For AgentOfChaos: Maay Maay dialect!

[Anarchist]

The Rahaweyn people and most of the Digil federation, living the lower Jubba Valley and the Baay-Bakool plateau of the Shebeelle Valley, speak Maay, while the speech of the Jiiddu and Tunni clans are classified as separate languages. Most Garre in Somalia speak Garre as a mother tongue, but Maay is the mother tongue of some. The Garre language is close to Boni. (Most Garre and Ajuuraan in Kenya speak an Oromo language named after them: Garre-Ajuuraan.) The Debarre clan of the Garre also speak their own language, more closely related to Maay. Many Somalis speak various languages as a second language. Clans are genealogically based and cut across language lines. Comparative language studies show that Maay, Tunni and Jiiddu retain older vocabulary and structure than "standard Somali" language forms.

http://elanguage.net/journals/sal/article/view/1402/960

Here's Professor Abdalla Omar Mansur (expert linguist) discussing the differences between Af Maay & Af Maxaa tiri. One being af-guri, while the other is af-guur. Probably one of the most interesting interviews about the Somali language.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/somali/war/2010/11 ... suur.shtml

If you skip over to 11.20, you'll hear where he discusses that Maay is much older than Af Maxaa tiri (standard Somali) and evidence is in how much of Maay is retained, while much of Maxaa tiri has been lost over time, then replaced with either Arabic, Harari, English or Italian. So much for Mudug, Nugaal and Northern Somali being the only "original" one.

On how much Maay & Southern dialects have retained the Somali language, while others have lost it:


On the origins of most clans & their relationship dynamics:



Some of Professor Abdalla Omar Mansur's published works include:

1981 Afafka Bahda Kushitigga iyo taariikhda af-Soomaaliga (The Cushitic Languages and History of the Somali Language), 159 pp. Mogadishu.
1984 "Some traces of Somali History in Maay Dialect," in Labhan T. (ed.) The proceedings of the II International Congress of Somali Studies, vol.I, pp.271-6, Humburg: Helmut Buske Verlag.
1988a "A lexical aspect of Somali and Eastern Cushitic Languages" in Puglielli A. (Ed.)
The Proceedings of the III International Congress of Somali Studies, pp.11-18, Rome.
1988b Le lingue Cuscitiche e il Somalo, Studi Somali No.8, 130 pp., MAE, Rome.
1995a "The Nature of the Somali Clan System", in Ahmed Ali Jumale (ed.) The Invention of Somalia, The Red Sea Press, Inc. Lawrance Ville.
1995b "The Cancer of the Somali State," in Jumale Ahmed Ali (ed.) The Invention of Somalia, The Red Sea Press, Inc. Lawrance Ville.
1998 "Somali: From an Oral to Written Language in" DIOGENES in No. 184, vol. 46 / 4, pp. 91-101, Bergbahn Books, New York. Oxford.

http://www.cfpar.org/

[Calibesteen]

Amandhorey is rahanweyn site maan. Atleast be non partial when you are handing over information.

[AgentOfChaos]

Anarchist:

Amazing thread as always, I learned a lot ( specially from the BBC audio clip) thank you so much.

[Areesa]

I can understand AfMaayMaay really well, but I can't respond. My grandmother knows how to speak afmaaymaay she used to teach some words when I was little.

[Barwaaqoiyobashbash]

I can understand AfMaayMaay really well, but I can't respond. My grandmother knows how to speak afmaaymaay she used to teach some words when I was little.

When ever I hear af maaymaay,my reaction =

[Murax]

Anarchist,

Isn't af may may kinda a regional dialect in the South West, and not just a D&M dialect? There is this Somali Carab family where I live that speak may may but they are not D&M. My Mom who grew up in Baardheere can also speak it, as well as people in Baardheere.

[AgentOfChaos]

When ever I hear af maaymaay,my reaction =

And that's why you should ask Anarchist any questions you have regarding that dialect ( I don't think he speaks it, he just knows a whole lot more about it than most of us), and he will help you out.

[Murax]

So the language SareedoXareedo speaks is may may?

[AgentOfChaos]

So the language SareedoXareedo speaks is may may?

I don't think so, I'm pretty sure she speaks xamari dialect, I could be wrong though.

[Anarchist]

@AgentOfChaos - You're welcome, sxb. I enjoyed the part about the origins of "tol" as in "dad isku tolan" through shared interests. Never made that connection before this interview.

@Areesa & Barwaaqo - Have you listened to his explanations and the historical differences between the two dialects?

@Murax - Af Maay is regional and is spoken by numerous different clans, including Dabarre who speak it in addition to their own Garre-ish language.

According to linguists, if two languages share less than 50% of vocabulary, then they are two seperate languages. But, Maay & Maxaa tiri share less than 30% in total vocabulary, therefore they are both dialects of the Somali language.

If you really listen in closely, you can pretty much make out what is being said, unless they are Jiido with a really heavy Maay accent, then it gets very complicated.

Do you understand what this family say when they're speaking it?

[Murax]

Do you understand what this family say when they're speaking it?

Honestly no, Lol. Perhaps its My AfSomali that is not strong enough already to be able to understand, but in listening to them it almost sounded like Amharic

[AgentOfChaos]

@AgentOfChaos - You're welcome, sxb. I enjoyed the part about the origins of "tol" as in "dad isku tolan" through shared interests. Never made that connection before this interview.

You have no idea how much I learned from that interview sxb.


Quick question ( and it might seem silly) people keep saying Af-May May so is it a dialect or a language?

[Anarchist]

@Murax - Written Af Maay is probably easier to understand.

Check this site, scroll down to page 78. You'll probably recognize them all!

http://elanguage.net/journals/sal/article/view/1402/960

Then listen to this and see if you can understand. You should be able to understand it.



@AgentOfChaos - Af Maay is a dialect, reason being that it shares over 50% of its vocabulary with standard Somali.

Does that make sense?

[AgentOfChaos]

Anarchist:

That's a good point, and that makes complete sense.

[Anarchist]

Agent - Here's the professor addressing the same question!



What I would like to know is where the Lamagoodle aversion to Maay came from & when did the rumors that only Northern Somali is the correct one start?