| Macro-Somali | |
| Also Known As: | Somaloid |
| Region: | Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya |
| Familycolor: | Afro-Asiatic |
| Fam2: | Cushitic |
| Fam3: | Lowland East |
| Child1: | Somali |
| Child2: | Maay Maay |
| Child3: | Dabarre |
| Child4: | Jiiddu |
| Child5: | Girirra |
| Child6: | Garre |
| Child7: | Tunni[1] |
| Glotto: | east2653 |
| Glottorefname: | Eastern Omo–Tana |
The Macro-Somali or Somaloid languages, or (in the conception of Bernd Heine, who does not include Baiso) Sam languages, are a branch of the Lowland East Cushitic languages. They are spoken in Somalia, Djibouti, eastern Ethiopia, and northern Kenya. The most widely spoken member is Somali.[2]
The primary division is between Rendille versus the remaining languages, for which Heine proposes the terms "Eastern Sam" or "Dad". In this proposal, Baiso forms a Northern branch of Omo–Tana.
Within Blench's proposal, the primary division of Macro-Somali is first between Baiso, Sam, and Somali. Then within Sam, the primary split is between Rendille and Aweer. Girirra is left unclassified within Lowland East Cushitic.[3]
The following sound correspondences hold between Rendille, Aweer and Somali:
| Proto-Sam | Rendille | Aweer | Somali | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b | b | b | |
| d | d | d | |
| g | k, -g- | g | |
| dʒ | ʃ | dʒ (j) | Before the vowel *i (palatalization). | |
| t | t, -d- | t, -d- | |
| tʃ | ʃ, -y- | ʃ (sh), -j- (y) | |
| k | k, -g- | k, -g- | |
| ʃ | Before the vowel *i. | |||
| ɖ | ɗ, -r- | ɖ (dh) | Continues Proto-East Cushitic implosive *ɗ. |
| x | ʔ | q | Continues Proto-East Cushitic ejective *kʼ. |
| f | f | f | |
| s | s | s | |
| ħ | ħ, -h- | ħ (x) | |
| h, -ħ- | h | h | |
| j | d | d | |
| ħ | ʔ | ʕ (c) | |
| ħ | ʔ | lost | |
| m | m, -n | m, -n | |
| n | n | n | |
| l | l | l | |
| r | r | r | |
| w | w | w, -b- | |
| j | j | j (y) |
The Eastern Sam or Dad group is characterized by the following four changes:
In Boni, several consonant clusters simplify: