Somali is the official language of Somalia and is spoken in many East African nations including Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti. There are over 20 million speakers
of Somali living in Somalia and abroad. Somali's major dialects are Af-Ashraaf, Benaadir, and Northern Somali. During Somalia's post-independence period, the
Somali language went through three major stages of development: The search for a script, development campaigns, and finally literacy campaigns. Over the decades, Somali has progressed by incorporating many new technical terms into the language. The Somali language shares many of the signs, symbols, and sounds of other languages, but also exhibits a unique meaning, function, and form that can only be understood by its speakers. Today, there are over twenty radio and TV stations located around the world broadcasting programs in Somali.