About the Faculty
Prof. Dr Mohamed Ali Omar
Dean of the Faculty of languages
The Faculty of Languages is one of the most prominent faculties of the Somali National University. The faculty offers a range of modern languages by training the students with scientific competencies and special skills necessary in the fields of languages which help increase students’ careers in today’s globalizing world. The faculty plays a leading role as an educational center that connects all faculties through preparing students for language proficiency to join in their scientific specializations and through training university staff in professional language skills.
Historical Background
Historically, the faculty of languages was established in 1981 with three departments, namely, the Department of Middle East Languages, the Department of European Languages, and the Department of African Languages. Two strategies were put in place for the operation of these departments; (a) a short-term strategy based on selecting and starting a group of living languages whose need is present and urgent, (b) and a long-term one that was supposed to add to the faculty later, in accordance with its societal needs and strategic importance.
The Arabic language department was established, while the departments of the Persian, Hebrew languages were placed within the long-term strategy. In the meantime, the departments of English, French, and Italian languages were established, while the establishment of the departments of Spanish, German and Russian languages was postponed as a part of the long-term strategy.
The department of Somali language was chosen from the African Languages. The most important subjects will be taught in other departments until the opening of its department, and other African languages with a wide regional spread, such as Swahili, Amharic, Fulani, Yoruba, Hausa, Zulu, and others, were also postponed.
The faculty used to train students who have language weaknesses to improve their language efficiency, so that they can enroll in specialized faculties that require specific level of language efficiency, as well as employees who wish to improve their language skills during service.
Since its establishment, Professor, Dahabo Farah, had been the dean of the faculty until the fall of the central government in 1991, and the heads of the divisions alternately deputized for her in her absence, according to seniority and educational qualification.
- Head of the Arabic Language Department was Professor Abdul Razzaq Hussein Hassan
- Head of the English Language Department, Professor Mahmoud Youssef
- Head of the French Language Department, Professor Saida, then Mohamed Moalin
- Head of the Italian Language Department, Professor Abdullah Omar Mansour
- And Head of the Somali Language Department, Professor Issa Mohamed Siyad
The faculty had maintained close relations with the Italians, and there was a joint committee under the name of the Technical Committee for the Developments of the Faculty. The Faculty continued to receive financial and technical support and special sponsorship from the European Union (the European Common Market at that time), through the Italian government
The faculty had a council, which brought together the dean, the heads of the Departments, and some deputy lecturers, who together made the decisions of the graduation ceremony, the annual budget of the faculty, the appointment of teaching assistants, and the new professors. Before the collapse of the central government in 1991, this faculty was one of the most important faculties of the Somali National University, where many graduated from it including diplomats, politicians, statesmen, and civil society activists. The Faculty had a prominent presence in all active fields in society and the state, which the National University is currently seeking to revive.
Table 1: Before 1991 the plans
| Departments | Opening majors | A Long strategy |
| European languages
|
Italian
English French |
Spanish
Germany Russia |
| Middle Eastern languages
|
Arabic | Persian
Hebrew |
| African languages
|
Somali
Provided that it is a partial specialization for all open sections and does not appear on the title of the certificate. |
Swahili
Amharic Fulani Yoruba Hausa Zulu |
Re establishment at the Faculty
The Faculty of Languages is reestablished in 2022 after a break of 30 years, and its reestablishment is based on its old departments. But due to financial circumstances and shortage of specialized scientific experts, we started with three languages as an immediate national strategy based on societal needs, with limited modifications. We chose English, Arabic and Somali from each department of the above-mentioned departments respectively.
We retained the first and third departments with their old names, which are the European Languages department, and the African Languages department, and we chose from them English and the Somali language.
We planned to change the second department’s name to Eastern languages and add the following languages to it as a long-term strategy, namely the Turkish language, the Chinese language, the Malay language, and the Urdu language, as they are living oriental languages, whose speakers enjoy an economic or industrial status. Some of them are linked to the Somali society by cultural relations and a common historical heritage. We excluded the languages of Persian and Hebrew in the foreseeable future, because of their lack of social and national connection to Somali society. The study of these languages, therefore, do not carry greater weight, at least in the near future. In the long-term strategy of the first department, we placed the Italian, German, Russian, Spanish, and French languages in the long-term plan. But in the African Languages’ Department, certain languages like Swahili, Amharic, Fulani, Yoruba, Hausa, Zulu, are placed in the Medium-term plan.
Table 2: 2022 Proposed plans
| Departments | Short term | Long term |
| European languages | English | Italian
French Spanish German Russian |
| Eastern languages | Arabic | Turkish
Chinese Malay Urdu
|
| African languages | Somali | Swahili
Amharic Fulani Yoruba Hausa Zulu |
Vision
- Pioneering in the field of living languages and building bridges between the local culture and the cultures and civilizations of the global
Mission
- Providing a distinguished education and training in the field of languages by developing academic skills, research, and intellectual competencies, as well as creative, and producing specialists and researchers who contribute to and serve the needs of society in this field of languages.
Aims
- To prepare graduates with specialized knowledge and skill in the field of languages.
- To empower students with high language skills that qualify them to accurately understand texts and analyze their contents. So that it is easy for them to communicate with the cultures and civilizations of the studied languages.
- To enhance scientific research, publications, and study in the field of languages provided by the faculty.
- To meet the needs of the labor market and the requirements of development with qualified, professionally, and ethically.
- To create a rich educational environment that welcomes the different levels of creativity and knowledge, which contribute to refining the minds of students academically and cognitively, while preserving their social and cultural values.
- Providing technical and scientific consultations in the field of languages to the local community.
Opening Departments of the academic year 2022
Department of Arabic language
Vision
Arabic Language department aims to be one of the languages used popularly and professionally mastered by many officials, diplomats, statesmen, translators, and those with practically related jobs.
Department of English language
Vision
Department of English aims to be one of the most important languages for researchers, officials, diplomats, statesmen, translators, and those with practically related functions.
Possible initial classes of the above two departments
The Faculty starts its steps gradually and accepts this year – experimentally – for the Arabic and English departments the equivalent of two classes, i.e., 80 students, at most.
Department of Somali language will be opened 2023
Vision
Somali Language department aims to preserve the society’s history, culture, and ancient customs by paying attention to its language, developing it, enhancing its presence locally, and displaying its linguistic, historical, and cultural importance at regional and global levels
Centre for foreign languages and its essential role
The Faculty will have a center for teaching the languages for which the current circumstances do not allow to open specialized departments, and that there are students who want to study them. The center will also help qualify students who will enroll in specialized faculties that require a specific language level that the students have not reached. Besides, the center will train workers and employees during the service, and the levels of the institute are divided into 6 levels, focusing on language skills. The center starts language courses from time to time depending on the demand.