Abgaal are the only clan in Somalia that have a distinct accent
depends. Abgaal subs such as harti and wacbudhan ( the S/Dhexe and Banadir abgaals) have the distinct xaayow accent. waceysle from Galgaduud and mudug have the average central Somalia accent
It is not called Xaayoow and Khalid is also wrong.
For example, people think "central" means a "reer" Mudug speech variation which does not exist or "northern" means a "reer" Waqooyi speech variation which does not exist.
Language really interests me and having done my own deep dive into it for a long time (nothing "expert" implicating) it is fascinating what I have come to understand.
There is no "Abgaal" speech. It is really "central" which is from Hobyo and south Gaalkacyo to Filtu in Liban or Wajeer in Kenya.
There is also no "Rer Mudug" speech---the Marehan in Caabudwaaq speech variation is the same as Buuhoodle vs next door Guriceel or even Hobyo.
Similarly the Buuhoodle speech is closer to Garbahaareey than it is to Baligubaadle next door in Togdheer or even Gebilay.
The "cadence" is what people think of speech when they say "accent" which, to human ear, makes Las Anod seem to be a speech variation closer to Burco and Caabudwaaq to Hobyo and Warsheikh to Benadir.
But that's really not the definition of speech or "dialect/variation." Think of it as the difference between "sprachbund" and "diffusion." Sprachbund are group of unrelated (as not from 1 origins) dialects which, because of contact and proximity, have borrowed and exchanged until it seems they resemble each other. Well no, they don't. Rather what is being noticed is the exchange or the shared features not the actual two dialects in their holistic, total capacity. Diffusion is the opposite. It means a dialect that was 1 unit which has then because of evolution, impact, and over time has come to "diffuse" into different dialects.
Baligubadle-Buuhoodle = Sprachbund
Buuhoodle-Abudwaq = Diffusion
Abudwaq-Hobyo = Sprachbund
Hobyo-Warsheikh = Diffusion
The speech of someone from south Gaalkacyo with a cadence so strongly similar to somone in north Gaalkacyo will still display this differences;
N. Galkacyo will note "J" as "Ch," like Abudwaq like Buhoodle like Garbahaarey whereas the speech of S. Gaalkacyo will note "J" as "Jj" like Guriceel like Ceelbuur and like Warsheikh.
The Buuhoodle speech will contain a "present perfect tense" of "hayaa" as in "soconahayaa" which is intermediary between "soconaya" (I am walking) and "socday" (I have walked). Socona"hayaa" (I am in a STATE of walking) essentially you have "started" walking (soconayaa) and have not finished it (socday), but may not even be walking at the moment at all and are just resting. "Hayaa" is that transition or in a STATE of walking. Baligubadle does not have that "present perfect tense" and nor Burco and Gebiley, but Las Qoray does, Abudwak does, Garbahaareey does. Similarly Hobyo doesn't like Ceelbuur and Warsheikh.
These linguistic features show Buuhoodle and Garbahaarey formed from 1 speech variation and transfused over time, but certainly even developed those features as part of their own unique transfusion.
For example "hayaa" correlates to historical heavy migration movement. It is travel from Point A to Point B, but when you weren't in A and have not reached B as a culturally and socio-historically huge issue affecting communication in group, it could be theorized "hayaa" formed uniquely to confront a challenge uniquely affecting a group---so the state at rest developed.
Another thing is tone in variation which is even of longer example as sort of linguistic "artifact", the pivot "u" is very prominent in Hobyo/Guriceel-Warsheikh/Beled-Wayne in comparison to the pivot "i" (Buuhoodle/Las Qoray-Garbahaareey/Abudwak) to the pivot "y" (Baligubadle/Burco-Gebilay/Berbera). You can still see the original base in u-saga v. i-saga vs y-saga.
Etc etc etc
The last 100 years, particularly since 1970's after the official adaptation of a national writing script and the huge proliferation of written and broadcast communication and literature there has been a huge force or influence that has stopped or led to a decline in the natural process of evolution or transfusion of the Somali language, aka "diversification", and has pulled it towards homogenization aka "standardization."
The Somali language is less diverse today than it was 100 years ago---can you believe it?
Someone in Djibouti and someone in Afgooye are MORE able to understand today and/or share similar features in speech variation than in the past.
If the Somali language was 1 speech heading to 100 different variations we are today the inverse---we are different variations heading BACK into 1 speech.
We are all headed to coming to speak like each other.
So there is no Xaayoow accent and the Abgaal speech variation is but 1 form of a larger variation shared in different transfusions from Hobyo to Filtu which is grounded in an original Somali dialect with other speech variations.
Sprachbund, or effect by proximity in cadence and the likes, just makes you think a small subset of adopted or exchanged features represent the speech variation in totality.
Pay closely the most southern Gaalkacyo-esque speaker will clip the tone at "u-gab-ba-xeey-naa" the same as the Kaaraan-es north Mogadishu speaker whereas Balanbale will clip it at "u-ga bax-eey-n-aa" the same as Buuhoodle while Burco will clip it at "uu- gab-axeeyn-aa" the same as Borama.
There is something to clans if it is not blood written shown by speech variation that says they really did start out as original base units formed in one location within the Somali speaking people.
