#Somali language

[beerlula-00]

Ubax deyrti baxayow udgoonow

Sida oogta waaberi iftiimow

He’s aromal, like a flower grown in autumn

You glow like an early gleaming morning

- Sahra Ahmad

[nomadsomali]

[have-you-read-this-short-fiction]

"Selkie Stories Are for Stories" is available to read here

[pingnova]

My dad was obnoxiously shocked I could recognize Somali and even read a few words. Same reaction I got from more than one person about Hmong, Dakota, and Japanese. No I didn't formally learn any of them but like you'd presume with enough exposure (and I've had quite a bit) you can pick up minor details if you pay attention. Which is beyond the understanding of some particularly annoying Gen X and Boomer white people I keep having to deal with, including my own family.

[chickenisamazing]

Anyone know any resources for someone who wants to learn Somali?

[kamalkafir-blog]

Somali Language Translator | Translation Services

Job title: Somali Language Translator | Translation Services Company: ProSidian Job description: : Job Description ProSidian Seeks a Somali Language Translator | Translation Services [CLT035034] for Program Support on a Exempt W2: No Overtime… Professional aligned under services related to NAICS: 541930 – Translation and Interpretation Services – DPLH Est.: 1 Hrs. ST | 0… Expected…

[hemi-online]

Comic: Stay Safe in the Heat (Public Health — Seattle & King County)

PDF on kingcounty.gov | PDF on archive.org

2 pages Publication year unknown | Accessed 2025

Guidance for preventing heat illnesses during hot weather, especially for people who are at higher risk, such as outdoor workers, people with chronic health conditions, and children. This downloadable document can be photocopied double-sided.

More languages: Amharic (archive.org) | Arabic (archive.org) | Chinese (archive.org) | French (archive.org) | Korean (archive.org) | Russian (archive.org) | Somali (archive.org) | Spanish (archive.org) | Tagalog (archive.org) | Ukrainian (archive.org) | Vietnamese (archive.org)

[pink-pony-luv]

every few weeks i think abt how i can speak 2 languages but im stupid in my 1st

[beerlula-00]

Maxaa erey tafiir go'ay!

Maxaan maanso teeriya,

Every lost syllable tells in my heartbeat,

Every lost line is a scar on my heart.

- Maxamad Xaashi Dhamac ‘Gaariye’

[nomadsomali]

Time flies...

[mathamota]

If I had a nickel for everytime people guessed my ethnicity wrong, I'd have many nickels. And honestly, I don't blame them. Recognizing differentiating facial patterns between similarish ethnicities when one has not been surrounded by the ethnicities is difficult.

But gaining a new nickel because someone guessed me to be Somali, after all the times I've been called Afghani feels just somehow wrong.

[have-you-read-this-short-fiction]

"How to Get Back to the Forest" is available to read here

[languagexs]

Empowering the Somali Community in Columbus OH and across US through Language Interpreting Services

Preserving Somali Cultural Identity in Columbus Through Language Columbus, Ohio is now home to over 45,000 Somalis – one of the largest communities in North America. As Somali refugees rebuild their lives, community organizations provide key services while working to maintain cultural ties. An essential area of support is access to convenient online Somali language translation and…

[writingwithcolor]

Naming International POC Characters: Do Your Research.

This post is part of a double feature for the same ask. First check out Mod Colette's answer to OP's original question at: A Careful Balance: Portraying a Black Character's Relationship with their Hair. Below are notes on character naming from Mod Rina.

~ ~ ~

@writingraccoon said:

My character is black in a dungeons and dragons-like fantasy world. His name is Kazuki Haile (pronounced hay-lee), and his mother is this world's equivalent of Japanese, which is where his first name is from, while his father is this world's equivalent of Ethiopian, which is where his last name is from. He looks much more like his father, and has hair type 4a. [...]

Hold on a sec.

Haile (pronounced hay-lee), [...] [H]is father is this world’s equivalent of Ethiopian, which is where his last name is from. 

OP, where did you get this name? Behindthename.com, perhaps?

Note how it says, “Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. Check marks indicate the level to which a name has been verified.” Do you see any check marks, OP? 

What language is this, by the way? If we only count official languages, Ethiopia has 5: Afar, Amharic, Oromo, Somali, & Tigrinya. If we count everything native to that region? Over 90 languages. And I haven't even mentioned the dormant/extinct ones. Do you know which language this name comes from? Have you determined Kazuki’s father’s ethnic group, religion, and language(s)? Do you know just how ethnically diverse Ethiopia is? 

~ ~ ~

To All Looking for Character Names on the Internet:

Skip the name aggregators and baby name lists. They often do not cite their sources, even if they’re pulling from credible ones, and often copy each other. 

If you still wish to use a name website, find a second source that isn’t a name website. 

Find at least one real life individual, living or dead, who has this given name or surname. Try Wikipedia’s lists of notable individuals under "List of [ethnicity] people." You can even try searching Facebook! Pay attention to when these people were born for chronological accuracy/believability. 

Make sure you know the language the name comes from, and the ethnicity/culture/religion it’s associated with. 

Make sure you understand the naming practices of that culture—how many names, where they come from, name order, and other conventions. 

Make sure you have the correct pronunciation of the name. Don’t always trust Wikipedia or American pronunciation guides on Youtube. Try to find a native speaker or language lesson source, or review the phonology & orthography and parse out the string one phoneme at a time. 

Suggestions for web sources:

Wikipedia! Look for: “List of [language] [masculine/feminine] given names,” “List of most common [language] family names,” “List of most common surnames in [continent],” and "List of [ethnicity] people."  

Census data! Harder to find due to language barriers & what governments make public, but these can really nail period accuracy. This may sound obvious, but look at the year of the character's birth, not the year your story takes place. 

Forums and Reddit. No really. Multicultural couples and expats will often ask around for what to name their children. There’s also r/namenerds, where so many folks have shared names in their language that they now have “International Name Threads.” These are all great first-hand sources for name connotations—what’s trendy vs. old-fashioned, preppy vs. nerdy, or classic vs. overused vs. obscure. 

~ ~ ~

Luckily for OP, I got very curious and did some research. More on Ethiopian & Eritrean naming, plus mixed/intercultural naming and my recommendations for this character, under the cut. It's really interesting, I promise!

Ethiopian and Eritrean Naming Practices

Haile (IPA: /həjlə/ roughly “hy-luh.” Both a & e are /ə/, a central “uh” sound) is a phrase meaning “power of” in Ge’ez, sometimes known as Classical Ethiopic, which is an extinct/dormant Semitic language that is now used as a liturgical language in Ethiopian churches (think of how Latin & Sanskrit are used today). So it's a religious name, and was likely popularized by the regnal name of the last emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie (“Power of the Trinity”). Ironically, for these reasons it is about as nationalistically “Ethiopian” as a name can get.

Haile is one of the most common “surnames” ever in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Why was that in quotes? Because Ethiopians and Eritreans don’t have surnames. Historically, when they needed to distinguish themselves from others with the same given name, they affixed their father’s given name, and then sometimes their grandfather’s. In modern Ethiopia and Eritrea, their given name is followed by a parent’s (usually father’s) name. First-generation diaspora abroad may solidify this name into a legal “surname” which is then consistently passed down to subsequent generations.

Intercultural Marriages and Naming

This means that Kazuki’s parents will have to figure out if there will be a “surname” going forward, and who it applies to. Your easiest and most likely option is that Kazuki’s dad would have chosen to make his second name (Kazuki’s grandpa’s name) the legal “surname.” The mom would have taken this name upon marriage, and Kazuki would inherit it also. Either moving abroad or the circumstances of the intercultural marriage would have motivated this. Thus “Haile” would be grandpa’s name, and Kazuki wouldn’t be taking his “surname” from his dad. This prevents the mom & Kazuki from having different “surnames.” But you will have to understand and explain where the names came from and the decisions dad made to get there. Otherwise, this will ring culturally hollow and indicate a lack of research.

Typically intercultural parents try to

come up with a first name that is pronounceable in both languages,

go with a name that is the dominant language of where they live, or

compromise and pick one parent’s language, depending on the circumstances.

Option 1 and possibly 3 requires figuring out which language is the father’s first language. Unfortunately, because of the aforementioned national ubiquity of Haile, you will have to start from scratch here and figure out his ethnic group, religion (most are Ethiopian Orthodox and some Sunni Muslim), and language(s). 

But then again, writing these characters knowledgeably and respectfully also requires figuring out that information anyway.

~ ~ ~

Names and naming practices are so, so diverse. Do research into the culture and language before picking a name, and never go with only one source.

~ Mod Rina

[teaboot]

name as many languages as you can now

English Latin German Spanish French Romani Dutch Arabic Hebrew Japanese Mandarin Cantonese Italian Greek Esperanto Romanian Russian Norwegian Portuguese uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Kwakwakiwakw Dinè Cree Kanienʼkéha Swedish German Latin Swahili Somali Farsi fuckin uhhhh Gaelic Hindi Punjabi Latin and Pig Latin

…why

[hemi-online]

Fact Sheet: Vaccines & Autism: Unraveling the Myth (Public Health — Seattle & King County)

PDF on kingcounty.gov | PDF on archive.org

2 pages Publication year unknown | Accessed 2025

Vaccines do not cause autism. Check out this infographic of frequently asked questions addressing this myth.

See also: Fast facts as shareable graphics from Public Health — Seattle & King County

More languages: Chinese (Simplified) (archive.org) | Korean (archive.org) | Marshallese (archive.org) | Russian (archive.org) | Somali (archive.org) | Spanish (archive.org) | Ukrainian (archive.org) | Vietnamese (archive.org)