“Somalis Do Not Use Proverbs to Lie”: Dr. Georgi Kapchits in the Horn Newspaper

On 14 July 2012, at the 5th Hargeisa Book Fair, Dr. Georgi Kapchits presented his new Somali-language book Soomaalidu Been ma Maahmaahdo (“Somalis do not use proverbs to lie”). The following day the Horn newspaper published an interview with him, together with a report by Yusuf M Hasan.

At the Book Fair

The Somali language, with over 100,000 proverbs, is among the richest languages in the world. This was said by Dr. Georgi Kapchits during the interview in Hargeisa, where he also disclosed that the lengthy studies he has undertaken reveal that the Somali language has no proverbs for lies.

His presentation amazed many book fair participants who had never before seen a Caucasian speaking fluent Somali.

Asked about his views on the Somaliland–Somalia talks, Dr. Kapchits said that politics are not on his menu and that the issue of separation or union is a matter for the citizens of the countries concerned to discuss and agree on. Said he: “Though I am a Somali and Amharic linguist, political issues of these countries as well as those of Russia, my motherland, have never interested me.”

His visit was the second, the first having been in 2001, and he said he was amazed at how fast Hargeisa had changed. The Somaliland capital, now endowed with many high-rise buildings, world-class hotels and posh residential houses, is a far cry from the 2001 city where most houses were ruined by bombs and the streets littered with debris.

While commending all Somalilanders for their reconstruction efforts, Dr. Kapchits bemoaned the visible want of employment opportunities for the youth, whom he observed idling around coffee shops.

The Interview

Horn: Dr. Georgi Kapchits, the Geeska Media Group thanks you for accepting, at short notice, this interview with the Horn newspaper.

Kapchits: It is a pleasure.

Horn: To begin with, can you kindly brief us on your personal background?

Kapchits: I was born in the former Soviet Union on 2 October 1939; I currently live in Moscow, Russia, with my two daughters.

In 1967 I graduated from the Institute of Asian and African Studies of Moscow State University with qualifications as a linguist in the field of Amharic and Somali studies. From 1967 to 1994 I worked as a broadcaster in the Somali Section of Radio Moscow’s World Service. Since 1994 I have been working as a commentator at the Information Department of the State Radio Company “Voice of Russia”.

I have visited Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1989, and Hargeisa, Somaliland, twice — in 2001 and now in 2012. I visited Djibouti in 2003.

Horn: How did you become the fluent Somali speaker and prolific writer that you are today? Which is the first word you learnt?

Kapchits: If I remember correctly, the first Somali word I learned was afka, which has the two meanings MOUTH and LANGUAGE.

My Somali language studies started in a dramatic way in 1961 at Moscow University, where I was pursuing Amharic language studies, when Professor Alexander Zholkovsky — then the only Somali speaker of Russian origin — asked my class: “Who wants to study Somali? I need a substantial number of students to start a class.”

Since then there has been no looking back, as I have lectured on the Somali language at the Universities of Moscow and Berlin, as well as defended a PhD thesis on Somali syntax in 2000.

Horn: How many Somali language books have you written?

Kapchits: I have written 8 books, while I have so far collected over four thousand proverbs as part of my ongoing project on 100,000 Somali proverbs.

The latest book is the one titled Soomaalidu Been ma Maahmaahdo (“Somalis do not use proverbs to lie”), which I came to present here at the Hargeisa Book Fair.

Horn: How many Somali proverbs do you hope to collect?

Kapchits: I hope to collect 100,000 proverbs; this figure has become a target after consultations with many Somali language experts.

Horn: How many proverbs does your mother tongue have?

Kapchits: The Russian language has about 500,000 proverbs.

Horn: Apart from books, have you tried poetry?

Kapchits: While I am good in Russian poetry, and though I can read and understand the prose of great Somali poets like Hadraawi and Gaariye, I am yet to manoeuvre through the intricacies of the Somali language and so dabble in its poetry.

Horn: Thank you very much for your time and information, Dr. Georgi Kapchits. We wish you luck in your future endeavours.

Kapchits: It was a pleasure.

The interview was conducted by the Horn newspaper (Geeska Media Group) in Hargeisa and published, together with a report by Yusuf M Hasan, on 15 July 2012 (Somalilandsun). Reproduced here for archival purposes; the text belongs to the publication.