labo erey oo af qalaad ah aqoon miyaa?
Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 3:08 am
The great Cali Sugulle wrote decades ago a great song; Af qalaad aqoonta miyaa? which is sung by the great Magool and Xasan Diiriye. This song presented a strong case to the communist regime which succeeded in writing the somali language. A great achievement by any standard!
There is a cliché that words often clutch weight when they are used metaphorically, sarcastically etc. In the Somali language, just as is the case in many other languages some words have multiple/dual/joint/triple meanings.
There are also words which mean differently depending on where in Somalia you come from. Given our waan-daadshe-dogmatic-mentality, it is not unusual for someone to declare a word non grata simply because there is another word.
For instance, your correspondent was reading a forum discussion on somalinet in which two generally reasonable lads- but seduced by tribalism- were using the word LAAN to belittle each other: In the Somali word LAAN has many meanings; 1) branch 2) as a slang; southerner’s derogatory term for sexual organ. It is not unusual for waranles to use this word to mean the stretch of a tree branch (read big clan). Anigu laan dheer ayaan ahay; adigu laan gaab ayaad tahay. Now, if you are waable from the south of Somalia (specially in urban areas) and some boasts about his/her LAAN, you are likely to be declared as insane.
Our colonial history as well as immigration from the Middle East and other parts of Africa has in addition diluted the significance of some of our words. For instance, it is not atypical for someone from Northern Somalia to embrace an Arabic/English word. Reciprocally, a southerner will use an Italian word and demean the Somali one.
How many times have we witnessed the Shukumaan-Towel wars? How many times have we heard the fight over KEESHALI and RAJABEETO? How many times have people vomited at Dooro? How many times has DIGAAG being forced upon us?
Naturally, this fascination with foreign words is a diagnosis of the moral/social decay which has befallen our nation and our people. When you have so called wadaads using Arabic words to describe an Arabic word; how many times have you heard a wacdi and the sheikh although speaking in Somali uses Arabic words which are not comprehended by the audience; likewise when an alphabetic woman in the UK, Canada, Sweden, Netherlands uses a few catchwords from these countries on their kids; Hooyo, Home Offiska, maxuu sheegay? Hooyo, Bileetka iiken etc.; or when Fadhi-ku-dirir- qaad chewing- qabiliste-cums (men) use foreign words as being fashionable.
The worst of these Somali language abusers are politicians; it seems that their point of departure is that using a few English words is tantamount to political skills. You hear them night after night on Universal TV speaking Somali then adding a few foreign words to give their message a meaning!
The undertones of these fascinations with foreign words at the behest of our language implicitly implies that the user feels/thinks he/she has advanced on the reer magaal ladder.
There is a cliché that words often clutch weight when they are used metaphorically, sarcastically etc. In the Somali language, just as is the case in many other languages some words have multiple/dual/joint/triple meanings.
There are also words which mean differently depending on where in Somalia you come from. Given our waan-daadshe-dogmatic-mentality, it is not unusual for someone to declare a word non grata simply because there is another word.
For instance, your correspondent was reading a forum discussion on somalinet in which two generally reasonable lads- but seduced by tribalism- were using the word LAAN to belittle each other: In the Somali word LAAN has many meanings; 1) branch 2) as a slang; southerner’s derogatory term for sexual organ. It is not unusual for waranles to use this word to mean the stretch of a tree branch (read big clan). Anigu laan dheer ayaan ahay; adigu laan gaab ayaad tahay. Now, if you are waable from the south of Somalia (specially in urban areas) and some boasts about his/her LAAN, you are likely to be declared as insane.
Our colonial history as well as immigration from the Middle East and other parts of Africa has in addition diluted the significance of some of our words. For instance, it is not atypical for someone from Northern Somalia to embrace an Arabic/English word. Reciprocally, a southerner will use an Italian word and demean the Somali one.
How many times have we witnessed the Shukumaan-Towel wars? How many times have we heard the fight over KEESHALI and RAJABEETO? How many times have people vomited at Dooro? How many times has DIGAAG being forced upon us?
Naturally, this fascination with foreign words is a diagnosis of the moral/social decay which has befallen our nation and our people. When you have so called wadaads using Arabic words to describe an Arabic word; how many times have you heard a wacdi and the sheikh although speaking in Somali uses Arabic words which are not comprehended by the audience; likewise when an alphabetic woman in the UK, Canada, Sweden, Netherlands uses a few catchwords from these countries on their kids; Hooyo, Home Offiska, maxuu sheegay? Hooyo, Bileetka iiken etc.; or when Fadhi-ku-dirir- qaad chewing- qabiliste-cums (men) use foreign words as being fashionable.
The worst of these Somali language abusers are politicians; it seems that their point of departure is that using a few English words is tantamount to political skills. You hear them night after night on Universal TV speaking Somali then adding a few foreign words to give their message a meaning!
The undertones of these fascinations with foreign words at the behest of our language implicitly implies that the user feels/thinks he/she has advanced on the reer magaal ladder.
