Who here actually speaks Arabic?

[Apollo]

Since people claim many Somalis speak Arabic, who here actually speaks Arabic?

@government

 

[Abdirazack]

Since people claim many Somalis speak Arabic, who here actually speaks Arabic?

@government

I know some arabic but forgot most of it

 

[Poets]

From what I've seen, most Somalis do not speak Arabic but they understand it because of their islamic upbringing. This of course only applies to those back home. I can understand most accents, but I can only speak Standard Arabic aka Fusxa. Not as fluent as a native. More like how a Scandinavian speaks English.

 

[Abdirazack]

From what I've seen, most Somalis do not speak Arabic but they understand it because of their islamic upbringing. This of course only applies to those back home. I can understand most accents, but I can only speak Standard Arabic aka Fusxa. Not as fluent as a native. More like how a Scandinavian speaks English.

I use to live in Yemen when civil war broke out then got excepted to America as a refugee

 

[Poets]

I use to live in Yemen when civil war broke out then got excepted to America as a refugee

You forget too fast



Unless you were a little child back then

 

[Abdirazack]

You forget too fast



Unless you were a little child back then

I was 7

 

[government]

This wouldn't be an accurate representation because most of the people on here are from the diaspora although I expect them to Know some Arabic if they went to duugsi

 

[Apollo]

This wouldn't be an accurate representation because most of the people on here are from the diaspora although I expect them to Know some Arabic if they went to duugsi

''Knowing some'' is not the same as being fluent. The % of fluent Arabic speakers among Somalis must be very very low.

 

[Marquis]

my dad, my mom, their families, my eldest brother, are all fluent in Arabic.

 

[Pastoralite]

I speak quran does that count

 

[Apollo]

I speak quran does that count

No.

 

[Pastoralite]

No.

f*ck

 

[Qarboosh]

I do. In my experience the only ones who speak it well are those with extensive religious education (beyond dugsi) and those who've lived in an Arabic speaking country

 

[Apollo]

I do. In my experience the only ones who speak it well are those with extensive religious education (beyond dugsi) and those who've lived in an Arabic speaking country

Any dialect?

 

[HIGH PRIESTESS]

I can recognise different dialects and hold a basic conversation with an Arabic speaker, but whenever an Arab comes up to me and goes “ukhti kayfa halik blah blah blah” I go all dumb and pretend that I don’t speak or understand Arabic at all.

 

[Qarboosh]

Any dialect?

I sometimes dumb the fusha down by mixing in levantine or saudi colloquialism but I don't speak any dialect very well

 

[Rocca Littorio]

I used to be fluent in Yemeni Arabic and Quranic arabic but just only understand Quranic Arabic now.

Arabic has been a required subject in Somalia since independence.

Most Somalis in Somalia speak better Arabic than English.

 

[Rocca Littorio]

If you go to PL, you would be surprised how many Somalis can speak Arabic.

At school, I (a speaker of Arabic) couldn't even keep up with the coursework, the exams were writing essays and shit in Arabic.

gg.

 

[Apollo]

If you go to PL, you would be surprised how many Somalis can speak Arabic.

At school, I (a speaker of Arabic) couldn't even keep up with the coursework, the exams were writing essays and shit in Arabic.

gg.

In Puntland, I saw way more signs and notifications in English than Arabic. More people speak English there than Arabic.

The universities in Puntland all use English as the medium of instruction. Not a single course taught in Arabic but many using English.

Libraries in Somalia also have significantly more English books than Arabic books.

 

[sigmund]

most somalis whether back home or in the west dont understand or cant speak arabic (reading quran not included since is expected for most somalis to know) although we are taught at a young age arabic due to arabic classes but we usually dont master the langauage and infact abandon it by the time we hit junior high however having said that only my mum from my family can speak arabic and i think my uncle too.