A number of writing systems have been used to transcribe the Somali language. Of these, the Somali Latin alphabet is the most widely used. It has been the official writing script in Somalia since the Supreme Revolutionary Council formally introduced it in October 1972, and was disseminated through a nationwide rural literacy campaign.[1] Prior to the twentieth century, the Arabic script was used for writing Somali.[citation needed] An extensive literary and administrative corpus exists in Arabic script.[2][3] It was the main script historically used by the various Somali sultans to keep records.[3] Writing systems developed locally in the twentieth century include the Osmanya, Borama and Kaddare scripts.[4]
- ^ Economist Intelligence Unit (Great Britain), Middle East annual review, (1975), p.229
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Lewiswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Sub-Saharan Africa Report, Issues 57-67. Foreign Broadcast Information Service. 1986. p. 34.
- ^ Laitin, David D. (1977). Politics, Language, and Thought: The Somali Experience. University of Chicago Press. pp. 87–88. ISBN 0226467910.