Yes big mistake. I think now the constitution says both Maay and maxaa are official. I honestly think though maay is a separate language with it's own dignity and should be considered a dialect of Somali
Southwest is joining the fight.
- Thread starter Nomadic lord
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There is a big debate whether Af Maay is a language and a dialect. There is some angles where Af maay could be seen as an language because of it not being mutually understandable by somalis from the north. But at another angle an Af Maxaa speaker could probably learn Af maay just by learning the differences in a pretty short time.
I've listened to af maay and it sounds like a completely different language for ever 10-20 words spoken I could only decipher 1-2 af maxa words I think it's should be considered a separate language
It has different dialects itselfThere is a big debate if it is a language or not. The reason people say it is a language is because if I went to hargeisa or bossasso and spoke Maay most people wouldnt understand and think im speaking oromo language.I've listened to af maay and it sounds like a completely different language for ever 10-20 words spoken I could only decipher 1-2 af maxa words I think it's should be considered a separate language
The reason why people say it is a dialect is because if you learn some of the grammar rules you can understand it in a short piece of time. For example in Af maay there is no xaa or cayn so "maxaa tiri" Becomes May tiri and "maxaa cuntay" Becomes "may aamti". If you learn those rules it becomes easy to understand.
True but you could say an Italian can easily learn Spanish or french and a Swede can easily learn Danish or Norwegian for the same reason.
Somali is a language family that includes maxaa tiri , Maay , Garre, Jiddu etc. They are now referred as "Somali languages" kinda like Chinese languages is used to refer to mandarin and Cantonese
Actually knowledge of classical unarabized af somali (maxaa) can help you understand Maay a bit better. Some of the word they use are pure Somali while we maxaa speakers switched to Arabic terms for some words.I've listened to af maay and it sounds like a completely different language for ever 10-20 words spoken I could only decipher 1-2 af maxa words I think it's should be considered a separate language
I don't even know what to consider it at that point but if it's as easy as you make it seem then it should most likely be considered a dalect
How long would it take roughly to learn maay?
I think that understanding it isn't that hard once you learn how the language works. Speaking it though seems harder. Unfortunately not many maxaa speakers learn Maay except those clans who live close or with the Rx. I believe Hassan Adan Samatar (great Somali singer who sang both in Maay and maxaa) was Hawiye but being from Baydhabo he was fluent in maay
Your absolutely right learning how to speak af maay will take longer as opposed to understanding because to actually speak you need practice. You need to have someone to conversate with whereas with understanding you can simply listen to Maay music/videos and pick up on understanding.
The great singer of Maay and Maxaa Hassan aden samatar (Hassan Eething Samatar) was born in Diinsoor. He is Hawiye Ceyr but his mums side of the family is Raxanweyn. He is actually a legend.
In one of his interviews he said he enjoys singing in Maay over Maxaa and that Maay is the dialect he connects best with when singing. He is a big legend even in the Maay community with his hits Huburow and Hakaba banaanshe.
It depends. Maybe a week to a month of learning the differences and listening to the language being spoken. Speaking would take longer because you would have to be around an environment where the language is being spoken. Some people learn through their Wife/Husband who speaks the language.
