     DM-MIND | Unrecorded Date
As someone who works with Somali refugees in London, I often come across these two words both explaining, the ethnic origin of people originating the former Somalia.Ilearnt in the schools that the word 'Somali' is the right expression.However these days you see instead 'Somalian';also and nobody seems to bother to comment which of these two words should be used to describe the ethnicity of people from Somalia. Is it not about time the Somalis discuss what they should be referred to as people by others?. |
| SomaliPrincess | Unrecorded Date
Hi DM-Mind,
Somali is the correct term, I attempted to tell people on different pages at the forums:
The country is Somalia
The people are Somali
The language is Somali
The term "Somalian" is wrong and should not be used. Just check the websites of international organizations that worked in Somalia, if you want to go beyond my word. |
| naima | Unrecorded Date
it is SOMALI |
| Luula | Unrecorded Date
Hi u all, aslamu calykum.
OUR PRINCES + NAIMA,
U R FORGETTING THE SINGLE NOUN FOR THE MALE OR/ AND THE FEMALE.
A MALE---> A SOMALIAN GUY!
A FEMALE-----> A SOMALIAN GIRL.
WASLMU CALYKUM |
| Cyberian | Unrecorded Date
Luula, Sis, that is incorrect.
There is nothing called Somalian. Do a research and you will find why the term "Somalian" is incorrect.
Country = Somalia
Language = Somali
People = Somali (regardless of which gender the person is)
Before, only Foreigners, who were ignorant about anything Somali used the term "Somalian". It is now sad to see how Somali youth are adapting that incorrect terminology. |
| Walaalkaa | Unrecorded Date
I came across many of my country fellows but it's shocking that most of them don't know how the citizen of their country is called in the English. Leave english in our language we call the person who is from Somalia as SOOMAALI and the Country SOOMAALIYA, so it's the same in english too. why would you change your name while a foriegner is calling you by what you call yourself!!.
SOMALIA is the name of the country
SOMALI is the adjective
That's what i think but we should discuss this point in much detail. It's a big shame for every Somali to hear another Somali using the word SOMALIAN!!!!! |
| Anonymous | Tuesday, August 01, 2000 - 07:29 pm
okay somali's stop fighting just say what U know guys and stop dizzing each other |
| Somali | Wednesday, September 13, 2000 - 01:50 am
The term should be Somali.
Majority of the people who tend to utilise Somalian, they assume that we are like American, Austaralian, Canadian and So forth.
As my honourable bothers and Sisters already statted, The country is Somalia and person who originates from that is SOMALI N SOMALIAN!. |
| SOMALMAN | Tuesday, October 03, 2000 - 10:09 pm
To all.
1) person originating or whose origin is from somalia is termed "SOMALIAN"
2)A PERSON OF SOMALI /SOMALIAN CITIZENSHIP IS TERMED "SOMALI"
3)AND GRAMMATICALLY "A SOMALIAN " IS THE ERRONEOUS FORM FOR "A SOMALI"
4) all/most the other latin based european languages have somalian and somali to term people of somalia.e.g french( somali/somalien). |
| Somaliprincess | Wednesday, October 04, 2000 - 11:47 am
In English, it is WRONG to denote a person from Somalia as Somalian.
The term Somalian is wrong.
Country: Somalia
Language: Somali
People: Somali
For example, in English, a person from France is French NOT 'Frenchian', a person from Germany, is German, NOT 'Germian'. Some-one from the UK can be either British or maybe English, Scotish Welsh etc NOT Englishian, Scotishian, Welshian or heavean forbid Britishian
There are many such examples.
SOMALIAN IS WRONG WRONG WRONG! |
| Anonymous | Saturday, October 21, 2000 - 06:00 am
Look this is how it's going down. We come from Somalia, and we are all Somali people not Somalian. And that's, that no more. I finalized it cause I can. |
| Adamu | Sunday, December 10, 2000 - 12:47 pm
Dear MD-MIND,
Since you are the person who had raised the question in the first place, my reply is directed to you.
First and foremost, as many of my folks have said the correct terms are:
a)Somali(as singular adj)
b)Somalis (as plural adj)
c) Somalia (as a country name, noun)
The confusion here, in the minds of non Somalis who use the above terms incorrectly, has its roots from the following facts:
1. The adjective term ending "ian like Canadian etc" is used by most citizens of the World to describe themselves as citizens of their country.
2. Prior to the last 10 to 15 years there were very small numbers of Somalis living in Europe & North America. In fact in some countries were today you may have a large numbers of Somalis living in them, there were none in those days. Therefore most citizens of those Countries did not have enough knowledge about Somalis.
3. On arrival of one of these countries, as a refugees, most Somalis were confronted with language barriers, falling at the mercy of the immigration officials to term their nationality as "Somalian" due to lack of knowledge and language barriers.
The incorrect term will then find its way to all other governmental instituations such as Schools, Welfare Offices, Housing Departments etc dealing with the newly arrived Somalis, and it carried on from there.
As for those Somalis who found themselves as confused as non-Somalis with these two terms, I think their dilemma stems from the fact that they had just followed what their hosts were calling them! and accepted the term without realising its correct usage.
Anyway, the fact of the matter is that we, Somalis, know better than anybody, be they anthropologists or Philologists, as to what we are called, and it is "SOMALI NOT SOMALIAN".
I hope this will be of some help to you.
God bless Somalia & Somalis. |
| moi | Thursday, December 14, 2000 - 06:06 pm
Luula...dear sis, look in the dictionary...there is no such thing as a Somalian..we are Somalis. |
| yaab | Saturday, December 16, 2000 - 08:35 am
The term is Somali not Somalian. |
