Standard Somali is spoken in most of Somalia and in adjacent territories (Djibouti, Ogaden, northeast Kenya), and is used by broadcasting stations in Somaliland.

Facility with language is highly valued in Somali society; the capability of a suitor, a warrior, or a political or religious leader is judged in part by his verbal adroitness.

Even everyday talk tended to have a terse, vivid, poetic style, characterised by carefully chosen words, condensed meaning, and alliteration.

The relatively small proportion of Somalis (less than 10 percent) with a grasp of such a language—preferably English—had access to government positions and the few managerial or technical jobs in modern private enterprises.

Such persons became increasingly isolated from their nonliterate Somali-speaking brethren, but because the secondary schools and most government posts were in urban areas the socio-economic and linguistic distinction was in large part a rural-urban one.