Somali leid
The Somali leid (Somali: Afsoomaali, Arabic: الصومالية) is a member o the East Cushitic branch o the Afro-Asiatic leid family. Its nearest relatives are Afar an Oromo. Somali is the best documentit o the Cushitic leids,[1] wi academic studies beginnin afore 1900.
[edit] Number o speakers
The exact number o speakers o Somali is unkent. Ane source estimates that there are 7.78 million speakers o Somali in Somalie itself (includin Somaliland) an 12.65 million speakers globally.[2] A population estimate made bi the Dutch Universiteitsbibliotheek Utrecht puts the Somali population somewhaur atween 10 an 15 million.[3] Combined wi a lairge internaitional expatriate community, it is difficult tae get a specific number o Somali speakers, but somewhaur atween 10 an 16 million warldwide seems a reasonable estimate. Accordin tae Gordon (2005), approximately 13 million fowk speak Somali, but upwards o 25 million individuals are commonly estimatit tae speak the leid.[1]
[edit] References
- ↑ A software tool for research in linguistics and lexicography: Application to Somali
- ↑ Ethnologue: Somalia Ethnologue.com
- ↑ SOMALIA historical demographic data of the whole country Universiteitsbibliotheek Utrecht
