The Politics of Civil Society and Language

Within the past two decades Somalia became synonymous with everything from violence, famine to religious extremism. Somalia is a country with contradictions. On the one hand, it is a country with relatively homogeneous people in terms of language, ethnicity, culture and religion. On the other hand, we see a nation that so far failed to translate the cultural and social relationship to a legitimate functioning political and institutional system. Contemporary experts of the Somali society underline the significance of the Somali language, especially in Somali proverbs, not only reflecting the essence of culture but also everything about the Somalis. For instance the nation’s short histories and proverbs contain not only description and analysis of the society, but also solutions to the numerous challenges facing the country (Kapchitz, 2010). Somalis themselves, as well as the rest of the world, underestimate the Somali’s ability to interpret and develop their political culture and society through language and literature. The political and economic elite have for decades ignored or oppressed people’s attempt to build their society with linguistic and communicative public engagement based on mutual understanding and respect (Farah & Yusuf, 2003).