Self portraits

Self portraits

Monday, May 9, 2011

Halcyon Days

Lu and Bruce as Persian Miniature, acrylic on pvc, 12" x 12"


Af-Soomaali, part ii, acrylic on pvc, 12" x 12" or so

I'm studying Somali language, as I work in the E. African community in Minneapolis. My pictures are made from memory.  Instead of becoming an English-only state, (a Republican proposal which would be absurd, discriminatory, and not very Minnesota-nice), I propose that we all learn a little Somali:

Af-Soomaali ma ku hadashaa?  Meaning, Do you speak Somali? The language is phonetic, for the most part, except for 5 consonants which are different from English:

X = haaa 
KH = the gutteral sound taken from Arabic, like the ch in challah
C = almost silent, but kind of a gagging sound is best I can describe it
R = rolled, like the r in Italian
Q = a hard k sound.

The vowels are spoken as follows:
A = a as in bar
E = e as in end
I  = i as in in
O = o as in dome
U = like the oo in noon

And, the double vowels are spoken the same, but held longer.

Now you have the skills to read this: Waxaan aqaan wax yar Af-Soomaali, meaning, I know a little Somali. I know that might seem like a slight exaggeration, since you only know two sentences. But, one step at a time, you are becoming a better neighbor.

No comments: