(This post is not meant to offend any Yibir or Midgan, it simply an analysis of a colonial era book on the Somali language, and it's dialects)
This goes into a previous post I made. A book on Somali grammar by a British officer(J.W.C Kirk) in the early 20th century includes many examples, sentances, and stories, in the Yibir and Midgan languages, the language of the outcast Yibir and Midgan clans.
The Yibir and Midgan all speak Somali alongside their own language, which they kept/keep secret from other Somalis. And according to Kirk, he had to promise not to tell any Somali not of Yibir or Midgan descent anything about their language.
According to him, the vocabulary of the Yibir is faily complete, although poorer than Somali. The Midgan, on the other hand, is extremely deficient. A large number of words have to have several meanigs. And the Yibir and Midgan seem to not occupy and definite tract of land, and live across the country as beggers, ocasionally hired by Somalis for work.
Here is some example words in Yibir:
dalanga : any animal or bird
agar - tihng stuff, food, etc
à - family, home, flocks, belongings, baggage, property
awas - any vegetable, tree, grass, wood.
iftin - light, sun(fem), moon(masc), star, rupee, silver, money (as ajdective - bright or white)
ilahh - fire, gun
mid - exist, be, stop, stand
tomàla - anything hard, hill, stone
lawo - water, rain, river, year
Here are some example words in Midgan:
hangaguri - any wild beast
nas - thing, place, time, town
ghoribirro - wood and anything made of wood, tree, bow, shaft of spear, thorn
gosad - iron, knife, any iron tool
gomosimo - water, rain, river
ghan - good, large, heavy, far, white, hot, full
neghatal - bad, small, light, near, black, cold, empty
makabur - stone, hill, money, rupee
Example sentances in Midgan:
Higge ka so cidibtei - Where have you come from?
Alowa ba so cidbeya - A Midgan is coming
Naskas i kul - Give me that
Higgan so duhur - Come here.
Example sentances in Yibir:
ma yafantahai - are you well?
ma yafnan ba? so yafnan miya? - is it peace?
Higge u bidbideinesa - Where are you going
Hugga dugageigu wa tededheya - I myself am going there
Mahhad fedhesa - What do you want
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It's been 115 years since this book was written. Have the Yibir and Midgan assimilated into Somali society?
This goes into a previous post I made. A book on Somali grammar by a British officer(J.W.C Kirk) in the early 20th century includes many examples, sentances, and stories, in the Yibir and Midgan languages, the language of the outcast Yibir and Midgan clans.
The Yibir and Midgan all speak Somali alongside their own language, which they kept/keep secret from other Somalis. And according to Kirk, he had to promise not to tell any Somali not of Yibir or Midgan descent anything about their language.
According to him, the vocabulary of the Yibir is faily complete, although poorer than Somali. The Midgan, on the other hand, is extremely deficient. A large number of words have to have several meanigs. And the Yibir and Midgan seem to not occupy and definite tract of land, and live across the country as beggers, ocasionally hired by Somalis for work.
Here is some example words in Yibir:
dalanga : any animal or bird
agar - tihng stuff, food, etc
à - family, home, flocks, belongings, baggage, property
awas - any vegetable, tree, grass, wood.
iftin - light, sun(fem), moon(masc), star, rupee, silver, money (as ajdective - bright or white)
ilahh - fire, gun
mid - exist, be, stop, stand
tomàla - anything hard, hill, stone
lawo - water, rain, river, year
Here are some example words in Midgan:
hangaguri - any wild beast
nas - thing, place, time, town
ghoribirro - wood and anything made of wood, tree, bow, shaft of spear, thorn
gosad - iron, knife, any iron tool
gomosimo - water, rain, river
ghan - good, large, heavy, far, white, hot, full
neghatal - bad, small, light, near, black, cold, empty
makabur - stone, hill, money, rupee
Example sentances in Midgan:
Higge ka so cidibtei - Where have you come from?
Alowa ba so cidbeya - A Midgan is coming
Naskas i kul - Give me that
Higgan so duhur - Come here.
Example sentances in Yibir:
ma yafantahai - are you well?
ma yafnan ba? so yafnan miya? - is it peace?
Higge u bidbideinesa - Where are you going
Hugga dugageigu wa tededheya - I myself am going there
Mahhad fedhesa - What do you want
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It's been 115 years since this book was written. Have the Yibir and Midgan assimilated into Somali society?
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