People from Bosaso, Hargeysa and Qabridahar can easily understand people in Mudug/Bari/most of the Hawiye heartlands, basically any where af maxa tiri is spoken. Abgaal dialects are easily accessible to a waqooyi speaker. Edna specified Djibouti, Dir Isaaq dialects and the Ethiopia Somali region because she is too embarrassed to admit that there is Little linguistic, cultural or genetic difference between a boy in Burco and one residing in Garowe.
Most people from Northern Somalia would easily understand someone from Kismaayo, as the majority are Af Maxa Tiri speakers. Reer Xamar is a little hard due to how they speak, but most fluent Waqooyi speakers can understand unless they are pretending for political reasons.
Most Maay speakers understand Maxa Tiri as itβs the official and biggest language in Somalia. You will not need a translator unless one travels deep into the countryside.
Bajuun and possibly even Barawani will be become extinct in the future. Most Bantus speak aF maay. Thus, in reality there are only 2-3 languages in the whole of the Somali peninsula;that is, if you are counting Garre/Tunni as a separate languages from Maay. If not, there are only two main languages/dialects from the tip of Djibouti to Ethiopia to Northern Kenya.
Culturally, Somalia is also one of the most homogenous places on earth, albeit with some differences, which is normal in a large country. Most Somalis, including Barwanis/Reer Xamars and Somali Bantus btw- follow the Shafici Madhab. These minorities have absorbed many aspects of Somali culture. Af Maay speakers are all culturally Somali. yes, there are differences, but who even said there has to be 100% homogeneity for a modern state to exist? None of those minorities she mentioned are agitating to separate from Somalia nor do they deny their heritage and their role in Somali history.
The desire for βSomaliland to separateβ has never been about culture or language as the separatists would have us believe. Folks in Hargeysa do not have a completely different culture or language to those in Bosaso. Dhulbahante nor Warsengali see themselves as Somailanders and they do not believe Majerteen tribesmen inhabit a separate country due to Italian/British divide. Such beliefs are largely driven by the political and tribal grievances of the Isaaq clan; it has nothing to with languages or cultures. What Edna forget to mention was that βSouthern Italianaβ folks were some of the biggest supporters of SNM whereas the neighbouring Harti/Ogaden, who literally have the same camel culture as Isaaq, opposed SNM. The Dirs deep in Southern Somalia supported the SNM.