View source for Osmanya script

{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Short description|Script created in the 1920s for Somali}}
{{Infobox Writing system
| name        = Osmanya<br>{{lang|so|𐒍𐒖𐒇𐒂𐒖 𐒋𐒘𐒈𐒑𐒛𐒒𐒕𐒖}}
| creator     = [[Osman Yusuf Kenadid]]
| sample      = Typewriter of British Somaliland.jpg
| imagesize   = 220px
| caption     = Typewriter with Osmanya letters, from [[British Somaliland]]
| languages   = [[Somali language]]
| SHdates     = 1920-1922
| type        = [[Alphabet]]
| time        = c.1922 — c.1972, some current interest
| unicode     = [https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U10480.pdf U+10480&ndash;U+104AF]
| iso15924    = Osma
| note        = none
}}

'''Osmanya''' ({{lang|so|Farta Cismaanya}}, {{lang|so|𐒍𐒖𐒇𐒂𐒖 𐒋𐒘𐒈𐒑𐒛𐒒𐒕𐒖}}), known in Somali as ''Far Soomaali'' ({{lang|so|𐒍𐒖𐒇 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘}}, "Somali writing")<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dadweynaha |first=Somalia Wasaaradda Warfaafinta iyo Hanuuninta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v-GwAAAAIAAJ |title=The Writing of the Somali Language: A Great Landmark in Our Revolutionary History |date=1974 |publisher=Ministry of Information and National Guidance |pages=5 |language=en}}</ref> and in Arabic as ''al-kitābah al-ʿuthmānīyah'' ({{lang|ar|الكتابة العثمانية}}; "Osman writing"), is an [[alphabetic script]] created to transcribe the [[Somali language]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dadweynaha |first=Somalia Wasaaradda Warfaafinta iyo Hanuuninta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v-GwAAAAIAAJ |title=The Writing of the Somali Language: A Great Landmark in Our Revolutionary History |date=1974 |publisher=Ministry of Information and National Guidance |pages=16 |language=en}}</ref> It was invented by [[Osman Yusuf Kenadid]], the son of [[Suldaan|Sultan]] [[Yusuf Ali Kenadid]] and brother of Sultan [[Ali Yusuf Kenadid]] of the [[Sultanate of Hobyo]]. Material written in the script is 'almost non-existent,' so it is difficult to describe its use with certainty.<ref name=tosco>{{Cite journal |last=Tosco |first=Mauro |date=2015 |title=Djibouti: AGA |url=https://arcadia.sba.uniroma3.it/bitstream/2307/5706/1/Short%20notes%20on%20Somali%20previous%20scripts_Mauro%20Tosco.pdf |journal=The Intergovernmental Academy of Somali Language |pages=196–197}}</ref>

==History==
[[Image:Osman Yuusuf Keenadiid.gif|thumb|[[Osman Yusuf Kenadid]]|alt=]]
While Osmanya gained reasonable acceptance for correspondence and bookkeeping at the local level, it met fierce resistance as a national script for several reasons: it was identified with the [[Majeerteen]] clan, who supported the Italian colonial government, rather than with the Somali nation as a whole [a view that has changed somewhat in the 21st century], there was opposition to making Somali rather than Arabic the official language of the country, and in addition there was opposition to using any indigenous script rather than either the [[Arabic script]], long used for writing Arabic in Somalia, or the Latin script.<ref name="tosco"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Abdullahi|first=Mohamed Diriye|url=https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00diri|url-access=registration|page=[https://archive.org/details/culturecustomsof00diri/page/n98 73]|title=Culture and Customs of Somalia|date=2001|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-31333-2|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Lewis|first=I. M.| author-link=Ioan Lewis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eK6SBJIckIsC&pg=PR17|title=A Pastoral Democracy: A Study of Pastoralism and Politics Among the Northern Somali of the Horn of Africa|date=1999|publisher=James Currey Publishers|isbn=978-0-85255-280-3|language=en}}</ref> 

After independence a governmental commission was set up to decide on an official writing system for Somali. It favored [[Kaddare script]], but judged it to be impractical for a developing nation. In October 1972 the [[Somali Latin alphabet]] was adopted as the official writing system for Somali because of its simplicity, ability to cope with all of the sounds in the language, and the widespread existence of machines and typewriters designed for the Latin script.<ref>Andrew Simpson, ''Language and National Identity in Africa'', (Oxford University Press: 2008), p.288</ref><ref>Economist Intelligence Unit (Great Britain), ''Middle East annual review'', (1975), p.229</ref><ref name=Abdullahi>Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi, ''Culture and Customs of Somalia'', (Greenwood Press: 2001), p.73</ref> The administration of President [[Mohamed Siad Barre]] subsequently launched a massive literacy campaign designed to ensure its adoption, which led to a sharp decline in use of Osmanya.

==Description==
[[File:Ciismaniya.jpg|thumb|The Osmanya script as reproduced in Lewis (1958: 141), with phonetic values of the letters. Note the lack of an ''alef'' even at this date and the different alphabetic order compared to the presentation below.]]
The direction of reading and writing in Osmanya is from left to right, as in Latin script. Capitalization is sporadic. 

Long vowels were originally written either double or with consonants, as in Arabic, but later ligatures were developed from the double vowels.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ Transcription of long vowels
|-
! Latin !! early Osmanya !! late Osmanya 
|-
| aa || 𐒖𐒀 {{angle bracket|aʼ}} || 𐒛 {{angle bracket|ā}}
|-
| ee || 𐒗𐒕 {{angle bracket|ey}}, 𐒗𐒗 {{angle bracket|ee}} || 𐒜 {{angle bracket|ē}}
|-
| oo || 𐒙𐒓 {{angle bracket|ow}}, 𐒙𐒙 {{angle bracket|oo}} || 𐒝 {{angle bracket|ō}}
|-
| ii || 𐒘𐒕 {{angle bracket|iy}} || 𐒕 {{angle bracket|y}}
|-
| uu || 𐒚𐒓 {{angle bracket|uw}} || 𐒓 {{angle bracket|w}}
|}

The ATR/RTR distinction is not marked in vowels, except occasionally in the 21st century with a diaeresis for ATR vowels, as is occasionally done also in Latin script.

The article and determiner suffixes are written separately from the noun, which retains its underlying form. Assimilation is however shown on the article/determiner itself [feminine ''-ta'', masculine ''-ka'']. Thus ''hooyada'' 'the mother' is written {{angle bracket|hooyo da}}; ''hasha'' 'the she-camel' is written {{angle bracket|hal sha}}. When the ''k'' of ''-ka'' elides, it is marked with an apostrophe, which was borrowed from Latin script. Thus ''dhinaca'' 'the side' is written {{angle bracket|dhinac'a}}.    

===Letters===
The order of the alphabet is not completely fixed, as only letters that correspond to Arabic script are consistently written in that order. The letter 𐒀 ''alef'', which had been used to mark long vowels as well as glottal stop, was dropped around the time letters were added for ''aa'', ''ee'', ''oo'', and ''w'', ''y'' came to be used for ''uu'', ''ii''. The order below is -- apart from the anachronistic retention of the letter ''alef'' -- as written by the inventor's son Yaasiin, though various other orders are attested.<ref>Tosco 2010 [https://journals.ub.uni-koeln.de/index.php/AAeo/article/view/3542/3761 Somali writings], p 13 ''ff''</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! Osmanya || Name || Latin || [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
! Osmanya || Name || Latin || [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
! Osmanya || Name || Latin || [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
|-
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒀}} * || alef || ʼ || {{IPAblink|ʔ, ː}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒁}} || ba || b || {{IPAblink|b}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒂}} || ta || t || {{IPAblink|t}}
|-
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒃}} || ja || j || {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒄}} || xa || x || {{IPAblink|ħ}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒅}} || kha || kh || {{IPAblink|χ}}
|-
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒆}} || deel || d || {{IPAblink|d}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒇}} || ra || r || {{IPAblink|r}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒈}} || sa || s || {{IPAblink|s}}
|-
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒉}} || shiin || sh || {{IPAblink|ʃ}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒌}} || ga || g || {{IPAblink|ɡ}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒊}} || dha || dh || {{IPAblink|ɖ}}
|-
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒋}} || cayn || c || {{IPAblink|ʕ}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒍}} || fa || f || {{IPAblink|f}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒎}} || qaaf || q || {{IPAblink|q}}
|-
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒏}} || kaaf || k || {{IPAblink|k}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒐}} || laan || l || {{IPAblink|l}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒑}} || miin || m || {{IPAblink|m}}
|-
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒒}} || nuun || n || {{IPAblink|n}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒔}} || ha || h || {{IPAblink|h}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒘}} || i || i || {{IPA|[{{IPAlink|i}}, {{IPAlink|ɪ}}]}}
|-
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒚}} || u || u || {{IPA|[{{IPAlink|ʉ}}, {{IPAlink|u}}]}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒙}} || o || o || {{IPA|[{{IPAlink|ɞ}}, {{IPAlink|ɔ}}]}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒖}} || a || a || {{IPA|[{{IPAlink|æ}}, {{IPAlink|ɑ}}]}}
|-
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒗}} || e || e || {{IPA|[{{IPAlink|e}}, {{IPAlink|ɛ}}]}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒕}} || ya || y, ii || {{IPA|[{{IPAlink|j}}, {{IPAlink|iː}}, {{IPAlink|ɪː}}]}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒓}} || waw || w, uu || {{IPA|[{{IPAlink|w}}, {{IPAlink|ʉː}}, {{IPAlink|uː}}]}}
|-
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒝}} || oo || oo || {{IPA|[{{IPAlink|ɞː}}, {{IPAlink|ɔː}}]}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒛}} || aa || aa || {{IPA|[{{IPAlink|æː}}, {{IPAlink|ɑː}}]}}
| style="font-size:1.5em;" | {{script|Osma|𐒜}} || ee || ee || {{IPA|[{{IPAlink|eː}}, {{IPAlink|ɛː}}]}}
|}

: *''alef'', which was used for both glottal stop and long ''aa'', has been dropped from the alphabet

===Digits===
The system is decimal:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|-
!Digit
|0||1||2||3||4||5||6||7||8||9
|-
!Osmanya
|style="font-size:1.5em;"| {{script|Osma|𐒠}}
|style="font-size:1.5em;"| {{script|Osma|𐒡}}
|style="font-size:1.5em;"| {{script|Osma|𐒢}}
|style="font-size:1.5em;"| {{script|Osma|𐒣}}
|style="font-size:1.5em;"| {{script|Osma|𐒤}}
|style="font-size:1.5em;"| {{script|Osma|𐒥}}
|style="font-size:1.5em;"| {{script|Osma|𐒦}}
|style="font-size:1.5em;"| {{script|Osma|𐒧}}
|style="font-size:1.5em;"| {{script|Osma|𐒨}}
|style="font-size:1.5em;"| {{script|Osma|𐒩}}
|}

Although some of these digits may look identical to various letters, this is not true for all fonts.

==Unicode==
{{Main|Osmanya (Unicode block)}}

Osmanya was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in April 2003 with the release of version 4.0. Capitalization is not supported.

The Unicode block for Osmanya is U+10480&ndash;U+104AF:

{{Unicode chart Osmanya}}

==See also== 
* [[Kaddare script]]
* [[Somali alphabets]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* I.M. Lewis (1958) ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies'', [[University of London]], Vol. 21 pp 134–156.

==External links==
* [http://www.omniglot.com/writing/somali.htm Osmanya, Borama, Wadaad's writing and the Somali language]
* [http://www.evertype.com/standards/iso10646/pdf/afkeenna-iyo-fartiisa.pdf ''Afkeenna iyo fartiisa''] - a book in Osmanya
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100326133510/http://www.somalinativealphabet.com/ Somali Native Alphabet]
* [https://archive.org/details/LinguisticReport1961 The report of the Somali Language Committee]
* [http://www.alanwood.net/unicode/osmanya.html Unicode assignments for Osmanya characters]
* [http://www.wazu.jp/gallery/Fonts_Osmanya.html Osmanya Unicode Fonts]
* [https://www.lexilogos.com/keyboard/osmanya.htm Osmanya online keyboard] - Lexilogos
* [https://somali.surge.sh/ Somali Osmaniya Transliterator]

{{list of writing systems}}
{{writing systems}}

[[Category:Writing systems of Africa]]
[[Category:Somali orthography]]
[[Category:Obsolete writing systems]]
[[Category:1920s establishments in Somalia]]
[[Category:Somali inventions]]