contexts"(5 stars) An amazing addition to Colloquial somali – H. Forisz – March 2013
I must admit to reading this book with relish - If you can imagine anyone reading a grammar book in that way that is! Having studied Mr Orwin's book "colloquial Somali" at length, it left me with many questions like: how do I say this or how do I say that? Thankfully Mr Ahmad has written one of the few books around for those actually learning Somali. Many books were written either a century ago or are written for the Somali student of English. This is a welcome book for those who have acquired a certain level in Somali. I would say that it is aimed at the intermediate and above student of Somali, but is an invaluable accompaniment to Colloquial Somali. I would also recommend Mr Ahmad's book "A dictionary of Somali verbs in everyday contexts" - this can be understood by beginners as well as those more advanced. Mr Ahmad, please continue to write this kind of book, because even though you may have a small audience, as per say a novelist, We are waiting with breaths held for more instruction on how to learn, speak and understand Somali.A dictionary of Somali verbs in everyday contexts, by Liban A Ahmandhttps://www.amazon.ca/Dictionary-Somali-Verbs-Everyday-Contexts/dp/1467881376(5 stars) Great for language enhancement - Nate - July 2017
I'm a native English speaker with short background in Somali language. This book is exactly what I expected. If you already have a foundation in Somali and are looking for language enhancement, then this is an excellent choice. It has a very expansive list of Somali verbs and different contexts you may see them in - for example the Somali verb "dhac" has several meanings depending on the surrounding context, and this book elaborates on those meanings . This book will not teach you basic Somali language.Routledge’s Colloquial Somali, by Martin Orwinhttps://www.amazon.com/Colloquial-Somali-Martin-Orwin/dp/1138949809/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1517851857&sr=8-1&keywords=somali#customerReviewshttp://www.routledgetextbooks.com/textbooks/colloquial/somali.phpAs you are most likely already aware, the audio recordings accompanying the course book are now freely available via Routledge’s website. Generally speaking, the Routledge’s Colloquial Series language courses provide a very basic introduction to the target language through a series of situational dialogues. The aim is to meet the immediate needs of a short-term visitor to a region where the L2 predominates: arrival at the airport, negotiating a taxi or car rental, arrival at the hotel, introductions, ordering in cafés and restaurants, organising excursions, minor medical matters, and the like; that is, get in, enjoy your visit, get out. The presentation of a few cultural aspects and the explanation of some basic grammatical concepts support the dialogues. Overall, these materials tend to be expanded phrase-book-style courses with the potential taking a determined user to the A1+ level. The only complaint that I have with this series is the unnecessary inclusion of English explanations and instructions in the audio recordings which take up far too much time of the precious two hours of sound files. The reviews on Amazon of this introduction to the Somali language are uniformly positive, which is rather unusual. Although most of them are terse thumbs up expressions of appreciation, the following caught my eye:
(5 stars) fascinating – Michelle Schumacher – May 2010
If you're trying to learn Somali, this is one of the best books that you can find. It's one of the few English-language books that goes into depth about Somali grammar (such as conjugating verbs and proper syntax). As the Somali communities grow in places like the UK and US, hopefully someone will write a more advanced textbook. You will need a dictionary to go along with this book as the glossary is small. Additionally, it is EXTREMELY important to practice speaking with native Somali speakers and learn words and phrases from them. Somali is very much an oral language. Its spelling is also highly phonetic and, in my experience, the language is not particularly difficult to learn as long as you spend some time studying and practice with native speakers. I work with many Somali clients and have several Somali coworkers. In my experience, most Somalis are very helpful toward people trying to learn their language and are understanding if you have trouble pronouncing things correctly. Most Somalis will be presently surprised if a non-Somali person can great them with "Iska Warran?" ("What's the news?") or "Sidee ta haay?" ("How are you?") as few people try and learn anything in their language.
(5 stars) A Good Introduction to Somali – perekladach – May 2009
Somali is a language with many features that will seem exotic to most English speaking learners. Accents are based on pitch (rather than stress) and the placement of the pitch accent often determines the gender of the noun. In addition, nouns can flip genders when they are put into the plural. We're definitely not in Kansas any more. That being said, this is an extremely user-friendly approach to a formidably difficult language. The explanations of the most unfamiliar grammar are very clear and easy to follow. The exercises, which in the beginning lessons are not too difficult, get more challenging as the course goes on, but always remain close to the material already presented.The dialogues start out pretty formlaically- there's a lot of "How are you?" "Come in!" "How's the family?", but they gradually get more interesting, as they follow an English teacher's journey to the Horn of Africa, where he eventually takes up his duties in a Somali town. Do get the CDs, though- a student who knows Arabic would probably find the sounds of Somali pretty familiar, but the stress-tone patterns are likely to be very different and unfamiliar and without a lot of practice it would be difficult to reproduce them acceptably. The author is, incidentally, a scholar of Somali poetry; his website is also worth checking out.EDITED:
Tinkering (OCD)