Benadiri Somali

Benadiri Somali, also referred to as "Coastal Somali" (Somali: Af Reer Xamar), is a dialect of the Somali language. It is primarily spoken by the Benadiri people, who inhabit the southern Banaadir coast of Somalia and into Kenya.^[1][2]

Benaadir
Af Reer Xamar
Native to	Somalia
Region	Benadir coast
Ethnicity	Benadiri
Native speakers	1.9 million (2021)[1]
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Cushitic Lowland East Macro-Somali Somali Benaadir
Language codes
ISO 639-3	–
Glottolog	bena1268

Overview

Benadiri Somali is spoken on the Benadir coast, from Adale to south of Merca including Mogadishu, as well as in the immediate hinterland. The coastal dialects have additional phonemes that do not exist in Standard Somali.^[3] Linguist Giorgio Banti states the dialect has loan words from Harari language.^[4]

Benadiri Somali is also referred to as Coastal Somali or Af-Reer Xamar ("Language of the People of Hamar").

Varieties

Blench (2006) structures the dialect into three general subdivisions:^[5]

• Northern Benadir (Abgaal, Ajuran, and Galjal)
• Southern Benadir (Hamari, Bimaal)

Notes

1. "Interactive language map: Somalia". Clear Global. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
2. Benadiri Somali reference at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
3. Andrew Dalby (1998) Dictionary of languages: the definitive reference to more than 400 languages, Columbia University Press, p. 571, ISBN 0-7136-7841-0.
4. Banti, Giorgio. Strata on loanwords from Arabic and other Semitic languages in Northern Somali. De Gruyter Mouton. p. 202.
5. Blench, 2006. The Afro-Asiatic Languages: Classification and Reference List (ms)

References

• ALSintl - Somali language