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!
Hey, I was thinking about this pronunciation stuff. I have one helpful comment, perhaps. For pronouncing DH, you could describe it by making the “d” sound, but with your tongue folded back on the roof of the mouth. Would that work?
Great website! this is my first visit.
Good idea, Barb 🙂 I changed it.
thanks:)
my mom is trying to get me to speak her native language
most of the sounds are familiar though because I am familiar with some of the somali and arabic language
Thank you for posting these lessons. I volunteer for the St. Paul public schools and occasionally need to communicate with recent Somali refugees. I’ve found other resources online, but mostly either phrases, dictionaries or descriptive grammars – not lessons.
Thanks again.
Bruce
Hi Iam Somali do not know how to read somali will u please help me.
This is incredible. I couldn’t find this info anywhere else on the web, so I thank you. Great job with it!
Learning afsomali is not deficult
Afsomali has no cofussion
My name is abdullahi i learn the language of somali , i am in new york, i work in abank. Goog bye
Hi, this article is very interesting what about the ‘th’ sound? Do Somali’s have difficulty pronouncing that sound?
Thanks