Kaddare alphabet

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Kaddare
Kaddarecon.gif
The Kaddare alphabet consonants.
Type
Languages Somali language

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

History[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

References[edit]

  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[edit]

External links[edit]