Musa Haji Ismail Galal (, ) (1917–1980) was a Somali writer, scholar, linguist, historian and

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

. He is notable for playing a key role in the development of

Somali Latin alphabet The Somali Latin alphabet is an official writing system in the Somalia, Federal Republic of Somalia and its constituent States and regions of Somalia, Federal Member States. It was developed by a number of leading scholars of Somali_language, So ...

and the creation of Galaal script, a controversial standardized Somali Arabic script which is the only instance where new letters were introduced to an Arabic script with no relation to any of the existing letters.Sheikh, Ahmed. “Somali with Arabic Script – a Linguistic Historical Study (Somaliska Med Arabisk Skrift – En Språkhistorisk Studie).” Gothenburg University Publications Electronic Archive, Winter 2019
https://gupea.ub.gu.se/bitstream/handle/2077/63249/gupea_2077_63249_1.pdfArchive

Biography

Galal was born in 1917 in

Burao Burao, also spelt Bur'o or Bur'ao (; , , ), is the capital of the Togdheer region and the second largest city in Somaliland. Burao was the site of the Somaliland Declaration of Independence, declaration of an independent Somaliland on 18 May 19 ...

. He hails from the

Habar Jeclo The Habr Je'lo (), , Full Name: ''Mūsa ibn Ishaaq bin Ahmed, ash-Shaykh Isḥāq ibn Aḥmad,'' historically known as the Habr Toljaala () is a major Northern Somali clan of the wider Isaaq family. Its members form the Habr Habusheed () confedera ...

clan of the

Isaaq The Isaaq (, , ''Banu Ishaq'') is a major Somali clans, Somali clan. It is one of the largest Somali clan families in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory. The Isaaq people claim in a traditional legend ...

. He is noted for having contributed to the development of Wadaad's script. In the 1950s, Galal introduced a more radical alteration of the

Arabic script The Arabic script is the writing system used for Arabic (Arabic alphabet) and several other languages of Asia and Africa. It is the second-most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world (after the Latin script), the second-most widel ...

to represent the

Afro-Asiatic The Afroasiatic languages (also known as Afro-Asiatic, Afrasian, Hamito-Semitic, or Semito-Hamitic) are a language family (or "phylum") of about 400 languages spoken predominantly in West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and parts of th ...

Somali language Somali is an Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language belonging to the Cushitic languages, Cushitic branch, primarily spoken by the Somalis, Somali people, native to Greater Somalia. It is an official language in Somalia, Somaliland, and Ethio ...

. He came up with an entirely new set of symbols with no relation to any other Arabic letter, for the Somali vowels. I.M. Lewis (1958) considers this to be the most accurate Arabic script to have been devised for the Somali language.Lewis, p.139-140 Despite this, Galal's script was highly controversial and generally rejected, as the idea of introducing brand new letters was considered too much of a deviation from the Arabic Script. Later, he took part in the development of

, along with B. W. Andrzejewski and Shire Jama Ahmed. A prolific writer, Galal was also among the foremost authorities on the Somali astrological,

meteorological Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agriculture ...

and calendrical systems. He devoted two major works to traditional Somali science, both of which are regarded as classics in Somali Studies. He was prolific in recording and writing about Somali poetry and his recordings include the work of Salaan Carrabey. After a long scholarly career, Galal died in 1980. In his honour, the Somali Studies Association periodically presents the ''Musa Galaal Award'' to Somalists whose work on Somali history and culture has earned distinction.

Bibliography

*''The terminology and practice of Somali weather lore, astronomy, and astrology'' (1968) *''Stars, seasons and weather in Somali pastoral traditions'' (1970)

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External links

Stars, Seasons and Weather in Somali Pastoral Traditions
(Pre-publication excerpts)
The Terminology and Practice of Somali Weather Lore, Astronomy, and Astrology
(Book review) {{DEFAULTSORT:Galal, Musa Haji Ismail 1917 births 1980 deaths Ethnic Somali people Linguists from Somalia Somalian historians Somalian non-fiction writers Somalian scholars Somalists 20th-century historians Somali-language writers 20th-century linguists 20th-century non-fiction writers

Biography

Bibliography

See also

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External links