Alphabet and Pronunciation

The Somali alphabet looks similar to the English alphabet, with the exception of three double consonants. The consonants are listed below. If the letter has no explanation with it, then it is pronounced in the same way as the English letter.

B
T
J – pronounced like the English combination “ch”
X – pronounced as a hard “h” (think of the guttural German sound)
KH – ?
D – pronounced just like the English “d”
R
S
SH
DH – pronounced similarly to “d,” but the sound starts with the tongue folded back on the roof of the mouth
C – pronounced like “ah”
G
F
Q – pronounced almost as an English “g,” except that it is made very far back in the throat; this can be difficult for native English speakers, as we do not have this sound in our language
K
L
M
N
W
H
Y

Now, for the vowels. The Somali language uses the same vowels as English. You will see the vowels either by themselves or doubled. Double vowels sound the same as single vowels, but are voiced for a longer period of time (about one beat longer).

A – “ah”    (sounds like, “hot”)
E- “eh”     (sounds like, “hey”)
I – “ee”     (sounds like, “feet”)
O – “oh”   (sounds like, “hope”)
U – “oo”    (sounds like, “scoop”)

To learn the alphabet, try saying the consonants with each vowel afterwards, first with the short vowels, then with the double vowels.

For example:

Ba Be Bi Bo Bu
Ta Te Ti To Tu
Ja Je Ji Jo Ju

and,

Baa Bee Bii Boo Buu
Taa Tee Tii Too Tuu
Jaa Jee Jii Joo Juu

etc.

Good luck! If you run into problems, or if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Or better yet, if you’re in the area, come to a class.

NOTE: The question marks next to certain letters in the alphabet will disappear as soon as I get an idea from Abdi and fellow classmates about how to explain them. Some are difficult to put into words!

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