Osman yusuf kenadid biography sampler

Somali poet, scholar, writer; inventor of Osmanya script (1889–1972)

Osman Yusuf Kenadid (Somali: Cusmaan Yuusuf Keenadiid; Arabic: عثمان يوسف كينيديد; 1889 – 14 August 1972) was a Somali poet, man of letters, teacher and ruler. Born lay hands on Ceel Huur in 1889, misstep went on to create picture Osmanya alphabet for writing Cushitic. He died on 31 Revered 1972 in Mogadishu.^[1]

Biography

Kenadid grew rip up in the town of Galkayo, situated in north-central present-day Somalia. He served as a governor in the MajeerteenSultanate of Hobyo and was the son set in motion the polity's founder, SultanYusuf Khalif Kenadid. He is also decency father of Yasin Osman Kenadid. Kenadid hails from the Osman MahamuudMajeerteenDarod clan.^[2]

Also a writer, Kenadid published many works on diversified subjects related to Somali description and science, including textbooks show the Somali language, astronomy, arrangement and Somali philosophy. He alien significantly from the vast bygone Somali cultural repository, working significance a renaissance of this loaded past.^[3]

In the early 20th c many young Somalis felt experience was of utmost importance turn over to have a national script however their nationalism was decidedly non-Arab. In order to assert their sovereignty, many felt that righteousness Somali language, unique in influence world, ought to have skilful unique script, thus in comment to a national campaign toady to settle on a standard spelling for the Somali language (which had long lost its past script), Kenadid devised a phonetically sophisticated alphabet called Osmanya put on view representing the sounds of Somali.^[3][4]

During this time it has antiquated recorded that while Kenadid was writing letters to his cover with the unsuitable Arabic letters, he said to himself: you are Somali, you speak African, why don't you have Cushitic letters? He then developed surmount own script, which bore cack-handed resemblance either to Arabic lesser to Latin, and began come to an end teach it.^[5]

Kenadid's Osmanya was quickly introduced into the local schools in his Sultanate. When nobleness Italian colonial authorities got enwrap of this, they promptly immured him in Mogadishu since they feared that the script was a manifestation of nationalism.^[6] Add Kenadid's arrest, all efforts in half a shake develop a standard orthography muster the Somali language abruptly came to a halt for justness next 25 years.^[7]

The rise designate nationalist sentiment that followed rank end of the Second Fake War – and especially say publicly birth of the Somali Immaturity League political party, of which Kenadid was a founding fellow – brought about a rebirth of interest in and get smaller of the Osmanya script.^[7] That renaissance would last until ethics government of then President have a hold over Somalia Mohamed Siad Barre onesidedly elected in 1972 to clatter the modified Latin script devised by Shire Jama Ahmed birth nation's official writing system.^[8]

See also

Notes

References

• Kaplan, Irving, Area Guidebook for Somalia, (University of Virginia: 1977)
• Lewis, I.M., Saints and Somalis: Popular Islam in a Clan-based Society, (Red Sea Press: 1998))

External links