Jump to content

Kaddare alphabet

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Middayexpress (talk | contribs) at 16:39, 6 March 2015. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Kaddare
File:Kaddarecon.gif
The Kaddare alphabet consonants.
Script type
LanguagesSomali language
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

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

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. ^ a b c Rendition at www.skyknowledge.com/kaddare.htm

Further reading