Adopting English as our second language in Somalia?

[Revolutionarry]

What do you guys think of adopting English as our a second language and dropping Arabic?

All of knowledge out there, specially in STEM(Science, Math, Engineering and Technology) is written and published in English. Instead of reinventing the wheel, wouldn't it make more sense to adopt English as a second main language, and teach it to children so that we can take advantage of this to expedite development. I imagine it would be harder to teach and explain stem subjects in Somali to Somali speaking people, rather than it is to teach in English to english speaking people because there's a word for all the symbols, formulas and other nomenclatures used.

Also by becoming a nation that speaks English fluently, we could train a lot of our people in particular fields and compete for work/jobs outsourced from the west like IT, and customer service.

Arabic clearly is useless, outside of religious contexts.

 

[Burqad]

What do you guys think of adopting English as our a second language and dropping Arabic?

All of knowledge out there, specially in STEM(Science, Math, Engineering and Technology) is written and published in English. Instead of reinventing the wheel, wouldn't it make more sense to adopt English as a second main language, and teach it to children so that we can take advantage of this to expedite development. I imagine it would be harder to teach and explain stem subjects in Somali to Somali speaking people, rather than it is to teach in English to english speaking people because there's a word for all the symbols, formulas and other nomenclatures used.

Also by becoming a nation that speaks English fluently, we could train a lot of our people in particular fields and compete for work/jobs outsourced from the west like IT, and customer service.

Arabic clearly is useless, outside of religious contexts.

the majority of our trade goes to Arabic speaking countries and we have a large arab minority + arabic was the lingua Franca of the old Somali empires.

 

[Revolutionarry]

the majority of our trade goes to Arabic speaking countries and we have a large arab minority + arabic was the lingua Franca of the old Somali empires.

I don't care about that. If you can build stuff, our economy won't need to rely on exporting goats and geel.

We need a work force trained in the STEMs, and all the books in stems are written in English.
Arabic language is useless for a country that wants to industrialize and modernize.

 

[Waterfox]

Prioritizing the promotion of Somali as our primary language is imperative. While acknowledging the prevalence of English in global discourse, adopting it as a national language right now may pose a risk to the integrity of our cultural heritage.

Our language is not just a means of communication; it is a vital component of our identity, reflecting our history, traditions, and values. Maintaining the richness of Somali language is crucial for our cultural identity.

Instead of embracing English, what if we prioritize promoting Somali and working on translating academic materials into Somali? This way, we can still access global knowledge while holding onto our cultural roots.

Let's not forget about our current literacy rate, we should focus on boosting Somali literacy before diving into English education. Your comment on Arabic being useless is laughable though I'll give you that

 

[Revolutionarry]

Prioritizing the promotion of Somali as our primary language is imperative. While acknowledging the prevalence of English in global discourse, adopting it as a national language right now may pose a risk to the integrity of our cultural heritage.

Our language is not just a means of communication; it is a vital component of our identity, reflecting our history, traditions, and values. Maintaining the richness of Somali language is crucial for our cultural identity.

Instead of embracing English, what if we prioritize promoting Somali and working on translating academic materials into Somali? This way, we can still access global knowledge while holding onto our cultural roots.

Let's not forget about our current literacy rate, we should focus on boosting Somali literacy before diving into English education. Your comment on Arabic being useless is laughable though I'll give you that

That's not a bad itself but how do we go about with the translation? At least 20% of our language already consists of borrowed words. So we'd have to remove that and fix that first. When we don't have a word for something, we borrow it. Unless the government can dispatch a team of qualified linguists to make up new words for everything we need, which I don't think it's simple. It's certainly doable, Israel did it in the 19th century when they revamped the Hebrew language by creating a bunch of new words from other semitic language roots like Arabic and Aramaic.

 

[Waterfox]

That's not a bad itself but how do we go about with the translation? At least 20% of our language already consists of borrowed words. So we'd have to remove that and fix that first. When we don't have a word for something, we borrow it. Unless the government can dispatch a team of qualified linguists to make up new words for everything we need, which I don't think it's simple. It's certainly doable, Israel did it in the 19th century when they revamped the Hebrew language by creating a bunch of new words from other semitic language roots like Arabic and Aramaic.

The process of language adaptation is indeed a significant undertaking. However, it's worth noting that countries facing similar challenges have employed creative solutions. France, for example, has the Académie Française, a body that manages the integration of foreign words into the French language.

In the case of Somalia, a similar approach could be considered. Establishing a language authority or linguistic committee, comprised of qualified linguists and experts, could be instrumental in systematically introducing and adapting new terms. This committee would play a role similar to the Académie Française, ensuring that the borrowed words align with the linguistic structure and cultural context of the Somali language.

If I am not mistaken, we had something similar in the 50s and 60s led by Galal before the adoption of the Latin Somali script. So, it's not really a new idea, per se, but it would help us a lot today. I don't think there are many loan words in Somalia; it's just that people don't know the right word in Somali and use whatever language they're comfortable with, substituting that word instead.

 

[Revolutionarry]

The process of language adaptation is indeed a significant undertaking. However, it's worth noting that countries facing similar challenges have employed creative solutions. France, for example, has the Académie Française, a body that manages the integration of foreign words into the French language.

In the case of Somalia, a similar approach could be considered. Establishing a language authority or linguistic committee, comprised of qualified linguists and experts, could be instrumental in systematically introducing and adapting new terms. This committee would play a role similar to the Académie Française, ensuring that the borrowed words align with the linguistic structure and cultural context of the Somali language.

If I am not mistaken, we had something similar in the 50s and 60s led by Galal before the adoption of the Latin Somali script. So, it's not really a new idea, per se, but it would help us a lot today. I don't think there are many loan words in Somalia; it's just that people don't know the right word in Somali and use whatever language they're comfortable with, substituting that word instead.

All the lone words usually describe objects/items/concepts that's unknown to us. For example how would you even go about creating a whole new words to describe basic mathematical concepts and formulas. It has to make sense, it has to roll of your tongue nicely and most importantly, it was to be easy to understand for children.

It's going to be challenging, but certainly doable like I said.

 

[Lahaine]

All three should be taught with somali and English being mandatory and Arabic optional for those who want to learn it.

 

[Macawisley]

Somali (Primary)

French, Arabic & English (Secondary)

 

[Dalac Bilaash]

What do you guys think of adopting English as our a second language and dropping Arabic?

All of knowledge out there, specially in STEM(Science, Math, Engineering and Technology) is written and published in English. Instead of reinventing the wheel, wouldn't it make more sense to adopt English as a second main language, and teach it to children so that we can take advantage of this to expedite development. I imagine it would be harder to teach and explain stem subjects in Somali to Somali speaking people, rather than it is to teach in English to english speaking people because there's a word for all the symbols, formulas and other nomenclatures used.

Also by becoming a nation that speaks English fluently, we could train a lot of our people in particular fields and compete for work/jobs outsourced from the west like IT, and customer service.

Arabic clearly is useless, outside of religious contexts.

Tbh English is already the most spoken language after Somali all of our education is written in English so the average kid who goes to school knows how to speak English but not Arabic

 

[Ximan iyo Xadeed]

at college level they're primarily taught in English.

We should look into hiring teachers from South Asia like India, i doubt it would cost much and it'd help improve the standards of education.

 

[Banadiri Warrior]

What do you guys think of adopting English as our a second language and dropping Arabic?

All of knowledge out there, specially in STEM(Science, Math, Engineering and Technology) is written and published in English. Instead of reinventing the wheel, wouldn't it make more sense to adopt English as a second main language, and teach it to children so that we can take advantage of this to expedite development. I imagine it would be harder to teach and explain stem subjects in Somali to Somali speaking people, rather than it is to teach in English to english speaking people because there's a word for all the symbols, formulas and other nomenclatures used.

Also by becoming a nation that speaks English fluently, we could train a lot of our people in particular fields and compete for work/jobs outsourced from the west like IT, and customer service.

Arabic clearly is useless, outside of religious contexts.

Fear Allah

 

[Banadiri Warrior]

All three should be taught with somali and English being mandatory and Arabic optional for those who want to learn it.

Arabic should be mandatory and English should be optional

 

[mohammdov]

All universities and most schools teach in English. English is used in education more than Somali

 

[Hybrid()]

Arabic isn't the second language anymore in somalia and somaliland. In primary and secondary schools in somaliland, students have only 1 Arabic course and 1 somali course while the information materials for the rest of courses (science,history, math etc..) are in English but explained by teachers in somali.
All the course materials in universities are in English. There are aslo some religious Arabic based schools called Machadka but they don't qualify as a real school. Somalia curriculum is also similar. A university student i met in istanbul who went to a public school in Mogadishu, baydhabo couldn't understand any Arabic.

 

[Burqad]

L

Arabic isn't the second language anymore in somalia and somaliland. In primary and secondary schools in somaliland, students have only 1 Arabic course and 1 somali course while the information materials for the rest of courses (science,history, math etc..) are in English but explained by teachers in somali.
All the course materials in universities are in English. There are aslo some religious Arabic based schools called Machadka but they don't qualify as a real school. Somalia curriculum is also similar. A university student i met in istanbul who went to a public school in Mogadishu, baydhabo couldn't understand any Arabic.

That’s stupid, they won’t be able to understand our heritage.

 

[Hybrid()]

L

That’s stupid, they won’t be able to understand our heritage.

I don't agree with you sxb

 

[FBIsomalia]

What do you guys think of adopting English as our a second language and dropping Arabic?

All of knowledge out there, specially in STEM(Science, Math, Engineering and Technology) is written and published in English. Instead of reinventing the wheel, wouldn't it make more sense to adopt English as a second main language, and teach it to children so that we can take advantage of this to expedite development. I imagine it would be harder to teach and explain stem subjects in Somali to Somali speaking people, rather than it is to teach in English to english speaking people because there's a word for all the symbols, formulas and other nomenclatures used.

Also by becoming a nation that speaks English fluently, we could train a lot of our people in particular fields and compete for work/jobs outsourced from the west like IT, and customer service.

Arabic clearly is useless, outside of religious contexts.

Arabic is afka Quran. We will keep it.

 

[Scipio Africanus]

Ya donkey what's up with the self-hate? Arabic is our beautiful language and is highly beneficial to connect with other Arab states for cross-cultural exchanges, tourism, business/trade etc.

Not to mention, Somalia has been a part of the Arab World for centuries. Why drop all of that rich heritage that's rooted in the Arabic language to become another English-speaking colony? All of those things you mentioned can be done in Arabic.

 

[Nin123]

What do you guys think of adopting English as our a second language and dropping Arabic?

All of knowledge out there, specially in STEM(Science, Math, Engineering and Technology) is written and published in English. Instead of reinventing the wheel, wouldn't it make more sense to adopt English as a second main language, and teach it to children so that we can take advantage of this to expedite development. I imagine it would be harder to teach and explain stem subjects in Somali to Somali speaking people, rather than it is to teach in English to english speaking people because there's a word for all the symbols, formulas and other nomenclatures used.

Also by becoming a nation that speaks English fluently, we could train a lot of our people in particular fields and compete for work/jobs outsourced from the west like IT, and customer service.

Arabic clearly is useless, outside of religious contexts.

Learning English will open for trillions dollars door. You can do business every where