Is af-Maay a distinct language?

arabmtu · Post by **arabmtu** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 9:29 pm

Before you vote, take your time to listen to a few Youtubes. I know a number of af-Maay speaking intellectuals who contend it's a distinct language.

Discuss.

greenday · Post by **greenday** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 9:32 pm

Ileen Somali aa eheed, i thought you were oromo

ToughGong · Post by **ToughGong** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 9:33 pm

Why is there a need to vote,I thought it was clear

arabmtu · Post by **arabmtu** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 9:35 pm

greenday wrote:Ileen Somali aa eheed, i thought you were oromo

I've a number of family members who speak Oromo.

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:11 pm

http://www.aucegypt.edu/GAPP/cmrs/ccip/ ... ersion.pdf

http://southweststateofsomalia.org/maay ... boutus.htm

I have heard that Mahatiri came from Maay, but these articles make them sound like separate languages. Shirib would be the one that would know. What I remember is that the vocabularies seemed entirely different.

The second site is for generalized Maay speakers.

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:21 pm

http://www.blurtit.com/q8154857.html

According to this, Maay, Garrre and Tunni were classified as languages separate from Somali, beginning in 1992.

arabmtu · Post by **arabmtu** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 10:25 pm

Grant, did your Gosha students speak af-Maay?

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 11:24 pm

My students were the children of government employees who were rarely Gosha. All spoke Mahatiri, as did their parents. I lived in a maelstrom of Mahatiri, Maay, Italian, Chimini, Tunni, and Arabic, none of which I had a background in. Hirsi's course was an hour a day for three days a week for about four weeks. The drill book was a six or eight page pamphlet. I had no language resources whatsoever and mostly just stayed confused. I picked up some vocabulary, but most of what Mahatiri I know I have learned since coming to Snet. In Jilib, I wasn't even aware that there was something called Maay, or that it was different from Somali. What I was told was to concentrate on Mahatiri as the Southern "dialects" were too complicated.

Post by **qoraxeey** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 1:08 pm

I voted yes

I DO NOT UNDERSTAND word

I understand the af soomaali people of Jaabuuti is speaking .. rather then a Rahaweyn from Baydhaaboo

anyhow I think its really cool

meey ka aamee

meey aa seetee ... and so oon .... everythng they say meeey / maay .. instead of Waxaa / or / Maaxaa

arabmtu · Post by **arabmtu** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 8:06 pm

qoraxeey wrote:meey ka aamee

meey aa seetee ...

Care to translate? Some of us don't know that language.

NoAngst · Post by **NoAngst** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:31 pm

I voted no for the following reasons. A number of Af Maay dialects are readily intelligble to Af Maxaa (standard Somali) speakers. That doesn't mean Af Maxaa speaker will understand every single word but he'll be able to make out at least 60-70% of the words which enables him to grasp the gist of what he hears. The base words in both Af Maxaa and Af Maay are essentially the same strengthening the case for a single language.

arabmtu · Post by **arabmtu** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:41 pm

NoAngst wrote:I voted no for the following reasons. A number of Af Maay dialects are readily intelligble to Af Maxaa (standard Somali) speakers. That doesn't mean Af Maxaa speaker will understand every single word but he'll be able to make out at least 60-70% of the words which enables him to grasp the gist of what he hears. The base words in both Af Maxaa and Af Maay are essentially the same strengthening the case for a single language.

Cite several base words.

Post by **Lamagoodle** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:43 pm

My theory is that the so called "maxaa tiri" language is a spin-off from the so called "Maay language"...

Just a theory.

NoAngst · Post by **NoAngst** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:55 pm

Arabmutu,

Base words are usually the same in every language: body parts, word for flora and fauna commonly found in studied region, basic emotions (love, hate, envy, etc).

Lamgoodle, I think the same too to the point that when I'm not sure if a word is originally Somali or not, I look into Af-Maay or even Oromo.

Post by **Lamagoodle** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:59 pm

NoAngst wrote:Arabmutu,

Base words are usually the same in every language: body parts, word for flora and fauna commonly found in studied region, basic emotions (love, hate, envy, etc).

Lamgoodle, I think the same too to the point that when I'm not sure if a word is originally Somali or not, I look into Af-Maay or even Oromo.

NoAngst, I am the same. I find that the Maay language is not influenced by English, arabic or Italian like the somali language.

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