Somali Language

The Somali language is a member of the Cushitic languages including Aroma and Afar that are spoken in the Horn of Africa. This group of languages is in turn a member of the Afro-asiatic family of languages such as Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, Egyptian, and Mandara, among others. Somali, the national language of Somalia, is also spoken in Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea, and Djibouti. Thus, Somali is a regional language that is spoken in the Horn of Africa Region. The Horn of Africa region consists of such countries as Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Uganda, Kenya, and Djibouti. In addition, Somali is spoken in many countries around the world due to the immigration of about 2.5 million Somalis to many parts of the world including US, UK, Finland, Sweden, Netherlands, and Canada. In the United States, Somalis live in Minneapolis, Columbus, Nashville, and Atlanta, among other states. The ethnic Somali population in Columbus is estimated about 40,000 strong. The Columbus Somali community is very active in business and so they have their own shopping malls, car dealerships, and restaurants. There are also Somali community schools and community organizations that provide services for the community and the general public. Somalis have also heavily invested on media and so there is a Somali radio, Somali Newspaper, and a major film production studio in Columbus.

Shariff Osman

He taught Public Relations at the Faculty of Economics and Management, Mogadishu University, Mogadishu, Somalia, from 2001 to 2007. He served the Dean of the Faculty of Computer Science and Information Technology, and the Director of the Institute for Somali Studies during that time at the same University. He taught Scali at MSU in 2009. Currently, he is teaching Somali at Ohio University since 2007.

Somalia On-Air An interview with Shariff Osman for WOUB