Yaasiin Cismaan Keenadiid (born 1919-) is a Somali

Somali people

Somalis 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...

 intellectual. He is one of the founders of the Somali Youth League

Somali Youth League

The Somali Youth League was the first political party in Somalia. It played a key role in the nation's road to independence during the 1950s and 1960s.-History:...

 and an influential literary scholar, having written a seminal dictionary of the Somali language

Somali language

The Somali language is a member of the East Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family. Its nearest relatives are Afar and Oromo. Somali is the best documented of the Cushitic languages, with academic studies beginning before 1900....

.

Family and name

There is no standard English translation of his name. His first name can be spelled Yaasiin, Yasin, Xaaji, or Hagi. The next part of his name has been spelled Cismann or Cusmaan. Some put Yuusuf as a third name. There is a general agreement on spelling his last name Keenadiid.

Yaasiin is a member of the Keenadiid family. He is related to Ali Yusuf Keenadiid, the former sultan of Hobyo

Hobyo

Hobyo is an ancient harbor city in the Mudug region of Somalia. Hobyo literally means "here, water", and the plentiful fresh water to be had from the wells in and around the town has been the driving force behind Hobyo's ancient status as a favorite port-of-call for sailors.-Establishment:Hobyo's...

 (see Northern Somali sultanates). His father, Osman Yusuf Kenadid

Osman Yusuf Kenadid

-Biography:In the early 1920s, in response to a national campaign to settle on a standard orthography for the Somali language , Kenadid, a leader in the Majeerteen Sultanate of Hobyo in Somalia and nephew of Sultan Yusuf Ali Kenadid, devised a phonetically sophisticated alphabet called Osmanya for...

, was the brother of Ali Yusuf and the creator of the Osmanya script.

Biography

Keenadiid was born in Hobyo (Obbia), Somalia during 1919. He attended a Quranic school until he was fifteen. He then move to Muqdisho, attending both Italian and Arabic schools where he learned English.

Keenadiid helped found the Society for Somali Language and Literature. He is also one of the thirteen founders of the Somali Youth League

Somali Youth League

The Somali Youth League was the first political party in Somalia. It played a key role in the nation's road to independence during the 1950s and 1960s.-History:...

(SYL) and was member of the National Somali Language Committee that decided on the standard spelling of modern Somali.

Works

Keenadiid's best-known book is the dictionary that was the only standard Somali dictionary for decades:

• Qaamuuska Af-Soomaaliga, 1976 Mogadishu/Firenze, Wasaradda Hiddaha iyo Taclinta Sare,

Akademyaha Dhaqanqa.

He is also known as an influential literary scholar:

• 1984 Ina Cabdille Xasan e la sua attività letterararia, Naples, Instituto Universitario Orientale