Somali people speak quite a number of languages and dialects, Maay
and Mahaa being the lingua franca of the majority. In 1972, the
latter was put in a written format and became the national language
of the country. This experiment alienated the other Somali
languages and produced tremendous disenchantment, particularly on
the part of the Maay speakers. In 2003, however, the Somali Peace
and Reconciliation Conference at Mbegathi, Kenya, acknowledged that
Maay will be another official language of the Somali Republic. This
English-Maay Dictionary is the first experiment exploring the roots
of Maay language and its relationship to the other Somali dialects
as well the Kushitic family of languages in the Horn of Africa. The
dictionary provides over 15,000 of the most frequently used words
in Maay and their English translations, with numerous examples of
their every day usage. The dictionary is a vital addition to
reference collections supporting undergraduate and graduate
programs on African and Middle Eastern Studies. It is also an
essential tool for non-Somali case workers such as those in refugee
camps, immigration and naturalization officials or lawyers dealing
with Somali asylum seekers. It is equally a vital tool for
interpreters and translators working on court cases, hospitals and
legal papers as well as for public school teachers on ESL programs
that teach Maay- speaking children in English- speaking countries.
________________________________________________ Dr. Mohamed Haji
Mukhtar is Professor of African and Middle Eastern History at the
College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Savannah State
University, USA. He is the author of many scholarly books and
articles including Historical Dictionary of Somalia (2003). Dr.
Mukhtar, a native Maay speaker, is fluent in Mahaa, English,
Arabic, Italian and some Asiatic languages such as Bahasa Malaysia.
Omar Moalim Ahmed is a data processing coordinator at Quality
Education Data, a Scholastic Company in Denver, Colorado, USA. An
agricultural economist, Mr. Ahmed has worked as a research fellow
in socioeconomic baseline study for Bay Region Agricultural
Development Project (BRADP) and Juba Environment &
Socioeconomic Studies (JESS). A native speaker of Maay and fluent
in Mahaa, Arabic and English, Omar is also co-author of the book:
Custom Rates for Farm and Ranch Operations in Wyoming, 1995-1996,
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