Language and writing
Somali Sign Language: how it began in Borama in 1997
Somali Sign Language is the sign language of deaf people in Somalia and Djibouti. It began in 1997, when a deaf Somali man trained at a deaf school in Wajir, Kenya, opened the first school for deaf children in Borama. It grew from Kenyan Sign Language and spread to schools in Hargeysa and Djibouti.
How it began
Somali Sign Language started with one deaf teacher. The Enabling Education Network (EENET), a UK charity, published an account of its beginnings written by Doreen E. Woodford. A Somali deaf man who had been educated at a school for the deaf in Wajir, Kenya, first proposed a deaf school for Somalis in 1977 (EENET, The beginning and growth of a new language: Somali Sign Language). In 1997 he used his knowledge of English and Kenyan Sign Language to open the first school for deaf children in Borama in the northwest.
One of the Borama teachers then founded a deaf school in Djibouti. Another school was opened in Hargeysa, with more difficulty (EENET). In Djibouti the sign language stayed Somali Sign Language but took its own path. Pupils in all these schools used it alongside written Somali and English in the north, and Somali and French in Djibouti; it still shows Kenyan influence.
What makes it different
The EENET account notes three points (EENET):
- It is built on Somali culture and the Somali language, not on a foreign one. The Anglo-Somali Society's journal made the same point in 2003 (Anglo-Somali Society journal, 2003, p. 19).
- It was started by a deaf person who already signed. Most early deaf schools in Africa were founded by hearing people.
- The first class to finish at Borama passed with high marks.
The account cites research showing that a national sign language grows faster when deaf signers set up the schools (EENET).
Schools and associations
The Somali National Association of the Deaf (SNAD) and Deaf Unity announced in 2013 that they would work together on deaf schools that teach Somali Sign Language, including a planned school in Bosaaso (Deaf Times, 31 August 2013, via Somali Sign Language, Wikipedia). The sign language is used by deaf Somalis in Somalia and Djibouti (Somali Sign Language, Wikipedia).
Name in Somali
On Somali Wikipedia the language is called Soomaali luqadda dhegoolaha, "the Somali language of the deaf" (Somali Wikipedia).
Read more
Sources
- EENET, The beginning and growth of a new language: Somali Sign Language · web.archive.org
- Anglo-Somali Society journal, 2003, p. 19 · books.google.com
- Deaf Times, 31 August 2013, via Somali Sign Language, Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
- Somali Wikipedia · so.wikipedia.org
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Where this matters
- Hargeysa (Hargeisa) and Woqooyi GalbeedWoqooyi Galbeed is the north-western region that holds Hargeisa (Hargeysa) and the port of Berbera, with about 1 to 1.45 million people.
- Boosaaso (Bosaso) and BariBari is Puntland's north-east region, with the port city of Bosaso (Boosaaso) as its capital and about 1.28 million people.
Same era
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- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
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