Benadiri Somali also referred to as “Coastal Somali” ( so, Af Reer Xamar) is a dialect of the

Somali language Somali (Latin script: ; Wadaad writing, Wadaad: ; Osmanya: 𐒖𐒍 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘 ) is an Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic languages, Cushitic branch. It is spoken as a mother tongue by Somalis in ...

. It is primarily spoken by the

Benadiri people The Banaadiri people ( so, Reer Benaadir, ar, البنادريون) are a nationality in Somalia. Banaadiris largely inhabit Somalia's southern coastline. Overview Although the Benadiri are sometimes described as the founders of Mogadishu (he ...

, who inhabit the southern

Banaadir Banaadir ( so, Banaadir, ar, بنادر, it, Benadir) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in southeastern Somalia. It covers the same area as the city of Mogadishu, which serves as the capital. It is bordered to the northwest by the Shabel ...

coast of

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

Overview

Benadiri Somali is spoken on the Benadir coast, from

Adale Adale ( so, Cadale; it, Adalei or Itala), also known as Cadaley, is a coastal town in the southern Middle Shabelle (Shabeellaha Dhexe) region of Somalia. History Adale was mentioned in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, written by an anonym ...

to south of

Merca Merca ( so, Marka, Maay Maay, Maay: ''Marky'', ar, مركة) is a historic port city in the southern Lower Shebelle province of Somalia. It is located approximately to the southwest of the nation's capital Mogadishu. Merca is the traditional home ...

including Mogadishu, as well as in the immediate hinterland. The coastal dialects have additional

phonemes In phonology and linguistics, a phoneme () is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word from another in a particular language. For example, in most dialects of English, with the notable exception of the West Midlands and the north-west o ...

that do not exist in Standard Somali. Benadiri Somali is also referred to as Coastal Somali or ''Af-Reer Xamar'' ("Language of the People of Hamar").

Varieties

Blench (2006) structures the dialect into three general subdivisions:Blench, 2006
The Afro-Asiatic Languages: Classification and Reference List
(ms) *Northern Benadir (

Abgaal Abgaal (Somali: Abgaal, Arabic: أبغال) is a subclan of the Hawiye and the even larger Samaale clan. It is one of the major Somali clans and has produced many prominent historical Somali figures including 3 presidents, and the father of t ...

, Ajuran, Huber, and Galjal) *Southern Benadir ( Hamari,

Bimaal Overview The Biimaal or Bimal, is a sub-clan of the major Dir clan family. This clan is widely known for leading a resistance against the colonials in southern Somalia for decades which can be compared to the war of the Sayyid in Somaliland. Th ...

)

Notes

References

ALSintl - Somali language
{{Somali language Somali language