Benadiri Somali Explained

Benaadir
Ethnicity:	Benadiri
Nativename:	Somali: Af Reer Xamar
States:	Somalia
Region:	Benadir coast
Speakers:	million
Ref:	^[1]
Date:	2021
Familycolor:	Afro-Asiatic
Fam2:	Cushitic
Fam3:	Lowland East
Fam4:	Somali languages
Fam5:	Somali
Isoexception:	dialect
Glotto:	bena1268
Glottorefname:	Benaadir

Benadiri Somali, also referred to as "Coastal Somali" (Somali: Af Reer Xamar), is a dialect of the Somali language. It is primarily spoken by the Benadiri people, who inhabit the southern Banaadir coast of Somalia and into Kenya.^{[2] [3]}

Overview

Benadiri Somali is spoken on the Benadir coast, from Adale to south of Merca including Mogadishu, as well as in the immediate hinterland. The coastal dialects have additional phonemes that do not exist in Standard Somali.^[4]

Benadiri Somali is also referred to as Coastal Somali or Af-Reer Xamar ("Language of the People of Hamar").

Varieties

Blench (2006) structures the dialect into three general subdivisions:^[5]

• Northern Benadir (Abgaal, Ajuran, Huber, and Galjal)
• Southern Benadir (Hamari, Bimaal)

References

• ALSintl - Somali language

Notes and References

1. Web site: Interactive language map: Somalia. Clear Global. 2 July 2024.
2. Web site: Interactive language map: Somalia. Clear Global. 2 July 2024.
3. http://www.ethnologue.com/language/som Benadiri Somali reference at Ethnologue (17th ed., 2013)
4. Andrew Dalby (1998) Dictionary of languages: the definitive reference to more than 400 languages, Columbia University Press, p. 571, .
5. Blench, 2006. The Afro-Asiatic Languages: Classification and Reference List (ms)