Wolof language
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Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, The Gambia, and Mauritania. It belongs to the Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
| Wolof (Wolof) | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in: | Senegal, The Gambia, and rudimentary in Mauritania |
| Region: | West Africa |
| Total speakers: | 3.2 million (mother tongue) 3.5 million (second language) |
| Ranking: | Not in top 100 |
| Genetic classification: | Niger-Congo Atlantic-Congo Atlantic Northern Senegambian Wolof |
| Official status | |
| Official language of: | no country (official language of Senegal is French, of The Gambia English) |
| Regulated by: | CLAD (Centre de linguistique appliquée de Dakar) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | wo |
| ISO 639-2 | wol |
| SIL | wol (Wolof); wof (Gambian Wolof) |
| See also: Language – List of languages | |
Wolof is the most widely-spoken language in Senegal, spoken not only by members of the Wolof ethnic group (approximately 40% of the population) but also by most other Senegalese. Wolof dialects may also vary between countries (Senegal and The Gambia) and the rural and urban areas. "Dakar-Wolof", for instance, is an urban mixture of Wolof, French, Arabic and English spoken in Dakar, the capital of Senegal.
Ebonics in the United States of America has been influenced by the Wolof language. (See also: African American Vernacular English). Some of these words have passed into more general usage, such as "hip" (from Wolof hipi, to see or be aware) and "dig" (from degg, to hear or understand). See hipster.
In older French publications the spelling "Ouolof" is often used instead of "Wolof". - The term "Wolof" may also refer to those who speak Wolof.
Spreading and Neighborhood of the Wolof Language
About 40% of Senegal's population (approximataly 3.2 million people) speak Wolof as mother tongue. An additional 40% of the population speak Wolof as second or acquired language. In the whole region from Dakar to Saint-Louis, and also west and southwest of Kaolack, Wolof is spoken by the vast majority of the people. In Senegal's west and in Senegal's part south of The Gambia (Bassari land, Casamance), Wolof is rarely used. The official language of Senegal is French.
In The Gambia, about 15% of the population (approximately 200 thousand people) speak Wolof. The official language of The Gambia is English. The dominating languages in The Gambia, Mandinka (40%), Wolof (15%) and Ful (15%), are also accepted as official language. In The Gambia's capital Banjul one person of two is Wolof.
In Mauritania, about 7% of the population (approximately 185 thousand people) speak Wolof. There, the language is used only around the southern coastal regions. Official language of Mauritania is Arabic; French is used as lingua franca.
The Most Important Phrases
| Wolof | English | Literal translation into English |
|---|---|---|
| Salaamaalekum !Response: Maalekum salaam ! | Good day!Response: Good day! | (Arabic) peace be with youResponse: with you be peace |
| Na nga def ? / Naka nga def ?Response: Maa ngi fi rekk. | How do you do? / How are you doing?Response: How do you do? / (Thanks) I am fine. | how you (already) doResponse: I here be (here) just |
| Ba beneen (yoon). | Goodbye. | until other (time) |
| jëre-jëf | thanks / thank you | - |
| waaw | yes | yes |
| déedéet | no | no |
| Fan la ... am ? | Where is a ...? | where is ... existing/having |
| Fan la fajkat am ? | Where is a physician/doctor? | where is heal-maker existing/having |
| Fan la ... nekk ? | Where is the ...? | where is ... be found |
| Fan la loppitaan bi nekk ? | Where is the hospital? | where is hospital the be found |
| Noo tudd ? / Nan nga tudd ?Response: ... laa tudd. | What is your name?Response: My name is .... | how you be calledResponse: ... I be called |
Grammar
Special Characteristics of the Wolof Language
Pronoun Conjugation instead of Verbal Conjugation
Conjugation with Respect to Aspect instead of Tense
Action Verbs versus Static Verbs and Adjectives
Consonant Harmony
Missing Gender
5-Base Number System
Orthography and Pronunciation
Numerals
Cardinal Numbers
The Wolof numeral system is based on the numbers "5" and "10".
| 0 | zero / dara |
| 1 | benn |
| 2 | ñaar / yaar |
| 3 | ñett / ñatt / yett / yatt |
| 4 | ñeent / ñenent |
| 5 | juróom |
| 6 | juróom-benn |
| 7 | juróom-ñaar |
| 8 | juróom-ñett |
| 9 | juróom-ñeent |
| 10 | fukk |
| 11 | fukk ak benn |
| 12 | fukk ak ñaar |
| 13 | fukk ak ñett |
| 14 | fukk ak ñeent |
| 15 | fukk ak juróom |
| 16 | fukk ak juróom-benn |
| 17 | fukk ak juróom-ñaar |
| 18 | fukk ak juróom-ñett |
| 19 | fukk ak juróom-ñeent |
| 20 | ñaar-fukk |
| 26 | ñaar-fukk ak juróom-benn |
| 30 | ñett-fukk / fanweer |
| 40 | ñeent-fukk |
| 50 | juróom-fukk |
| 60 | juróom-benn-fukk |
| 66 | juróom-benn-fukk ak juróom-benn |
| 70 | juróom-ñaar-fukk |
| 80 | juróom-ñett-fukk |
| 90 | juróom-ñeent-fukk |
| 100 | téeméer |
| 101 | téeméer ak benn |
| 106 | téeméer ak juróom-benn |
| 110 | téeméer ak fukk |
| 200 | ñaar téeméer |
| 300 | ñett téeméer |
| 400 | ñeent téeméer |
| 500 | juróom téeméer |
| 600 | juróom-benn téeméer |
| 700 | juróom-ñaar téeméer |
| 800 | juróom-ñett téeméer |
| 900 | juróom-ñeent téeméer |
| 1000 | junni / junne |
| 1100 | junni ak téeméer |
| 1600 | junni ak juróom-benn téeméer |
| 1945 | junni ak juróom-ñeent téeméer ak ñeent-fukk ak juróom |
| 1969 | junni ak juróom-ñeent téeméer ak juróom-benn-fukk ak juróom-ñeent |
| 2000 | ñaar junni |
| 3000 | ñett junni |
| 4000 | ñeent junni |
| 5000 | juróom junni |
| 6000 | juróom-benn junni |
| 7000 | juróom-ñaar junni |
| 8000 | juróom-ñett junni |
| 9000 | juróom-ñeent junni |
| 10000 | fukk junni |
| 100000 | téeméer junni |
| 1000000 | tamndareet / million |
Ordinal Numbers
Personal Pronouns
Temporal Pronouns
Conjugation of the Temporal Pronouns
| Situative (Presentative) | Terminative | Objektive | Processive (Explicative) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perfektive | Imperfektive | Perfektive | Imperfektive | Perfektive | Imperfektive | Perfektive | Imperfektive | |
| 1st Person singular | maa ngi | maa ngiy | naa | dinaa | laa | laay | dama | damay |
| 2nd Person singular | yaa ngi | yaa ngiy | nga | dinga | nga | ngay | danga | dangay |
| 3rd Person singular | mu ngi | mu ngiy | na | dina | la | lay | dafa | dafay |
| 1st Person plural | nu ngi | nu ngiy | nanu | dinanu | lanu | lanuy | danu | danuy |
| 2nd Person plural | yéena ngi | yéena ngiy | ngeen | dingeen | ngeen | ngeen di | dangeen | dangeeny |
| 3rd Person plural | ñu ngi | ñu ngiy | nañu | dinañu | lañu | lañuy | dañu | dañuy |
Bibliography
- Michael Franke: Kauderwelsch, Wolof für den Senegal - Wort für Wort. Reise Know-How Verlag, Bielefeld 2002 ISBN 3-89416-280-5
- Jean-Léopold Diouf, Marina Yaguello: J'apprends le Wolof - Damay jàng wolof (1 textbook with 4 audio cassettes). Karthala, Paris 1991 ISBN 2-86537-287-1
- Arame Fal, Rosine Santos, Jean Léonce Doneux: Dictionnaire wolof-français (suivi d'un index français-wolof). Karthala, Paris, 1990, ISBN 2-86537-233-2
- Michel Malherbe, Cheikh Sall: Parlons Wolof - Langue et culture. L'Harmattan, Paris 1989, ISBN 2-7384-0383-2
- Jean-Léopold Diouf: Grammaire du wolof contemporain. Karthala, Paris 2003, ISBN 2-8458-6267-9
External links
- Wolof Online (http://www.wolofonline.com/)
- An Annotated Guide to Learning the Wolof Language (http://www.bcconline.org/wolof/Language/Wolof%20Language%20Guide.htm)
- Wolof English Dictionary (http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Wolof-english/)
- Ethnologue Site on the Wolof Language (http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=WOL)ar:ولفية
bg:Волоф de:Wolof (Sprache) fr:Langue wolof fi:Wolofin kieli