Senegal Languages

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Senegal

Languages

Description

Senegal is a multilingual country with 36 languages listed.
Wolof is the most widely spoken language as a first or second language (80%).
French is the official language (inherited from the colonial era) but only about 15-20% of men and 1-2% of women understand French.
English is taught as a foreign language in many graduate school languages and secondary schools. Widely used by the business and scientific community.

Those with national language status include:

• Balanta-Ganja
• Arabic
• Jola-Fonyi
• Mandinka
• Mandjak
• Mankanya
• Noon (Serer-Noon)
• Pulaar
• Serer
• Soninke
• Wolof

American Sign Language is used for education of the deaf in Senegal.

Word List(s)

• Wolof Vocabulary - MustGo Travel
• Wolof Useful Phrases - Omniglot
• Balanta-Ganja Word List - The ASJP Database
• Jola-Fonyi Word List - UCLA Phonetics Lab
• Mandinka Word List - The ASJP Database
• Mankanya Word List - The ASJP Database
• Pulaar Word List - The ASJP Database
• Pulaar Word List - UCLA Phonetics Lab
• Soninke Wod List - The ASJP Database

Alphabet and Pronunciation

Alphabet

• Wolof Vowels and Consonants - Wikipedia
• Wolof Alphabet - Omniglot
• Balanta Vowels and Consonants - Wikipedia
• Balanta Letters of the Alphabet - Wikipedia
• Balanta-Ganja Alphabet - Omniglot
• Arabic Consonants - Omniglot
• Jola-Fonyi Alphabet - Omniglot
• Mandinka Alphabet - Omniglot
• Mankanya Alphabet - Omniglot
• Noon Alphabet - Omniglot
• Serer Alphabet - Omniglot
• Soninke Alphabet - Omniglot

Pronunciation

• Wolof Pronunciation - Wikipedia
• Wolof Pronunciation - Omniglot
• Jola-Fonyi Pronunciation - Omniglot
• Mankanya Pronunciation - Omniglot
• Noon Pronunciation - Omniglot
• Serer Pronunciation - Omniglot
• Soninke Pronunciation - Omniglot

Language Aids and Dictionaries

Dictionaries

• Munro, Pamela, and Dieynaba Gaye. Ay baati Wolof : a Wolof dictionary. Los Angeles, Los Angeles: Dept. of Linguistics, University of California, 1997. Available at: WorldCat.
• Dial, Abdoulaye. Dictionary Wolof-English / English-Wolof. Nord-Saint-Louis, Senegal: Impr. Serigne Fallou Mbacké, 2013. Available at: WorldCat.
• Centre de linguistique appliquée de Dakar. A short Wolof-English dictionary. Dakar, Senegal,: Presses Universitaires de Dakar, 2014. Available at: WorldCat.
• Ashrif, Muhammad I, and B. K. Sidibe. English Mandinka dictionary. Yundum, Gambia: M.I. Ashrif, 1965. Available at: WorldCat.
• Gamble, David P. Mandinka-English dictionary. Colonial Off., London: Research Dept., 1955. Available at: WorldCat.
• Baldeh, Fodeh. A dictionary of Gambian Fula : Pulaar-English, English-Pulaar. Kanifing: Fulladu Publishers, 2020. Available at: WorldCat.
• Niang, Mamadou Ousmane. Pulaar-English/English-Pulaar. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1997. Available at: WorldCat.

Online Dictionaries

• Dictionary English - Wolof - Glosbe
• Wolof dictionary - LexiLogos
• Dictionary English - Balanta-Ganja - Glosbe
• Dictionary English - Arabic - Glosbe
• Dictionary English - Jola-Fonyi - Glosbe
• Dictionary English - Mandinka - Glosbe
• Dictionary English - Pulaar - Glosbe
• Dictionary Serer - English - Glosbe
• Dictionary English - Soninke - Glosbe

Language Aids

• Wolof Grammar - MustGo Travel
• Dial, Abdoulaye. Introduction to Wolof grammar . Nord-Saint-Louis, Senegal: Impr. Serigne Fallou Mbacké, 2012. Available at: WorldCat.
• Niasse, Ahmed Khalifa. The dynamics of Wolof language. Dakar: L'Harmattan Sénégal, 2021. Available at: WorldCat.
• Gamble, David P. Elementary Wolof grammar. Colonial Office, London: Research Dept., 1958. Available at: WorldCat.

Additional Resources

• Henderson, Linda, and Deborah L. Newsome. Wolof learning manual for English speakers. Banjul, The Gambia: Timbooktoo Bookshop, 2021. Available at: WorldCat.