The Jeliya catalogue uses Af Soomaali / Somali. Glottolog indexes the corresponding language as Somali (soma1255). Its ISO 639-3 code is som. [1]
Draft — awaiting native-speaker review
Somali is spoken across the Horn of Africa and by large diaspora communities. Varieties differ; standard written Somali is not a substitute for every local form.
Opening retained from the existing catalogue; awaiting editorial and speaker review.The Jeliya catalogue uses Af Soomaali / Somali. Glottolog indexes the corresponding language as Somali (soma1255). Its ISO 639-3 code is som. [1]
Glottolog associates this record with the following country codes: DJ, ET, KE, SO. Catalogue locations do not enumerate diaspora or second-language use. [1]
No dated, scope-checked speaker estimate has been approved for this page.
The catalogue classification follows this sequence: Afro-Asiatic → Cushitic → East Cushitic → Lowland East Cushitic → Southern Lowland East Cushitic → Mainstream Lowland East Cushitic → Omo-Tana → Eastern Omo-Tana. [1]
The Glottolog bibliography includes a linguistic description attributed to Salt, Henry 1814 and a more recent one attributed to Christopher R. Green 2021. These are publication dates, not language origins. [1]
Latin standard since 1972 uses digraphs and doubled vowels; tone is normally not marked. Osmanya and other historical scripts are separate learning tracks.
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.Five vowel qualities with tongue-root distinctions, short/long vowels and lexical/grammatical pitch accent. The location of high tone can distinguish forms. c represents /ʕ/, x /ħ/ and q a uvular stop; dh is a retroflex sound.
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.A PHOIBLE record links published sound-inventory descriptions for this language. Inventory analysis can differ by variety and study; example words, letter values and a learner-facing pronunciation table still require a checked reference and speaker recordings. [5]
A reviewed alphabet, sound-by-sound IPA guide and reference recordings are still needed.
Awaiting a cited, language-specific contribution and speaker review.
Flexible order with a common SOV pattern; focus particles, case and gender shape clauses. Nouns may change gender in the plural.
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.A language-specific Grambank record is linked for comparison of grammatical features and their underlying references. Feature coding is an analytical resource; it is not a beginner explanation, a complete grammar or a substitute for a teacher’s review. [3]
Standard Somali (Maxaa-tiri); Maay requires a distinct course
Existing linguistic-map notes are planning material, not newly verified facts. A named reviewer and reference are still needed.Named child varieties in this record include Af-Ashraaf, Benaadir, Degodia, Northern Somali, Ogaden. These labels do not select Jeliya’s teaching variety. [1]
An entry separates the headword, part of speech, senses and cited examples. A variant is another documented form; a synonym is a different word with a related meaning. Derived expressions can have their own entry. Follow source links and variety tags before using a form.
Search the everyday spelling and check tone-marked forms. ɛ, ɔ, ɲ and ŋ are letters, not removable accents. Search tolerance does not mean two spellings are the same word. Save an entry to keep its stable identity in your wordbook.
Open the dictionaryAwaiting a cited, language-specific contribution and speaker review.
Editorial adaptation: Jeliya
Language reviewer: awaiting appointment
Last revision: 10/12/2026
Harald Hammarström, Robert Forkel, Martin Haspelmath and Sebastian Bank
CC BY 4.0
Source checked: 10/12/2026Christopher R. Green 2021
Source checked: 10/12/2026