Somali language is spoken mostly in Somalia, some small minorities being in Finland and Russia.
Grammatical categories of Somali language are:
Noun
Pronoun
Verb
Adjective
Preposition
Determiner
Focus word
Classifier
And finally Conjunction
As you may notice here, the Somali has some grammatical
categories which are not found in many other languages including
English, French, Arabic, etc., for example focus word or the
focalization phenomenon which concerns those elements in the formation
of the sentence which tell us where the intention or the interest or the
focus is located in the phrase.
The words baa, ayaa, and waxaa put the focus on nouns and noun phrases.
Example:
John baa baxay -
John Focus(baa) went out
John ayaa baxay -
John Focus(ayaa) went out
Waxaa baxay John -
Focus(waxaa) went out John
Thus, the words baa, ayaa, and waxaa make think about,
unknowingly, who went out? Therefore the noun.
We have also in Somali language the word waa which puts the
focus on verbs and verb phrases.
Example:
John waa baxay
John Focus(waa) went out
Waa is different from other previous one we have just seen, because it
makes you think about: what did John do? Therefore the verb.
Somali language is not a complicated and brain-burning language
as many people including Somalis are convinced, but the fact is very
little has been done about its grammar. Nevertheless, some books of Somali language are:
1) Somali Reference Grammar. Written by John Ibrahim Saeed
And if you can read Italian:
2) Studi Somali 5: Aspetti morfologici, lessicali e della
focalizzazione. A cura di A.Puglielli.
3) Studi Somali 2: Sintassi della lingua somala. A cura di A.
Puglielli.
If you don’t read Italian, don’t worry that its not a big deal. The
first book might be able to cover your needs.
