Af Maay is a language not a dialect?

[mohamedismail]

I'm not sure how linguist view it . Since you speak both af-Maxaa and Maay, how similar do you think they are?

I think it's easy to learn once you familiarise yourself with the language and learn the differences.

People make the argument that the more maxaa tiri you know the more you will understand Maay. I disagree I think its about familiarisation of Af Maay. Listening and learning like that.

That is why people who geographically live closer to Maay speakers such as people that live in jubooyinka and Banaadir tend to understand Maay more then a reer waqooyi or Somali galbeed. It's due to exposure to the language and familiarisation.

 

[GaradShabeel]

I think it's easy to learn once you familiarise yourself with the language and learn the differences.

People make the argument that the more maxaa tiri you know the more you will understand Maay. I disagree I think its about familiarisation of Af Maay. Listening and learning like that.

That is why people who geographically live closer to Maay speakers such as people that live in jubooyinka and Banaadir tend to understand Maay more then a reer waqooyi or Somali galbeed. It's due to exposure to the language and familiarisation.

It makes sense. I can only grasp a little from the Maay spoken in Lower Shabelle and Baydhabo. They seem to have the most af-maxaa influence.

 

[Banadiri Warrior]

If you say it's a dialect and its not a language , then it must be mutually intelligible with Af Maxaa. If you believe that then please translate this Maay poem.

Af Maay is a rich language with various dialects

 

[Banadiri Warrior]

It makes sense. I can only grasp some a little from the Maay spoken in Lower Shabelle and Baydhabo. They seem to have the most af-maxaa influence.

Wouldn't be maxaatiri influence, because there was no historical intermarriage between af dhoobey speakers and maxatiri speakers.

 

[GaradShabeel]

Wouldn't be maxaatiri influence, because there was no historical intermarriage between af dhoobey speakers and maxatiri speakers.

Huh? What is it otherwise? And you don't need intermarriage for linguistic influence. There's also linguistic by proximity. In any case, of all Maay accents, the ones in urban L/S areas, close to Banaadir, seem to be 'easiest' to understand imo (relatively speaking).

 

[Avalanche]

Af Maay is definitely a language. How can a dialect have so many dialects itself.

 

[mohammdov]

It is a language in which approximately 50% of the words they use are unique to them and there is no similarity with maax

 

[techsamatar]

According to Google.

Mai-Mai, commonly spelled Maay Maay (also known as Af-Maay, Af-Maymay, or simply Maay; the Mai-Mai spelling is rarely used but it is most often spoken), is a dialect of the Somali language of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family. It is mainly spoken in Somalia and adjacent parts of Ethiopia and Kenya.

 

[The alchemist]

Two distinct language bifurcations from an ancestral linguistic continuum belonging to the same broad "dialect" cluster.

 

[Yami]

Distinct but closely related languages. Like Italian & Spanish

 

[Yami]

Af Maay is definitely a language. How can a dialect have so many dialects itself.

Not to mention not even having the same words & sounds of the main language. Af Maay lacks Xaa & Cayn pronunciations

 

[Garaad Awal]

Mandarin and cantonese are less mutually intelligible than croatian and serbian yet the former are considered a dialects of the same language while the latter are viewed as different languages. It's often a political/ideological decision, there is even a saying amongst linguists: "Many languages are just dialects with a flag", hence the catholic serbo-croats are croatian, the orthodox are serbian and the muslims are bosniaks.

I'd go on a limb here and say af maay and af maxaa are more mutually intelligible than cantonese and mandarin given the videos I've seen of chinese people talking about their differences. I can understand someone speaking af maay if they're from Banadir or Lower Shabelle but if they're from deep inside Bay or Bakool it might be harder but I'll still get the gist of the conversation.

I struggle to understand Banadir and cadcad Somali…Af Maay sounds like Oromo to me

 

[Emir of Zayla]

In my opinion it’s a dialect, though heavily separated from other dialects that Somalis speak.

 

[Banadiri Warrior]

Huh? What is it otherwise? And you don't need intermarriage for linguistic influence. There's also linguistic by proximity. In any case, of all Maay accents, the ones in urban L/S areas, close to Banaadir, seem to be 'easiest' to understand imo (relatively speaking).

Then how else would there be maxatiri influence if it wasn't through intermarriage or even interaction, the dialect of Af Maay I'm talking about is spoken in Daafeed, And along Dhoobey from Afgooye, Mareerey, Awdheegle, Malable ,Bariire, Mubarak, Janaale, Shalambood ,Buulo Mareer, Galwiin. In Afgooye region Maxatiri speakers like Wacdaan lived on the opposite side of the river to Maay speakers, only time there would be interaction between them was during Istunka festival which was annual, and it's impossible for there to be influence from just an annual event. There weren't any Maxatiri speakers in Daafeed or Awdheegle and towns surrounding it so how do you explain how their dialect ended up like that?

 

[Banadiri Warrior]

In my opinion it’s a dialect, though heavily separated from other dialects that Somalis speak.

Your opinion is irrelevant, you're from zaylac , you can't even name the Maay dialects.