The languages of Somalia refers to the various spoken forms of communication in Somalia. It includes the nation's official languages, as well as its minority and foreign languages. The term also encompasses the writing systems traditionally used to transcribe those languages.

The Somali language is the official language of Somalia and the mother tongue of the Somali people, the nation's most populous ethnic group. It is a member of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and its nearest relatives are the Afar and Saho languages. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies of it dating from before 1900.

The exact number of speakers of Somali is unknown. One source estimates that there are 7.78 million speakers of Somali in Somalia itself and 12.65 million speakers globally.

The Somali language is spoken by ethnic Somalis in Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Yemen and Kenya, and in the Somali diaspora. It is also spoken as an adoptive language by a few ethnic minority groups in these regions.

Somalia ( /soʊˈmɑːliə/ soh-MAH-lee-ə; Somali: Soomaaliya; Arabic: الصومال‎ aṣ-Ṣūmāl), officially the Somali Republic (Somali: Jamhuuriyadda Soomaaliya, Arabic: جمهورية الصومال‎ Jumhūriyyat aṣ-Ṣūmāl) and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory. The internationally recognized Transitional Federal Government controls only a small part of the country. Somalia has been characterized as a failed state and is one of the poorest and most violent states in the world.

Somalia lies in the easternmost part of Africa. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, the Gulf of Aden with Yemen to the north, the Indian Ocean to the east, and Ethiopia to the west. It has the longest coastline on the continent, and its terrain consists mainly of plateaus, plains and highlands. Hot conditions prevail year-round, along with periodic monsoon winds and irregular rainfall.

Aar Maanta (Somali: Aar Maanta) is a Somali singer, composer, songwriter and music producer.

Maanta moved from his native Somalia to the United Kingdom in the late 1980s due to the civil war there. As a lone child in a new country, he turned to music for comfort, absorbing many genres including pop, rock, hip hop, R&B and house. Maanta started studying music at school and then later at university. However, because of family pressure and disapproval due to his Muslim faith, he was discouraged from following a career path in music. Instead, Maanta completed a degree in Science. Eventually returning to music, he now produces an eclectic mix of styles blended with traditional Somali music.

Maanta's first notable performance was in July 2006 at Rise: London United, the UK's largest anti-racist and multi-cultural festival. There, he played alongside Graham Coxon, The Buzzcocks, and other prominent acts. Over 80,000 young people and families attended this event, bringing together London residents from many different ethnic communities.

Somalis (Somali: Soomaaliyeed, Arabic: الصوماليون‎) are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Ethnic Somalis number around 15-17 million and are principally concentrated in Somalia (more than 10 million), Ethiopia (4.6 million), Yemen (a little under 1 million), Kenya (900,000), Djibouti (464,600), and an unknown but large number live in parts of the Middle East, North America and Europe.

Samaale, the oldest common ancestor of several Somali clans, is generally regarded as the source of the ethnonym Somali. The name "Somali" is, in turn, held to be derived from the words soo and maal, which together mean "go and milk" — a reference to the ubiquitous pastoralism of the Somali people. Another plausible etymology proposes that the term Somali is derived from the Arabic for "wealthy" (dhawamaal), again referring to Somali riches in livestock.