Af-Maay is it a language?

[SOMALI GENERAL]

It's a different language, a completely separate language. Both sides fail to understand each other fully so how can you pass it off as a dialect?

Same thing with Spanish & Portuguese. Highly similar/intelligible & yet speakers of both languages still fail to understand each other fully when conversing & wouldn't flow smoothly.

 

[Reformed J]

Yes, it's a separate east omo-tana (Somaloid) language like Garre, Tunni and Rendille

 

[Gabz19988]

Most maay speakers can understand maxa tiri. I think this is the case even if without exposure to the predominately maxa tiri tv radio etc. There are different maay dialects, some I can understand Most , some I have absolutely no clue what they’re saying

 

[Misil]

Most maay speakers can understand maxa tiri. I think this is the case even if without exposure to the predominately maxa tiri tv radio etc. There are different maay dialects, some I can understand Most , some I have absolutely no clue what they’re saying

Not true at all. The ones that do understand Maxa are a small minority. Go to places like Tiyeglow or Qasadhere and speak that language. You will get blank faces from most folk or you'll get laughed at. Even most of reer Baidoa can't understand Maxa forget the other cities and baadiyo.

 

[Removed]

It's a different language, a completely separate language. Both sides fail to understand each other fully so how can you pass it off as a dialect?

The vocabulary is by and large the same I cant understand this guy... and hes speaking english allegedly. Its the same words just rearranged and said with an accent at high tempo. Everyone here understands once they watch that second video.

 

[Misil]

The vocabulary is by and large the same I cant understand this guy... and hes speaking english allegedly. Its the same words just rearranged and said with an accent at high tempo. Everyone here understands once they watch that second video.

Interesting, I guess with Maay it's the different accent, different vocabulary, different word arrangement, different grammar and so on.

On a side note, just imagine how ruthless the English were in their colonialism of Ireland. They've got farmers speaking their language. Fucked up when you deep it man. How did this happen? I can understand cities/towns picking up English but out far away in the countryside? Feel sorry for the Irish, I really do.

 

[repo]

@Removed the fact that you need subtitles to understand tells you it's a different language.

 

[strawberrii]

Even linguists don’t know the difference between dialects and accents.

Dialect - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Farabuuto]

All I know is that af Maymay is its own language and definitely not a dialect.

 

[Farabuuto]

Did it come from Bantus?

 

[SOMALI GENERAL]

Did it come from Bantus?

No, it's part of the Somali language family.

 

[Sleepy Hollow]

Tldr: Depends on politics

Linguistics has historically been the most accurate and politicised field of study when it comes to human migrations, relations and local/regional dynamics. Sometimes accurate predicitions and analysis often get shut down due to it invalidating some nationalist myth that a nation-state and/or ethnicity is based on. When it comes to incidences like Af Maxaa and Af Maay who are clearly related yet speakers of both languages have a tough time understanding each other than usually they get declared different languages who are related under a larger language sub-category (e.g. Semitic then Arab underneath it) but nationalist politics may see that get suppressed and we'll have it be classfied as a dialect. Chinese languages generally lack mutual intelligibility yet are classified as one language, contrast that with Scandi languages and Spanish and Portugese which have varying degrees og mutal intelligibility yet considered different languages. It all boils down to if your a nation state whether or not a language becomes a dialect or vice versa.

 

[SOMALI GENERAL]

Tldr: Depends on politics

Linguistics has historically been the most accurate and politicised field of study when it comes to human migrations, relations and local/regional dynamics. Sometimes accurate predicitions and analysis often get shut down due to it invalidating some nationalist myth that a nation-state and/or ethnicity is based on. When it comes to incidences like Af Maxaa and Af Maay who are clearly related yet speakers of both languages have a tough time understanding each other than usually they get declared different languages who are related under a larger language sub-category (e.g. Semitic then Arab underneath it) but nationalist politics may see that get suppressed and we'll have it be classfied as a dialect. Chinese languages generally lack mutual intelligibility yet are classified as one language, contrast that with Scandi languages and Spanish and Portugese which have varying degrees og mutal intelligibility yet considered different languages. It all boils down to if your a nation state whether or not a language becomes a dialect or vice versa.

Good point you raised there, many languages are definitely politicised to an extent. Another good example would be the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian(and a few others) "languages" being deemed as separate languages for political reasons when in reality there is only one Yugoslavian Language.

I remember some Croatian dude demanding that he get a translator when he was in a Serbian court even though he knew exactly what the Serbians were saying. The lengths these Yugoslavian people take to try and differentiate themselves is ridiculous wallah.

 

[Sleepy Hollow]

Good point you raised there, many languages are definitely politicised to an extent. Another good example would be the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian(and a few others) "languages" being deemed as separate languages for political reasons when in reality there is only one Yugoslavian Language.

I remember some Croatian dude demanding that he get a translator when he was in a Serbian court even though he knew exactly what the Serbians were saying. The lengths these Yugoslavian people take to try and differentiate themselves is ridiculous wallah.

These Slavs and their hatred for one another is the stuff of legends, not an ounce of botherly love even exists amongst it's people

 

[Ace the shank]

ethnic somalis have himyarite and sabean blood in them wether you like it or not we fucked their women

 

[Ferrari]

I used to say it is a somali language, but it ain't.

they even enunciate some of their words like the Oromo do.