Kaddare alphabet

Kaddare
Type
Languages Somali language

The Kaddare alphabet is a writing script created to transcribe Somali, an Afro-Asiatic language.

History

The orthography was invented in 1952 by Sheikh Hussein Sheikh Ahmed Kaddare of the Abgaal Hawiye clan.

A phonetically robust writing system, the technical commissions that appraised the Kaddare script concurred that it was a very accurate orthography for transcribing Somali.[1]

Form

Cursive writing of Kaddare

The Kaddare script uses both upper and lower case letters, with the lower case represented in cursive. Many characters are transcribed without having to lift the pen.[2]

Several of Kaddare's letters are similar to those in the Osmanya script, while others bear a resemblance to Brahmi.[2]

As there are no dedicated characters for long vowels, a vowel is made long by simply writing it twice.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Laitin, David D. (1977). Politics, Language, and Thought: The Somali Experience. University of Chicago Press. p. 87. ISBN 0226467910.
  2. 1 2 3 Rendition at www.skyknowledge.com/kaddare.htm

Further reading

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