Somali/Osmanya alphabet

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Somali/Osmanya alphabet

Somali (af Soomaali / اَف صَومالي˜)

Somali is a member of the East Cushtic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. It has 10-16 million native speakers and perhaps half a million second language speakers mainly in Somali, where it is an official language, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Kenya. There are also significant numbers of Somali speakers in Europe, North America and Yemen.

Somali has been written with a number of different scripts, including an Arabic-based abjad known as Wadaad's writing, a Latin-based alphabet and the Borama, Osmanya and Kaddare alphabets

Wadaad's writing (وَداد)

The Arabic script was first introduced in the 13th century by Sheikh Yusuf al-Kowneyn to aid Koranic teaching. In the 19th century Sheikh Uways al-Barawi improved the writing of Somali with the Arabic script and based it on the Maay dialect of Southern Somalia. A Somali linguists, Muuse Xaaji Ismaaciil Galaal, radically altered the spelling conventions for Somali written with the Arabic script and introduced a set of new symbols for the vowels in the 1950s.

Sample text

Borama/Gadabuursi alphabet

In 1933 Sheikh Abdurahman Sheikh Nuur invented another script for Somali known as Borama or Gadabuursi which was only used by the Sheikh's small circle of associates in Borama.

Sample text

Translation

My beloved brother Huseen, Peace.
I am well, the reer is at Đoobo.
The big burden camel has been eaten by a lion. 'Ali has come.
The goods have been received by us. Send us (some) ghee.
Out mother has come. Your brother Guuleed has gone to Hargeisa.
Nuur Bile,
Borama.

Somali/Osmanya alphabet

The Osmanya alphabet was created in between 1920 and 1922 by Cismaan Yuusuf Keenadiid, brother of the Sultan of Obbia. In Somali it is known as far soomaali (Somali writing) or cismaanya. It replaced an attempt by Sheikh Uweys to devise an Arabic-based alphabet for Somali, and has in turn been replaced by the Latin orthography of Muuse Xaaji Ismaaciil Galaal (1914-1980).
The Osmanya alphabet is not used much these days, though during the 1970s quite a number of people used it for personal correspondence and bookkeeping. A few books and magazines have also been published in the alphabet.

Notable features

• Direction of writing: left to right in horizontal rows.
• The names of the letters are based on Arabic letter names.
• The letters waw and ya are used to write the long vowels uu and ii respectively.
• Somali is a tonal language with four tones which are not usually marked in writing. The tones have grammatical uses: theny indicate number, gender and case

Numerals

Sample text

Kaddare alphabet

The Kaddare alphabet was invented by Sheikh Hussein Sheikh Ahmed Kaddare of the Abgaal Hawiye clan in 1952. The letters have upper forms, which are shown on the first row of the chart below, and lower case forms, which are shown on the second row.

Sample text

Source: http://www.skyknowledge.com/kaddare.htm - alphabet information based on research by Ian James, who is uncertain about the use of this alphabet.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Latin alphabet for Somali

In 1961 both the Latin and Osmanya scripts were adopted for use in Somalia, but in 1969 there was a coup, with one of its stated aims the resolution of the debate over the country's writing system. The Latin alphabet was finally adopted in 1972 and at the same time Somali was made the sole official language of Somalia. Shire Jama Ahmed (Shire Jaamac Axmed / شيري جامع أحمد‎) is credited with the invention of this spelling system, and his system was chosen from among eighteen competing new orthographies.

Sample text

Aadanaha dhammaantiis wuxuu dhashaa isagoo xor ah kana siman xagga sharafta iyo xuquuqada Waxaa Alle (Ilaah) siiyay aqoon iyo wacyi, waana in qof la arkaa qofka kale ula dhaqmaa si walaaltinimo ah.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Concorso per traduttori di lingua italiana presso le istituzioni europee

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Concorso per traduttori di lingua italiana presso le istituzioni europee

Concorso per traduttori di lingua italiana presso le istituzioni europee

Aperto il concorso per traduttori di lingua italiana presso le istituzioni europee.

"Tradurre idee, non solo parole " Questo il titolo del bando che la Commissione Europea ha pubblicato per traduttori di lingua italiana presso le istituzione della UE

Descrizione dell'offerta:

Il concorso è aperto a:

-  traduttori di professione, ma anche a neolaureati in lingue o traduzione/interpretazione,

- a candidati in possesso di lauree in altre discipline (ad esempio economiche o tecnico-scientifiche) che abbiano una spiccata inclinazione per le lingue e attitudine alla traduzione.

Requisiti:

- Perfetta padronanza della propria lingua madre/lingua principale (italiano)

- conoscenza approfondita di una delle tre lingue procedurali della Commissione europea (francese, inglese, tedesco);

- conoscenza approfondita di una seconda lingua, diversa dalla prima, da scegliersi tra le 24 lingue ufficiali dell'UE.

Guida alla candidatura:

Per candidarsi è necessario candidarsi online entro le ore 12.00 (ore di Bruxelles) del 13 agosto 2013.

Per avere maggiori informazioni e riferimenti di siti dedicati e contatti consulta il documento in allegato.

Per inviare la propria candidatura e per ricevere maggiori informazioni sul bando di concorso, consultare la seguente pagina web

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Old Church Slavonic (словѣньскъ)

Old Church Slavonic (словѣньскъ)

Old Church Slavonic or Church Slavonic is a literary language which developed from the language used by St Cyril and St Methodius, 9th century missionaries from Byzantium, to translate the bible and other religious works. Cyril and Methodius based their translations on a Slavonic dialect of the Thessalonika area and invented a new alphabet, Glagolitic, in order to write them.

Sometime during the 10th century AD a new alphabet appeared which was known as Cyrillic and named after St Cyril, though it was possibly invented by St Kliment of Ohrid. The Cyrillic alphabet was used to write the Old Church Slavonic language and was later adapated to write many other languages.

Old Church Slavonic was used as the liturgical language of the Russian Orthodox church between the 9th and 12th centuries. A more modern form of the language, known as Church Slavonic, appeared during the 14th century and is still used in the Russian Orthodox church.

Early Cyrillic alphabet used for Old Church Slavonic

Sample text in Old Church Slavonic

1. въ оно врѣмѧ изідє заповѣдь отъ кєсарѣ авгоста напісаті в҄сѫ вьсєлєнѫѭ |
2. сє напісаніє пръвоє бъістъ владѫщѹ сѹрієѭ и кѵрінієѭ |
3. и идѣахѫ вьсі напісатъ сѧ кьждо въ свои градъ |
4. вьзідє жє иосіфь отъ галілєѧ и града назарєтьска вь июдєѭ вь градъ давъідовъ іжє наріцаєтъ сѧ віѳлєємь занє бѣашє отъ домѹ и отьчьствіѣ давъідова |

Translation

1. And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 

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Manchu alphabet

Manchu alphabet 

The Manchu alphabet was commissioned in 1599 by the Manchu leader Nurhaci (1559-1626), the founder of the Manchu state. The letters are based on the Classical Mongolian alphabet while the phonetics are based on Jurchen, an earlier Manchu script. The alphabet was modified slightly in 1632.

In 1644 the Manchus conquered China and established the Ch'ing (Qing) dynasty, which lasted until 1911. For the first 200 years or so of the Ch'ing dynasty, Manchu was the main language of government in China and served as a lingua franca. By the mid 19th century many of the Manchus had adopted Chinese as their first language, however they continued to produce Manchu version of Chinese documents until the end of the dynasty and for sometime afterwards.

Notable features

• Type of writing system: alphabet
• Direction of writing: left to right in vertical columns running from top to bottom.
• Most letters have several different forms: initial, medial and final, which are used at the beginning, middle and end of a word respectively. The vowels also have isolated forms.
• Some letters have different shapes depending on which vowel comes before and/or after them.

Used to write

Manchu, a member of the Tungusic group of Altaic languages. There are currently about 10 million Manchus living mainly in north-eastern China, of whom about 100 speak Manchu and only 20 can read and write it. Most speak only Mandarin.

A version of the Manchu script is used to write Xibe, a Tungusic language closely related to Manchu and spoken in Xinjiang in the north west of China by 30,000 people.

Manchu alphabet

Vowels

Note

• The second final form of e is used after k, g and h.

Consonants

Notes

• The first medial form of n is used before vowels; the second is used before consonants
• The first medial form of ng is used before i, o, u and ū; the second is used before e and i
• The first medial form of k is used before a, o and ū; the second is used before consonants
• The first initial and medial forms of t are used before a, o and i; the second initial and medial forms are used before e, u ū; the third medial form is used before consonants
• First initial and medial forms of d are used before a, o and i; the second initial and medial forms are used before e, u and ū
• The first initial and medial forms of f are used before a and e; the second initial and medial forms are used before i, o, u and ū

Numerals

Syllables

Sample text

Translation

Following his advice, when the army was about to enter the town, he abandoned the town and fled. Akim Bek volunteered to handle the affairs, so he did the duty on behalf of the General. He had been to the capital city to present himself before the Emperor. His estate in the city and property in Kashgar, were used to provide the people living in Shikago, left in the capital city, or inherited by his son. He inherited the title of the Duke of Assisting the Nation, and was bestowed the hereditary title of Akim Bek. His son inherited the hereditary title of Akim Bek. 

E' morto Tonino Accolla il mitico doppiatore di Homer Simpson

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E' morto Tonino Accolla il mitico doppiatore di Homer Simpson

E' morto Tonino Accolla il mitico doppiatore di Homer Simpson

Nato a Siracusa il 9 aprile del 1949, aveva 64 anni ed era ammalato da tempo. Doppiò anche Jim Carrey, Tom Hanks, Mickey Rourke e Kenneth Branagh. Tra i tanti riconoscimenti ricevuti nella carriera anche il Nastro d'argento nel 1991

Si è spento Tonino Accolla, uno dei doppiatori più importanti della televisione e del cinema italiano, avendo legato il proprio nome in maniera indissolubile a quello di Homer Simpson.

E’ morto Tonino Accolla, noto per essere stato il doppiatore ufficiale di Homer Simpson.

Una super star del cinema e della televisione

Una vera e propria tragedia si è abbattuta oggi a Roma, domenica 14 luglio 2013, poiché una brutta malattia si è portato via un grande professionista, un attore, doppiatore, dialoghista, direttore del doppiaggio e regista teatrale italiano che negli anni è diventato il simbolo della felicità e del sorriso. Nella sua carriera non ha solo reso immortale (per tutti noi italiani) la voce del celebre personaggio della sitcom animata creata da Matt Groening, ma ha offerto una perfetta interpretazione di attori come Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hanks, Mickey Rourke, Ralph Fiennes, Hugh Grant, Rick Moranis, Jim Carrey, Ben Stiller, Tim Curry e Gary Oldman. E’ sua anche la risata “italiana” di Eddie Murphy, così come la voce del simpatico Timòn (uno dei protagonisti del capolavoro Disney Il re leone).

Homer in Italia muore con lui

A 64 anni, dopo una lunga malattia, il doppiatore ha smesso di lottare, ma il suo ricordo sarà indelebile dalla memoria di un intero popolo che continuerà per sempre a godere della sua espressività così singolare e originale. Nel 1991 ha ricevuto il Nastro D’Argento per il miglior doppiaggio (interpretava l’attore Kenneth Branagh nell’Enrico V), ma il pianto di tutti i suoi numerosi fan sarà il riconoscimento più prestigioso per la sua carriera. Possiamo ammettere che oggi Homer Simpson è morto con Accolla, poiché in Italia nessuno riuscirà più a seguire una puntata dei Simpson senza la presenza della sua inconfondibile ed inimitabile voce. Nessuno potrà sostituire il grande doppiatore e non ci resterà altro che gustarci le vecchie serie dei Simpsons per ridere a crepapelle lasciandoci coccolare dalla sua perfetta interpretazione di quella leggenda mondiale tutta gialla.