The Osmaniya Alphabet


The Somali "Osmaniya" alphabet is now a curiosity of history. It was created in 1922 by Osman Yusuf Keenadiid, brother of the Sultan of Obbia. It was never widely distributed, being mainly used in private correspondence. Since 1972 it has been permanently abandoned and replaced by the official transcript using Latin letters introduced by the Somali government. Before 1972, the Somali transcript was also in Arabic script.

Osman Yusuf Keenadiid

Key Features :


  • The Osmaniya Somali alphabet was written from left to right in horizontal lines.

  • The names of the letters were based on the names of equivalent Arabic letters.


The Osmaniya Alphabet


alphabet Osmaniya



Valid HTML 4.01 Transitional