Benadiri Somali

Last updated
Benaadir
Af Reer Xamar
Native to Somalia
Region Benadir coast
Ethnicity Benadiri
Native speakers
1.9 million (2021) [1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottolog bena1268

Benadiri Somali, also referred to as "Coastal Somali" (Somali : Af Reer Xamar), is a dialect of the Somali language. It is primarily spoken by the Benadiri people, who inhabit the southern Banaadir coast of Somalia and into Kenya. [1] [2]

Contents

Overview

Benadiri Somali is spoken on the Benadir coast, from Adale to south of Merca including Mogadishu, as well as in the immediate hinterland. The coastal dialects have additional phonemes that do not exist in Standard Somali. [3]

Benadiri Somali is also referred to as Coastal Somali or Af-Reer Xamar ("Language of the People of Hamar").

Varieties

Blench (2006) structures the dialect into three general subdivisions: [4]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Interactive language map: Somalia". Clear Global. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  2. Benadiri Somali reference at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
  3. Andrew Dalby (1998) Dictionary of languages: the definitive reference to more than 400 languages, Columbia University Press, p. 571, ISBN   0-7136-7841-0.
  4. Blench, 2006. The Afro-Asiatic Languages: Classification and Reference List (ms)

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References