The Kaddare alphabet is a
writing script created to transcribe
Somali, a
Cushitic language
The Cushitic languages are a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. They are spoken primarily in the Horn of Africa, with minorities speaking Cushitic languages to the north in Egypt and the Sudan, and to the south in Kenya and Tanzania. As o ...
in the
Afroasiatic
The Afroasiatic languages (or Afro-Asiatic), also known as Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic, and sometimes also as Afrasian, Erythraean or Lisramic, are a language family of about 300 languages that are spoken predominantly in the geographic su ...
language family.
History
The orthography was invented in 1952 by a Sufi Sheikh, named
Hussein Sheikh Ahmed Kaddare
Hussein Sheikh Ahmed Kaddare ( so, Xuseen Sheekh Axmed Kaddare, ar, حسين الشيخ أحمد كاداري; March 2 1934 – February 2015) was a Somali inventor, linguist, and researcher in Somali traditions and folklore. Kaddare contribute ...
.
A phonetically robust writing system, the technical commissions that appraised the Kaddare script concurred that it was a very accurate orthography for transcribing Somali.
Form
![Cursive writing of Kaddare](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Cursive_writing_of_Kaddare.jpg)
The Kaddare script uses both upper and lower case letters, with the lower case represented in
cursive
Cursive (also known as script, among other names) is any style of penmanship in which characters are written joined in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster, in contrast to block letters. It varies in functionalit ...
. Many characters are transcribed without having to lift the pen.
[Rendition at www.skyknowledge.com/kaddare.htm](_blank)
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Several of Kaddare's letters are similar to those in the Osmanya script
The Osmanya script ( so, Farta Cismaanya 𐒍𐒖𐒇𐒂𐒖 𐒋𐒘𐒈𐒑𐒛𐒒𐒕𐒖), also known as Far Soomaali (𐒍𐒖𐒇 𐒘𐒝𐒈𐒑𐒛𐒘, "Somali writing") and, in Arabic, as ''al-kitābah al-ʿuthmānīyah'' (الكتا ...
, while others bear a resemblance to Brahmi
Brahmi (; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such ...
.
As there are no dedicated characters for long vowel
A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (leng ...
s, a vowel is made long by simply writing it twice.
See also
*Somali orthography
A number of writing systems have been used to transcribe the Somali language. Of these, the Somali Latin alphabet is the most widely used. It has been the official writing script in Somalia since the Supreme Revolutionary Council (Somalia), Supre ...
*Borama
Borama ( so, Boorama, ar, بورما) is the Second capital city of Somaliland and the largest city of the northwestern Awdal region of Somaliland The commercial seat of the province, it is situated near the border with Ethiopia.
During the Mid ...
*Osmanya
The Osmanya script ( so, Farta Cismaanya 𐒍𐒖𐒇𐒂𐒖 𐒋𐒘𐒈𐒑𐒛𐒒𐒕𐒖), also known as Far Soomaali (𐒍𐒖𐒇 𐒘𐒝𐒈𐒑𐒛𐒘, "Somali writing") and, in Arabic, as ''al-kitābah al-ʿuthmānīyah'' (الكتا ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
Somali Language History and Vernaculars
The report of the Somali Language Committee
Writing systems of Africa
Somali language
Somali orthography
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