You hear a short piece (8–25 s) and see the text a computer wrote. Make the text match exactly what the person said. Every correction teaches Faalo's ears.
The 3 golden rules
- Write what you hear, not what should have been said. Keep the speaker's grammar mistakes. Don't improve their Somali.
- Every spoken word in, no extra words. Add missing words. Delete words the computer invented.
- Can't hear a word? Write
[?] in its place. Never guess.
Spelling
Standard Somali Latin spelling. Write the word the way this speaker said it: if they say iri, write iri; if they say idhi, write idhi.
| Rule | Write | Not |
|---|
| Long vowels doubled, only when long | macaan hooyo | macan (if long) |
| Glottal stop = straight apostrophe | go'ay la'aan | go’ay goay |
c = ع, x = ح | Cali Xamar | Ali Hamar |
dh for the heavy d | dhul idhi | dul |
Numbers: always words
| Spoken | Write |
|---|
| 10 | toban |
| 25 | shan iyo labaatan |
| 2008 | laba kun iyo siddeed |
| 10,000 | toban kun |
| 15th | shan iyo tobnaad (as spoken) |
Never digits. If the speaker says it another way (labaatan iyo shan), write their way.
Names and places
Maxamed Cabdi Faadumo Xaliimo Muqdisho Hodan Xamar Weyne Wadajir Hargeysa Burco Boorama Gaalkacyo Beledweyne Kismaayo Garowe
English and Arabic words
- Said the Somali way, write it the Somali way:
telefoon baabuur isbitaal.
- Real English: normal English spelling:
business plan online.
- Arabic phrases:
insha Allah alxamdulillaah assalaamu calaykum.
Leave out / keep
| Sound | What to do |
|---|
aah eee mmm hesitation | Leave out |
| Laughing, coughing, music, noise | Leave out |
Repeats and false starts (waxaan, waxaan doonayaa) | Keep, they were spoken |
| Punctuation and capitals | Optional, ignored by the computer |
Word forms
One word: waxaan waxaad ayaan baan inaan ugu kaga lagu. Two words: ma aha sidoo kale.
Buttons
- No speech: only music, silence or noise.
- Two people at once: speakers overlap. Write the louder one if you can.
- Not Somali: mostly another language.
- Bad audio: too noisy or cut off. Also use it if a piece takes you more than 3 minutes.
Good pace: about 1 minute per piece.