Somali people speak quite a number of languages and dialects. Af-Maay and Af-Mahaa being the lingua franca of the majority. In 1972, the later was put in a written format and made the national language of the country. This experiment alienated the other Somali language and produced tremendous disenchantments, particularly on the part of the Af-Maay speakers. In 1994, The Inter-Riverine Studies Association (ISA) adopted a script for Af-Maay, known as Maay Script or Elif-Maay, and in 2003, the Somali Peace and Reconciliation Conference at Mbegathi, Kenya, acknowledged that Af-Maay will be another official language of the Somali Republic.
This English-Maay Dictionary is the firt experiment exploring the roots of Af-Maay language and its relationship to the other Somali languages and dialects, as well as the Cushitic family languages in the Horn of Africa. The dictionary provides over 10,000 of the most frequently used words in Af-Maay and their English translations, with numerous examples of their every day usage. The dictionary is a vital addition to reference collections. It is also an essential tool non-Somali case workers such as those in refugee camps, immigration and naturalization officials or lawyers dealing with Somali asylum seekers. It is equally a vital tool for interpreters and translators working on curt cases, hospitals and legal papers as well as for public school teachers on ESL programs that teach Af-Maay speaking children in where English is the medium of instruction.
The authors Dr. Mohamed Haji Mukhtar and Omar Moalim Ahmed are native Af-Maay speakers and are fluent in Af-Mahaa, Arabic, Italian and English.
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