What Are Some Somali Words That Are Also Italian Words?
Only those who lived in the region of Somali may sometimes use Italian words as Italian was taught in schools during the period of colonization. My family is from that region, my father spoke fluent Italian since he was an avid cinema goer and he went to school during colonization. When I was younger, my relatives would mostly say goodbye on the phone with "ciao". They would sometimes use words like "bella". Although it's not the perfect comparison, the use of Italian words with these Somalis may compare to the use of French words in English. The difference though is that while some words in English are based on French, because of Britain and France's long history of relations, there is no such Italian root in commonly used Somali words. You will not see a nomad using any Italian, French, English, or Arabic when speaking Somali - they use strictly Somali words. However, in the same way that French is used in English as in "au revoir" (sometimes used by some), "c'est la vie", "ou la la" (I know that isn't really a word but it's an attempt at copying the French), and other such words, Italian is sometimes used by Somali speakers. However, I find that the use of Italian in Somali has since fallen out of use with the exception of some words used to describe things that are originally Italian or non-Somali (ie. "pasta" although it's pronounced "basto" as there is no p in Somali). If your family is from Somaliland or Djibouti, then you wouldn't have heard these words. If your family is from Somaliland, then you may have noticed that there is some English loan words like "towaal" (to refer to towel) instead of the native Somali word "shukamon" (not sure if I'm spelling it correctly but it sounds like that). Also, many older non-Somalis who do speak Somali fluently are often Italian, usually descended from Italian missionaries, nuns, or other workers that at some point chose to live in Somali after colonization ended. Or they are Russian (due to the period where communism was becoming popular in Somalia and there were Russian soldiers training Somali soldiers). There is one such Italian man on Youtube videos, where you can see him speaking Somali perfectly. He also has mastered Somali humour. lol There are also Russian scholars who teach Somali in a Russian university, forgot their names too - they've written some books that I have about Somali folk stories and other legends.
What languge do somalians speak?
Our only native language is Somali (not Somalian). Arabic and Swahili are not our native languages and they are very rarely spoken in Somalia except by ethnic Arabs and Bantus. Since the civil war, Somalis are scattered and there are Somalis that live in just about every single nation. So, of course, the Somalis there will speak the languages of the nation they live in. Older Somalis may speak other languages. For example, Somalis who went to school before independence in Italian Somaliland may speak Italian and those in British Somaliland may speak English. Somalis in Djibouti still speak French fluently. Somalis in the Somali region of Ethiopia may or may not speak Amharic or Oromo. Somalis in the Somali region of Kenya may or may not speak Swahili. Older Somalis who were involved militarily or politically with the Russians during Somalis short time as a communist nation may also speak some Russian.
Why do Somalians speak Italian?
That area of africa was a colony of Italy in the 1800s through mid-1900s. Pretty well all of Africa was claimed as colonies of European countries, and as a result pretty well all African countries speak one of the European languages as at least a second language.
Should Somalis Speak Italian?
I'm doing report on the people of Somalia and I think they shouldn't speak Arabic as their second language but they should speak Italian as a second language and they also have nothing to do with Arabs. The country even isn't in the middle east. Don't say they have the same religion, I know that. Should Somalia get out of Arab League? Should Somalia's second language be Italian?
European impact on somalia?
European colonists (Italian, British, and French) came to Somalia during the Scramble for Africa. The British occupied the Somaliland region of Somalia, the French occupied the country now known as Djibouti, and the Italians occupied the rest (Puntland and other areas). The British had little affect on Somali culture and language in Somaliland except that Somalis in that region might know English as a result of the colonization. The Italians did not affect Somali culture and language much on Somalis in some areas, but it did have more affect that the British did. Older Somalis from that region learned Italian as a part of the curriculum (my father speaks it), Somalis from those regions use some Italian loan words occasionally such as "ciao" and other words. The Italians built Catholic cathedrals in some parts of Italian-colonized Somalia (which has been a Muslim nation for centuries) and Christian orphanages. I'm not sure who exactly built the cinemas in Somalia but in the 1940s, old Italian movies (and American cowboys movies) would play in them. The affects that the British and Italy had on Somalia wasn't large. Somali culture remained basically unchanged despite being under European occupation for close to a century. Somalis are a proud people who often oppose outside influences in their culture and country. The majority of Somalis did not mix with the British or Italian, although a few did mix with Italians but those couplings were very rare. Those who did marry Italians (during colonization and post-colonization) were usually not ethnically Somali and were sometimes the minority ethnic groups of Somalia (like the Bantu, Ethiopians, etc). The French affected Djibouti much more. French is widely spoken in Djibouti today (as well as Somali) whereas hardly any Somalis speak Italian and English anymore in Somalia. The culture in Djibouti is Somali with French influences. I'm not too sure about the culture of Djibouti but I know that they are more Europeanized than the rest of Somalia.
Do Somalian and Sudani people speak Arabic?
Somalis speak Somali, they're not at all Arab. Somali is their native tongue, they sometimes speak Arabic, English, French, and Italian because of colonization, it was taught in schools or because of the Quran. It's mostly the northern Sudanese that speak Arabic so culturally, they are Arab but ethnicity or race-wise, they are not.