Senegal Languages
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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: [1]
- 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
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.
Online Dictionaries
- Dictionary English - Wolof - Glosbe
- Wolof dictionary - LexiLogos
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.
References
- ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Languages of Senegal," in Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Senegal, accessed 30 Nov 2022.
Senegal has French as its official language, although only 12% of the population can speak it. Other minority languages include Serer, Pulaar, Diola, Mandingo and Sarakole while Wolof is the national language.
The official language of the Gambia is English. Other languages include Mandingo, Fula, and Wolof. Many official records have been kept in English.[1]
- Wolof
- English Mandinka Dictionary
- Diola/Joola Language with translations. This specific language is tones so it is a bit difficult
References
- ↑ The Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Family History Record Profile: Senegal and the Gambia,” Word document, private files of the FamilySearch Content Strategy Team, 1987-1999.