An estimated 10-11 million people speak Somali today. The official languages of Somalia are Arabic and Somali. As a result of its colonial past, many southern Somalis also speak Italian.
The Somalis are one of the oldest African groups in Britain, with communities in the port cities of Cardiff, Liverpool, Hull, South Shields and London. There are also important communities in Birmingham, Manchester and Leicester. A large proportion of those who have settled recently are victims of the civil war whose education has been seriously interrupted. The first wave of refugees arrived in England in the late 1980s via refugee camps in Ethiopia and Djibouti; they were mainly from the Isaaq clan. They tended to settle alongside clan members such as the former seamen of the East End of London. An estimated 70,000 Somalis live in the capital, approximately 10,000 of whom can be found in Tower Hamlets, an area which was the home of Somali seamen who stayed in the capital following service in World War 1. In a 2000 survey of London school children, Somali emerged as the tenth most commonly spoken language in the capital. Somali is the vehicle of a rich oral culture, including storytelling, poetry and riddles. Many elders are still able to recite poems that are centuries old. In fact, Islam and poetry are sometimes described as the twin pillars of Somali culture.
What is your experience of Somali?
Atidoon Hassan, New York, U.S.A.
Wow... I hope there is some movement alive today in Somalia to retain and keep alive the Italian language. In Mogadiscio and the rest of southern Somalia, a former Italian colony, the Italian language was used extensively and created a whole literate generation in that tongue before Somali was actually written (C.1973) thus, preservation of the Italian language in Somalia is part of their rich linguistic history and must not be allowed to die there.
Aidan Work from Wellington,New Zealand.
In reply to the comment by Abshir of Auckland,the majority of Somalis I have had dealings with here in Wellington are not from Somalia (whose area covers the territory of the former Italian colony),but the independent Republic of Somaliland (which covers the territory of what was the British Somaliland Protectorate). That is why they speak such good English in addition to their own dialect of Somali.
Ahmed Jama,london
assalama calaykum my dear brothers and sisters.our nation is 1 hellava nation. we could be the next united emarates of afrika cose we have got the knowledge to improve our nation and we could be 1 of the largest oil supplies in afrika and the population of our nation{doesnt matter if it's north,south,west or east somalie}is verry small for a country of that size.because of that our export could be more than our import and if we reach that level{wich is verry easy for us}we have a head start on most of the afrikan nations.we have got the longste coast of afrika .we talking pure business cose think about this where do company's produce most of there products?afcorse Asia where els well if they need to go to afrika or U.S or Europe most of there boats will pass somalie.and 1 more thing brothers and sisters we have got high potential of oil in somalie need some people with some knowledge about that so those who wanna help there nation but dont know how easy becom a oil scientist that will help alot of us believe ya all take care now.
amada riley from leicester
i think somalians have a great culture i love their etniclity
abdirahim (Rochester, MN. USA)
There was a time we as The Somalians could only expected to speak Four Languages besides our language. But, know you name it.. you can find Somali person who could speak Farsi, Japaneese, Chinese, etc. Someday we will go back our land that the world use to call Somalia and will become Multilingual Nation with one nationality. You can not find anywhere in the world this kind of people. We were the only nation whom you could say Same Language, Culture(Different Tribes,)Religion, almost the same look(body structure like face, hair and so on.)
Auckland, New Zealand
The Fact is that most Somalis living in New Zealand hail from the southern part of Somalia, which was a former Italian protectorate. In Somalia, we have a Somalis (Somalis in Djibouti) who speak French, Somalis in Ethiopia who speak Amharic, and Somalis in Kenya who speak Kiswahili. This was the result of British manuever dividing Somalis into five separate protectorates: British Somalind, Italian Somaliland, French Somaliland, Ethiopian Somaliland and Kenyan Somaliland. So we are a one nation who speak over seven languages. Abshir Auckland
Aidan Work from Wellington,New Zealand.
Over here in New Zealand,we have got a very vibrant Somali-speaking community.Naturally,most of them have a very good command of English.I can guess that they are from Somaliland,which is an unrecognised country that belongs in the British Commonwealth.The Somalis always enjoy hearing me say "Salaam Aleikum",which is Arabic for "Peace be with you".
