Postby James Dahl » Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:18 am
Well, there are problems with Osmanya, and using latin characters has advantages.
For one, using latin characters, Somalis automatically have compatible scripts with most of the world's technology. You wouldn't believe the problems Bengalis, Ethiopians, Telugus, Burmese, Thais and Israelis have had trying to get the world to be compatible with their scripts. Somalis can order a computer keyboard from anywhere, for cheap, while someone who wants a Bengali keyboard is screwed basically.
Secondly even if Somali speakers decide to use Osmanya, it can't be used to write in Af-Maay or Benadiri or any one of the Bantu or Swahili languages, while these languages have adopted latin-based writing of their languages.
Finally, Osmanya is not the only script invented by Somalis. The Borana script invented by the Gadabursi is also unique and useable for Af-Somali, as well as the Waddad script. This means that a choice of Osmanya has a certain tribal favoritism attached to it.
There is a reason that, after much deliberation, the latin script was chosen.