| Mai-Mai | |
|---|---|
| Af- Mai-Mai | |
| Native to | Somalia; significant communities inEthiopia,Kenya,North America, andYemen. |
| Region | Bakool,Bay,Middle Juba,Lower Shabelle,Gedo,Hiran |
| Ethnicity | Gosha,Rahanweyn Somalis |
Native speakers | 2.75 million (2020)[1] |
| Dialects | Maay Erte (Central Somali), Maay Dhete (Af-Goshe, Af-Shambarro, Lower Juba Maay, Mahaway), Af-Helledi[1][2] |
| Maay alphabet (Latin script) | |
| Official status | |
Official language in | Somalia |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | ymm |
| Glottolog | maay1238 |
 |
| Part ofa series on the |
| Culture of Somalia |
|---|
| Culture |
| People |
| Religion |
| Language |
| Politics |
Mai-Mai, commonly spelledMaay Maay (also known asAf-Maay,Af-Maymay, or simplyMaay; theMai-Mai spelling is rarely used but it is most often spoken), is one of theSomali languages. It is mainly spoken inSomalia and adjacent parts ofEthiopia andKenya. In Somalia, it is spoken inSouth West state,Jubaland state, andBanadir.
Somali linguistic varieties are divided into three main groups: Northern,Benadir, and Maay. Northern Somali (or Northern-Central Somali) forms the basis for Standard Somali.[3]
Maay is principally spoken by the Digil and Mirifle (Rahanweyn) clans in the southern regions ofSomalia, particularly inSouth West.[3] Its speech area extends from the southwestern border withEthiopia to a region close to the coastal strip betweenMogadishu andKismayo, including the city ofBaidoa.[4] Maay is notmutually comprehensible with Northern Somali orBenadir, and it differs considerably in sentence structure and phonology.[5] It is also not generally used in education or media. However, Maay speakers often use Standard Somali as alingua franca.[4] It is learned via mass communications, internal migration, and urbanisation.[5]
Although past scholars have maintained the assumption that Maay is not mutually comprehensible with Northern Somali it was done so without it being tested for. A more recent study by Deqa Hassan tested the mutual intelligibility between Af-Maay and Af-Maxaa speakers (Northern Somali).
The study found that Af-Maay is partially mutually intelligible to Af-Maxaa (Northern Speakers) and that intelligibility increases with increased understanding of Standard Somali. Which implies understanding of standard Somali (Northern Somali) increases the chance of understanding Af-Maay. This accounts for the most significant linguistic factor that ties both language variations together. Therefore Af-Maay is categorized as a Type 5 dialect[further explanation needed] for the overlapping common cultural history it shares with Af Maxaa speakers which explains its somewhat mutual intelligibility.[6]
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | iiː | uuː | |
| Mid | eeː | ooː | |
| Open | a aː |
Maay Maay exhibits significant amounts ofepenthesis, inserting central or high-central vowels to break up consonant clusters. Vowel length is contrastive; minimal pairs such asbur'flour' andbuur'mountain' are attested.
Maay Maay is fairlyagglutinative. It has complex verb forms, inflecting at least for tense/aspect and person/number of both subject and object. There is also a prefix indicating negation. In addition, verbs exhibit derivational morphology, including acausative and anapplicative. Nominal morphology includes adefiniteness suffix, whose form depends on the gender of the head noun, and possessive suffixes.
Maay Maay exhibitsSVO and SOV word orders, apparently in fairly free variation. When the object is postverbal, the prefixmaay appears on the verb. Within the noun phrase, thehead noun is generally initial. Possessors, adjectives and some strong quantifiers follow the head noun. Numerals and the indefinite quantifier precede the head noun.
Maay has retained a richoral tradition and evocative poetry that differs from the more well-known northern style. In southern Somalia, the poet and reciter would be one and the same. British ethnologist Virginia Luling noted during her visit toAfgooye that poetry was to be conceived and recited simultaneously with no prior preparation. The poets orLaashin relied on their wit and memory to construct poems and entertain the audience.[8]
GelediLaashins during Luling's 1989 stay inAfgooye sang about the ever-present issue of land theft by the Somali government. The Sultan in these poems was asked to help the community and reminded of his legendaryGobroon forefathers of the centuries prior.[8]
The poemThe law then was not this law was performed by the leadingLaashins of Afgooye, Hiraabey, Muuse Cusmaan and Abukar Cali Goitow alongside a few others, addressed to the current leader Sultan Subuge. It evoked the memories of the mightyGeledi Sultanate of years prior and was a sharp contrast to their current situation.[8]
Here the richest selection of the poem
Ganaane gubow gaala guuriow Gooble maahinoo Geelidle ma goynin | You who burntGanaane and chased away the infidels |
| —Abubakr Cali GoitowThe law then was not this law[8] |
