The Kaddare alphabet is a
writing script created to transcribe
Somali
Somali may refer to:
Horn of Africa
* Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region
** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis
** Somali culture
** Somali cuisine
** Somali language, a Cushitic language
** Soma ...
, a
Cushitic language in the
Afroasiatic language family.
History
The orthography was invented in 1952 by a Sufi Sheikh, named
Hussein Sheikh Ahmed Kaddare.
A phonetically robust writing system, the technical commissions that appraised the Kaddare script concurred that it was a very accurate orthography for transcribing Somali.
Form

The Kaddare script uses both upper and lower case letters, with the lower case represented in
cursive
Cursive (also known as script, among other names) is any style of penmanship in which characters are written joined in a flowing manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster, in contrast to block letters. It varies in functional ...
. Many characters are transcribed without having to lift the pen.
[Rendition at www.skyknowledge.com/kaddare.htm](_blank)
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Several of Kaddare's letters are similar to those in the Osmanya script, while others bear a resemblance to Brahmi
Brahmi (; ; ISO: ''Brāhmī'') is a writing system of ancient South Asia. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the Aśokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as 'lath' o ...
.
As there are no dedicated characters for long vowel
A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (l ...
s, a vowel is made long by simply writing it twice.
See also
*Somali orthography
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 introd ...
* Borama
* Osmanya
References
Further reading
*
External links
Somali Language History and Vernaculars
The report of the Somali Language Committee
Writing systems of Africa
Somali language
Somali orthography
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