In relation to transliteration of local language terminology used in this report, it is important to understand that a national orthography for the Somali language was codified relatively late by adopting a Latin script (21 October 1972). Nevertheless, even today, Somali lacks a commonly applied and binding orthography.
In this report, Somali-language names for places, clans and personal names usually follow Somali orthography: ‘long vowels are indicated by doubling them’, as in Darood or Abbaan, ‘the Latin ‘c’ stands for a sound close to the Arabic ع (ayn), while ‘x’ denotes the strongly aspirated ح (ha)’.32 However, given the fact that other sources adopt different conventions, the reader will sometimes find other forms of place, clan, and personal names in the text, including where direct citations are used or in references.
It is also important to note that Somalis, notably Somali men, are frequently better known by their nicknames than by their formal names. The same applies to public figures and politicians mentioned in the text, whose nickname is provided in quotation marks, such as in ‘better known’ or ‘also known’ as ‘Qoor Qoor’.