Somali language

Somali (Arabic: الصوماليه) is a Cushitic language. It is spoken by ethnic Somalis in Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Yemen and Kenya, as well as by the Somali diaspora around the world -- an estimated total population of between 10 and 16 million speakers.

Somali
Af-Soomaali اللغة الصومالية
Native to	Somalia (and Somaliland), Djibouti, Ethiopia, Yemen, Kenya
Region	Horn of Africa
Native speakers	16.6 million (2006)
Language family	Afro-Asiatic Cushitic Lowland East Somali Somali
Writing system	Latin (official) Arabic (official) Osmanya Borama Kaddare
Official status
Official language in	Somalia
Regulated by	Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education
Language codes
ISO 639-1	so
ISO 639-2	som
ISO 639-3	som
Somali-speaking region
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The writing system of the Somali language has been Latin alphabet since 1960.

During the colonial years under Italy, in the capital Mogadishu was developed a pidgin from the Italian used by many Somalians: the Pidgin Italian of Somalia.