Old Arabic words in Somali language.

[ramzy2277]

a friend of mine shared these pages on his FB, from a book he bought recently, the book explores the proximity between the somali and arabic languages, the author , I believe he is a Sudanese, wanted to prove that Somali language is one of the ancient forgotten Arabic languages in south of Arabia.

[VeiledGarbasar]

All the Arab haters having an apoplexy right about now.

[Thuganomics]

Could you give us some examples.Some of us can't read Arabic

[ramzy2277]

In the below page, the author takes the word '' NABAD'' in Somali ,where he found it in the ancient Arabic dictionaries only, this word is pronounced as it is in the Somali language and it have a similar meaning as well where it was translated as '' a peace and Tranquility''. The author was able to proved it further by quoting from an ancient poem where the word NABAD was used in the same context.




In the below page, the author takes the word '' WAR'' in Somali , again the author, found the exact word with the exact pronunciation as well as the same meaning in one of the Arabic old dictionaries, it was translated as '' speech or words in the dictionary.




In the below page, the author takes the word '' HADAL'' in Somali ,I dont think the author has succeeded in this case, as the exact word with the same pronunciation is translated as '' floppy bottom lip like in Camels '' .
The author also tried to link the word '' HADAL '' to the sound of the pigeon ,as arabs names that sound HADEEL, which is close to HADAL.



In the below page, the author takes the word '' AF'' in Somali , the closet word the author found in the old arabic dictionary is '' Fu'' which also have many derivatives like ''FAM+FII+FA+FII '' all used to give the same meaning as in Somali ''Mouth''

[Thuganomics]

Thanks Ramzy that was interesting

[Ben Dover]

Seems very forced to me. You know the author is clutching at straws when they bring up the Arabic for cooing of birds and try to relate it to the Somali word for talking.

I call bullshit

[Thuganomics]

Seems very forced to me. You know the author is clutching at straws when they bring up the Arabic for cooing of birds and try to relate it to the Somali word for talking.

I call bullshit

That does seem stretching it a bit but language evolution works in strange ways.Did you know for example the Herari/Adari word for nose is "Uff".Which is our word for "Stink" or "Reek"
Or the Oromo number for Ten is " Ku Dhan".Which is ou phrase for complete
Even in English words like chatter,chirp, cluck are all related to speaking and are all from sounds that birds make

[Ben Dover]

A language is a living thing, it changes and evolves over time, I get that. I also do not deny that some words in both Arabic and Somali are onomatopoetic. Its just that the specific examples the author brings up are very forced. Cushitic languages sharing words and expressions makes a lot of sense, Arabic loanwords on the other hand are just that, loan-words.

[Jaidi]

Rightful Arab League members

[Lamagoodle]

Seems very forced to me. You know the author is clutching at straws when they bring up the Arabic for cooing of birds and try to relate it to the Somali word for talking.

I call bullshit

People will always find ways of connecting the dots. There are some somali words that have arabic origin; that is obvious because of cultural/geographical proximity but the notion that somali words are old arabic is nonsense.


Thuga; There is no doubt that the Oromo/Borana/ Harare/ Rendile and the SOMALI language have many similarities. We share geography and it is also plausible that the somali language is a hybrid of those languages and an extinct one. The Rendille (could be Reer Diinle) say "Dhacanta" for hands (Gacanta), the Oromo; 45= afurtami shan = afartan iyo shan.

[Thuganomics]

Seems very forced to me. You know the author is clutching at straws when they bring up the Arabic for cooing of birds and try to relate it to the Somali word for talking.

I call bullshit

People will always find ways of connecting the dots. There are some somali words that have arabic origin; that is obvious because of cultural/geographical proximity but the notion
that somali words are old arabic is nonsense.


Thuga; There is no doubt that the Oromo/Borana/ Harare/ Rendile and the SOMALI language have many similarities. We share geography and it is also plausible that the somali language is a hybrid of those languages and an extinct one. The Rendille (could be Reer Diinle) say "Dhacanta" for hands (Gacanta), the Oromo; 45= afurtami shan = afartan iyo shan.

There's no doubt about that sxb.Have you seen that vid of the Rendiile kids singing "Hands shoulders knees and toe" in their own language
It's practically af Somali

[Lamagoodle]

Seems very forced to me. You know the author is clutching at straws when they bring up the Arabic for cooing of birds and try to relate it to the Somali word for talking.

I call bullshit

People will always find ways of connecting the dots. There are some somali words that have arabic origin; that is obvious because of cultural/geographical proximity but the notion
that somali words are old arabic is nonsense.


Thuga; There is no doubt that the Oromo/Borana/ Harare/ Rendile and the SOMALI language have many similarities. We share geography and it is also plausible that the somali language is a hybrid of those languages and an extinct one. The Rendille (could be Reer Diinle) say "Dhacanta" for hands (Gacanta), the Oromo; 45= afurtami shan = afartan iyo shan.

There's no doubt about that sxb.Have you seen that vid of the Rendiile kids singing "Hands shoulders knees and toe" in their own language
It's practically af Somali

Rendille words: [Soo dhowaada bal, maanta kuu sameeyey buugaasi gaduudan.... Waxaan, dhageeyso... buugaan waxaa qorey gano, ki jirto. .. maalinka la guuraayo..

My theory is that the Somalis, Rendille, Oromo (many of them) are closely related. The Harare is different; most of them are probably arabs/jews who intermarried with Somalis and other tribes.

[Thuganomics]

Here is a thread I posted about Rendile nearly five years ago


http://www.somalinet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=266622

[SultanOrder]

Linguists is a science, and I doubt this author has any background in it. Language is not just made of words but also of syntax. Let's look at English, it has words from many languages, takes these as an example: avatar, cot, bandanna, cushy, juggernaut, jungle, loot, and many more are Indian words but how many of us would believe English comes from Hindu/Urdu?

[Lamagoodle]

Here is a thread I posted about Rendile nearly five years ago


http://www.somalinet.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=266622

Thanks Thuga. When I was a kid, we were told that the Borana/Rendille/Sakuye (non-muslims) were the sworn enemies of Somalis. There were in constant battles (camel/cattle raids) between them and somalis . Also they made the less than 5% that wanted the NFD to remain under Kenya during the referendum. We were told that The Boranas/Rendilles and Sakuye's cut the testicles of somali boys - trophy- to gain the hands of brides ( the father-in-law will use it to store tobacco and the somali testicle was a premium).

There is also another closely related tribe called WARDAAY ( Zumaale claims that they are somalis) which has lived in the shadows of Somalis (they have their own county today and look/dress/worship like Somalis. In recent decades, there is a movement that claims Warday Cali, Boran Cali are lost somali tribes. I have read reports that these were the reminients of the Gaala which were forced out of Somalia.

P.s. the Borana/Sakuye is part of the southern Oromo