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In GeoSeven's thread, one of the requirement's for someone to be Above Proficient was knowing Maay-maay and other dialects and so far 6 people are in that category (according to the poll in that thread) so let's spice things up a bit, eh?

Below is a short Maay song. It's kaban with no drums and I chose this guy's song because he has clear voice, the song is short and the lyrics are kinda simple (compared to most of Samatar & Qoomaal songs, which are usually complicated). So, how much of the lyrics in this song can you write in standard Somali, like the Maxaa-tiri/tidhi Somali?

OMG

I didn't understand one word out of it. How many dialects of maay maay are there? because my granny can speak afmay may and I understand a little bit. But this song I didn't get one word.

I'm not in that category lakin xariifkan looks like inu jacayl balambalshay

Calling Af-Maay a dialect is wrong imho. Saho and Afar, two quite different languages are probably more closer to each other than Af-Maay & Standard Somali. Not to mention that a lot of the Maay we hear at times seems like it borrowed significantly from Standard Somali. I remember seeing a video from far areas of Bakool of what seemed like a mostly "Pure" form of Maay-Maay and I kid you not, I couldn't understand a single word!

Jul, there are other Raxanweyn dialects (or languages, not sure what to refer them, as Chinaman hinted) that are a lot more difficult than this. This guy is from Diinsoor/Baydhabo cities and he speaks the regular Maay, well at least to me that's how I understand his Maay.

Here he is at the Arte conference back in 2000 and I can't even understand half of what he's singing in this video, though I can understand about 80 % in the one I posted above:





Bella, you're right. It's about him lamenting about the loss of his love to another guy and arguing with love itself, saying "The girl I wanted is married to another guy, washing his clothes, kissing him at night and waking from the same bed with him in the morning so why are you swearing at me and bothering me like this, love? Why don't you go and bring her to me" etc. <<< Damn! I've just explained the gist of the whole song there. lol

Chinaman, I thought dialect was like Maay vs Maxaa and accents like the Mudugaawi vs, Hargeysaawi vs Hawd vs Xamar etc, no? Not really 100 % sure what is considered a dialect myself and always thought it the way I put it above.

It is all Greek to me! It is true though when they say for one to enjoy a good, quality song, he/she does not necessarily need to understand or speak the language in which the song is being sung. I have enjoyed this song as if I had understood every single word. It was, for me, almost, as if the singer was singing not in Maaymaay but in a bona fide, classic version of the UNESCO protected reer Mudug dialect.

barbarossa wrote:It is all Greek to me! It is true though when they say for one to enjoy a good, quality song, he/she does not necessarily need to understand or speak the language in which the song is being sung. I have enjoyed this song as if I had understood every single word. It was, for me, almost, as if the singer was singing not in Maaymaay but in a bona fide, classic version of the UNESCO protected reer Mudug dialect.

You're right though. Music goes beyond borders and is universal in a sense that one does not only enjoy a song in a foreign tongue but also can be moved by it.

I remember in the 90's back home, one night we were watching a Bollywood movie (Dil, to be exact. Starred by Aamir Khan, not sure if you saw it or not) and I swear I saw couple of chicks in tears in the cinema (well, home shineemo) when the actress was in tears and in those emotional songs etc. The movie is about a love story but seeing people getting emotional to a language they don't even understand kind left me with a weird impression since that night. lol

I think it's unfair to use a song. Poetry and music usually have another added degree of difficulty to understand due to the metaphors, hyperboles and just language that is used, which is often not the same as the common words one would use. You should find a regular talk or something.

these are bantu somalians, no word they said is somali.