Somali and Swahili
Countries
Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia
African Union, Democratic Republic of the Congo, East African Community, Kenya
National Language
Somalia
Burundi, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, South Sudan, Tanzania
Second Language
Not spoken in any of the countries
Not spoken in any of the countries
Speaking Continents
Africa, Middle East
Africa
Minority Language
Yemen
Not spoken in any of the countries
Regulated By
National Languages Committee, Regional Somali Language Academy
Chama cha Kiswahili cha Taifa (Kenya)
Interesting Facts
- Somali language is one of the best documented Afro-Asiatic languages.
- One of the most widely spoken of the Cushitic languages is the Somali Language.
- Swahili language has borrowed many words from Arabic language.
- The oldest written scripts in swahili language were found in 18th century.
Similar To
Afar and Oromo Language
Burundi, Rwanda, Malawi Languages
Derived From
Arabic Language
Arabic Language
Alphabets in
Somali-Alphabets.jpg#200
Swahili-Alphabets.jpg#200
Scripts
Arabic, Latin, Osmanya
Latin
Writing Direction
Left-To-Right, Horizontal
-
Thank You
Waad ku mahadsan tahay
Asante
How Are You?
Sidee tahay ?
Habari gani?
Good Night
Habeenka Good
Usiku mwema
Good Evening
Evening Good
Habari za jioni
Good Afternoon
galab wanaagsan
nzuri Alasiri
Good Morning
Subax wanaagsan
Habari za asubuhi
I Love You
Waan ku jeclahay
nakupenda
Excuse Me
iga raali ahow
Samahani
Dialect 1
Northern Somali
Kiunguja
Where They Speak
Gabon, Standard Somali
Zanzibar island
Dialect 2
Benaadir
Kimrima
Where They Speak
Georgia, The capital of Mogadishu
Dar es Salaam
Dialect 3
Af-Ashraaf
Kimgao
Where They Speak
Standard Somali
Kilwa
Native Name
af Soomaali
Kiswahili
Alternative Names
Af-Maxaad Tiri, Af-Soomaali, Common Somali, Soomaaliga
Kisuaheli, Kiswahili
French Name
somali
swahili
German Name
Somali
Swahili
Pronunciation
[afsoomaali]
[swaˈhili]
Ethnicity
Somalis
Swahili people or Waswahili
Origin
19th century
6th century
Language Family
Afro-Asiatic Family
Niger-Congo Family
Subgroup
Cushitic
Benue-Congo
Early Forms
No early forms
No early forms
Standard Forms
Somali
Swahili
Signed Forms
Somali Sign Language
Swahili Sign Language
Scope
Individual
Individual, Macrolanguage
Glottocode
soma1255
swah1254
Linguasphere
No data available
99-AUS-m
Language Type
Living
Living
Language Linguistic Typology
Subject-Object-Verb
-
Language Morphological Typology
-
-
All Somali and Swahili Dialects
Most languages have dialects where each dialect differ from other dialect with respect to grammar and vocabulary. Here you will get to know all Somali and Swahili dialects. Various dialects of Somali and Swahili language differ in their pronunciations and words. Dialects of Somali are spoken in different Somali Speaking Countries whereas Swahili Dialects are spoken in different Swahili speaking countries. Also the number of people speaking Somali vs Swahili Dialects varies from few thousands to many millions. Some of the Somali dialects include: Northern Somali, Benaadir. Swahili dialects include: Kiunguja , Kimrima. Also learn about dialects in South American Languages and North American Languages.
Somali and Swahili Speaking population
Somali and Swahili speaking population is one of the factors based on which Somali and Swahili languages can be compared. The total count of Somali and Swahili Speaking population in percentage is also given. The percentage of people speaking Somali language is 0.07 % whereas the percentage of people speaking Swahili language is 0.42 %. When we compare the speaking population of any two languages we get to know which of two languages is more popular. Find more details about how many people speak Somali and Swahili on Somali vs Swahili where you will get native speakers, speaking population in percentage and native names.
Somali and Swahili Language Codes
Somali and Swahili language codes are used in those applications where using language names are tedious. Somali and Swahili Language Codes include all the international language codes, glottocodes and linguasphere.