How can I get better at Somali without going to Somalia?

[Qeelbax]

I speak somali decently. I’m not a hooyo mataalo


but if I’m told to read a government paper or a poem I’m fucked

This is a thread for those who want to improve their Somali while living in the Qurbaha. Drop any resource’s y’all have here.
Are there any intermediate or advanced Somali classes? I know multiple universities and colleges in Minnesota have at least beginner classes.

 

[Dima&Damo]

Buy the kacaan books

 

[TheProfessor]

I speak somali decently. I’m not a hooyo mataalo


but if I’m told to read a government paper or a poem I’m fucked

This is a thread for those who want to improve their Somali while living in the Qurbaha. Drop any resource’s y’all have here.
Are there any intermediate or advanced Somali classes? I know multiple universities and colleges in Minnesota have at least beginner classes.

 

[Somali Saayid]

This is me wallahi, I can read headlines for news and a regular conversation but governmental papers, poems, people talking about Somali politics in af somali all of that shit my brain can't handle it.

 

[Somali Saayid]

Buy the kacaan books

View attachment 254897

Where do I find them?

 

[Bundasliga]

Listening to Somali people talking . Podcasts, interviews, TV debates etc.
That's how you practice understanding the best imo .

I don't know about speaking . Maybe talk with your parents and tell them to correct your mistakes .

 

[El Nino]

Listen to more somali and try to speak somali as much as possible. That means converse in somali only to your parents, siblings and somali friends. Biggest problems reer diaspora have is their lack of vocabulary, try to buy a somali-english dictionary to expand your vocabulary. Also ask your parents, adeers, aunts etc the meaning of words. This is what you can do.

 

[Kalsoon]

Listen to more somali and try to speak somali as much as possible. That means converse in somali only to your parents, siblings and somali friends. Biggest problems reer diaspora have is their lack of vocabulary, try to buy a somali-english dictionary to expand your vocabulary. Also ask your parents, adeers, aunts etc the meaning of words. This is what you can do.

I agree. I listened to a lot of news and poetry to expand my lexicon when I was younger. I went from not understand Somali lectures (sounded like gibberish tbh) and not being able to speak full sentences in Somali to speaking it without an accent or any weird pauses to say words properly. Listen to the enunciation of words when you want to learn how to say the word correctly. It helps to write new words down for yourself and look them up with a good Somali dictionary. It’s like when you learn a new word in English. You keep it in your memory until you have a reason to use it which helps it stay in your mind.

 

[Kalsoon]

Start a Somali club at your uni. You’ll find people who have the same goals as you so you can practice and grow together.

 

[DubatDiaries]

This is me everytime I read Somali gabey. All my claims about knowing Somali fly out the window.

I have to read that shit out…with my finger on the letters like I’m in kindergarten

 

[Dima&Damo]

Read some books amazon have some i'm sure the poetry stuff i don 't get in somali the rest i'm practising

 

[backgroundISneeded]

I speak somali decently. I’m not a hooyo mataalo


but if I’m told to read a government paper or a poem I’m fucked

This is a thread for those who want to improve their Somali while living in the Qurbaha. Drop any resource’s y’all have here.
Are there any intermediate or advanced Somali classes? I know multiple universities and colleges in Minnesota have at least beginner classes.

- watch dubbed afsoomaali Bollywood movies or Somali sketch comedies on YouTube.
- watch Somali YouTubers (afsoomaali side) avoid English side
- watch Somali religious videos. Maybe take a lesson of tafsiir by Sheekh Maxamed Dirir, Umal etc.
- Have Somali friends
- Go to Somali speaking mosques
- join Somali community groups ( health, education, etc )
- challenge yourself - speak only afsoomaali for a week, months etc
- read Somali poems ( even fluent speakers think it is hard) it is will be challenging. Just never give up.
- read Somali books from Amazon. Many Somali authors are publishing on Amazons.
- watch bbc news, or other news channels
-watch Somali songs lyrics
- play football (soccer ) with Somalis. ( very challenging)
- go to wedding ( wedding crush )
- read grammar books
- volunteer Somali schools
- go to Dugsi Quraan (Somali ones )
- go to Somali restaurants and coffee shops and debate them about qabiils ( it is ok your intentions is to learn afsoomaali, so it is not sin)
- make a TikTok, YouTube channels and discussion about Somali language.
- I ran out of ideas please keep adding it .

 

[Som]

Institutional Somali from the TV is way easier than poems, listen to BBC in Somali and watch Somali national TV, many of the words they use are common and you can easily translate them with Google . Poetic Somali tricky though, it's a very high standard way of speaking and you won't be able to find online translation, you need to listen to songs and ask your parents.

 

[Som]

Where do I find them?

The university of Rome has this huge archive of stuff on somalia in somali, English and Italian. You can find many textbooks used in pre civil war Somali schools. For example this is a history book for primary school students

https://arcadia.sba.uniroma3.it/handle/2307/882

 

[Som]

Also stop using English with your parents, speak Somali all the time. From what you say you already know the language to some extent, you just need to practice it.

 

[Som]

For reading go to the BBC Somali website, it's written in a very standard somali and if use Google you can get an almost perfect translation in English for the parts you don't understand. Wallahi Google is scary as f*ck, they know are language

 

[Keep it a boqol]

Lmao this is me. I remember trying to listen to BBC Somalia in the background. It’s so fast, formal and complicated

 

[TekNiKo]

Honestly never, only when you go back too Somalia and face the pains of being laughed at and corrected will you learn. Diaspora learning is capped at reading and writing. Speaking fluently is near impossible without going back

 

[Qeelbax]

watch dubbed afsoomaali Bollywood movies or Somali sketch comedies on YouTube.

Anything but this. If this is my only option then f*ck learning somali

 

[Qeelbax]

Start a Somali club at your uni. You’ll find people who have the same goals as you so you can practice and grow together.

There’s probably less than 5 somalis at my school