Person

Osman Yusuf Kenadid

20th century · 20th century

Osman Yusuf Kenadid was a Somali poet and scholar, a son of Sultan Yusuf Ali Kenadid of Hobyo. Around 1920 he devised the Osmanya script, the first widely used indigenous alphabet for the Somali language. It was promoted by Somali nationalists, but in 1972 the government chose a Latin alphabet as the official script instead.

Osman Yusuf Kenadid
Image: Mazi99 · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Sultanate of Hobyo

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Osman Yusuf Kenadid. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/osman-yusuf-kenadid
MLA
“Osman Yusuf Kenadid.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/osman-yusuf-kenadid. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Osman Yusuf Kenadid.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/osman-yusuf-kenadid.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Osman Yusuf Kenadid’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/osman-yusuf-kenadid (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻