Jiiddu (also known as Jiddu or Af-Jiiddu) is a Somali language spoken by the Jiiddu sub-clan of the Dir, a Somali clan inhabiting southern Somalia. It currently has an estimated 34,000 speakers, concentrated in the Lower Shabeelle, Bay and Middle Juba regions.[1]

Jiiddu
Af-Jiiddu
Native toSomalia
RegionLower Shabelle, Bay, Middle Juba
EthnicitySomali (Jiiddu)
Native speakers
34,000 (2020)[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3jii
Glottologjiid1238

Typically classified as part of the Digil group of languages, Jiiddu has a different phonology and sentence structure from Somali. However, it more closely resembles Somali than Baiso. "It reportedly some similarities to Konsoid languages and to" and Highland East Cushitic languages spoken in southern Ethiopia.[1]

There is a dictionary of Jiddu by a native speaker, Dr. Salim Ibro.[2]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Jiiddu at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024)  
  2. ^ Ibro, Salim (1998). English - Jiddu – Somali Mini-dictionary (PDF). Victoria, Australia: La Trobe University Language Center.