Mauritania Languages

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Geographylogo.png In other languages: العربية

Description

Arabic is the official and national language of Mauritania.
The local spoken variety is known as Hassaniya. It is used for official communication and significantly differs from the Modern Standard Arabic.

Other national languages are:

French is widely used in the media and among educated classes. [1]

Word List(s)

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Alphabet

Pronunciation

Language Aids and Dictionaries

Dictionaries

  • Awde, Nicholas and K. Smith. Arabic dictionary : Arabic-English : English-Arabic. London: Bennett & Bloom, 2004. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Heath, Jeffrey. Hassaniya Arabic (Mali) - English - French dictionary. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2004. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Elhoussein, Ahmed Salem. Basic English-Hassaniya dictionary : more than 8000 words, phrases and sentences. Nouakchott: n.p., n.d.. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Gamble, David P. Wolof-English dictionary. Research Dept, London: Colonial Office, 1958. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Kantorek, Nyima. Wolof-English, English-Wolof dictionary & phrasebook. New York: Hippocrene Books, 2006. Available at: WorldCat.
  • معجم انساب قبائل الجزيرة العربية. ماجد ناصر الزبيدي. بيروت لبنان: الفرات, ٢٠١٠
  • معجم قبائل العرب القديمة والحديثة. عمر رضا كحالة. دمشق سوريا: مؤسسة الرسالة ناشرون, ٢٠١١
  • Register zu den Genealogischen Tabellen der Arabischen Stämme und Familien: Mit Historischen und Geographischen Bemerkungen. By Ferdinand Wüstenfeld. London: Reprint: Forgotten Books.


Online Dictionaries

Language Aids

  • Francis, Timothy P and Stephen Hanchey. Mauritanian Arabic. Grammar Handbook. n.p.: n.p., n.d.. Available at: WorldCat.
  • Fofana, Amadou Tidiane and Antonia Yétúndé Fọlárìn Schleicher. Pulaar learners' reference grammar. Madison, Wis: NALRC Press, 2002. Available at: WorldCat.

Additional Resources

  • Hanchey, Stephen and Timothy P. Francis. Mauritanian Arabic. Communication and Culture Handbook. n.p.: n.p., n.d.. Available at: WorldCat.

References

  1. Wikipedia contributors, "Mauritania," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritania#:~:text=Languages, accessed 28 Mar 2022.