| Somali | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya |
Native speakers | 27 million (2020)[1] |
| Linguistic classification | Afro-Asiatic |
| Proto-language | Proto-Somali |
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | None east2653 (East Omo–Tana (partial match)) |
The Somali languages form a group that are part of the Afro-Asiatic language family. They are spoken as a mother tongue by ethnic Somalis in Horn of Africa and the Somali diaspora. Even with linguistic differences, Somalis collectively view themselves as speaking dialects of a common language.[2]
Some neighboring populations and individuals have also adopted the languages. Somali is for instance used as a second language by speakers of Girirra.[3]
- ^ "Somali languages". Ethnologue. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ Somali nationalism: international politics and the drive for unity in the Horn of Africa. Department of Linguistics and the African Studies Center, University of California, Los Anglos. 1963. p. 24. ISBN 9780674818255.
- ^ Somali at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022)
