Course syllabus

SO1205, Somali IV

In this course, the reading skills in Somali are further developed through the study of easy original texts. The active vocabulary is expanded by about 500 words and phrases. Writing in Somali is trained through the study and practical application of frequent syntactic constructions and common phrases. Translation skills are further developed, mainly from Somali, but also into Somali. The linguistic knowledge of Somali is increased through, among other things, the study of some short academic articles. The theoretical focus of the course is on word formation, synonymy, phraseology and the semantics of the grammatical categories of Somali.

Term: Spring 2025, starts 20 January, ends 5 June
Credits: 7.5 ects
Study Pace: 10 working hours/week
Teacher: Morgan Nilsson
Lessons: on Zoom most Wednesdays from 18.00 to 19.00 CET.

• Activate your student account and Register for the course

• Language policy

• Canvas, Zoom and Eduroam

• Gothenburg University Library

• Syllabus and reading list SO1205

Textbooks

All the reading materials needed for this course will be available online.

• The main textbook is Beginner's Somali 4 supplemented with audio recordings.
• The grammar has also been compiled in Beginner's Somali Grammar (there is also an older and shorter Swedish version: Somalisk nybörjargrammatik).
• Certain parts of the grammatical explanations will also be available as video lectures (in Swedish: video­föreläsningar). 
  They constitute a complement to the written texts and might be useful for review.
• There is also a test version of a Somali-Swedish-English electronic dictionary and a work-in-progress Somali-Swedish dictionary.
• Alongside the study of the Somali language you will also read some texts about the language situation in the Horn of Africa from a sociolinguistic and historical point of view.

Learning outcomes

• give an account of the structures of Somali and the terminology that has been introduced in the course;
• master an everyday vocabulary of about 2000 words and phrases;
• read unknown simple texts with the help of dictionaries and translate them into English or a Scandinavian language;
• write everyday text in Somali on familiar topics and translate such texts into Somali with the help of dictionaries;
• discuss and correctly use the parts of Somali grammar that have been in focus in the course;

Exam and grading

The course ends with a written exam during the last week of the course.
The dates for the exam are fixed, but you are free to chose the day that suits you within the dates listed below.

Exam dates: Any time during the final week of the course.
You may take the exam on campus at University of Gothenburg at 10:00 on the last Saturday of the term.
You may also take the exam where you live. You will find further information here.

The maximum time for the exam is 3 hours.
You are allowed to bring printed materials that you want to use, but no electronic devices.

Retake dates: mid-August, contact your teacher before 15 August.

Two different grades are available, G (Good) or VG (Very Good). 90 % correct answers are required for VG, 70 % for G.

• Somali dictionaries, grammars and textbooks

• Somali Corpora

• Somali Radio & TV

• Other courses in Somali and African languages at University of Gothenburg

• Study Counselling

• Pedagogical support

• Develop Sound Study Routines and Avoid Plagiarism

• Studenthälsa och studiemiljö

• Discrimination and harassment

• Rules about the use of AI - Disciplinary matters (scroll down and click on "Department of Languages and Literatures)