r/Somali

I'm Zak. I'm 15, I'm Somali-American, and I just launched Hadal on the App Store.

I built it because I grew up understanding Somali but couldn't speak it back. Every family gathering I'd nod along, every phone call with relatives back home I'd hand the phone to my mom. I'm not the only one. Most of you reading this know exactly what I'm talking about.

I tried Duolingo. No Somali. Babbel. No Somali. Rosetta Stone. Nothing.

So I started building Hadal a few months ago. Structured lessons, vocab, audio, gamified so you actually come back. I'm posting this because I want feedback from the people it's actually built for. If you download it and something is wrong — a translation is off, a word is mispronounced, a feature is missing, please tell me. DM me, comment here, leave a review. I'm one kid and I read everything.

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hadal-learn-somali/id6761196657

If you've ever felt that disconnect: this is for you. Walaalayaal, let's actually learn this language.

Hi,

I am currently conducting research on loanwords (words from another language used within a different linguistic context). I have come across a few terms that are said to originate from Somali, but I have not found reliable evidence to confirm this. There are two words for which I would appreciate clarification :

Is niyo possibly a contraction of nin yahow ?
There is also another expression for which I'm not sure about the written transcription. The full sentence is: “You want me to speak Somali? Hoya, hoya, k k k” (the speaker produces a clicking sound with their tongue). The pronunciation of hoya seems somewhat similar to khoya in Arabic, although I am not certain.

Thx!

I'm a 15-year-old Somali and I built the first real Somali learning app because Duolingo wouldn't.

Doubt regarding the meaning of certain words (niyo/roya?)