Wolof language
| Wolof | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Senegal, Gambia, Mauritania |
| Ethnicity | Wolof |
|
Native speakers
|
4.2 million (2006) L2 speakers: ? |
|
Niger–Congo
|
|
|
Latin (Wolof alphabet) Arabic (Wolofal) |
|
| Official status | |
| Regulated by | CLAD (Centre de linguistique appliquée de Dakar) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-1 | wo |
| ISO 639-2 | |
| ISO 639-3 | Either: wol – Wolof wof – Gambian Wolof |
| Glottolog | wolo1247 |
| Linguasphere | 90-AAA-aa |
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|
Wolof (/ˈwɒlɒf/) is a language of Senegal, the Gambia, and Mauritania, and the native language of the Wolof people. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Senegambian branch of the Niger–Congo language family. Unlike most other languages of Sub-Saharan Africa, Wolof is not a tonal language.
Wolof originated as the language of the Lebu people. It is the most widely spoken language in Senegal, spoken natively by the Wolof people (40% of the population) but also by most other Senegalese as a second language.
Wolof dialects vary geographically and between rural and urban areas. "Dakar-Wolof", for instance, is an urban mixture of Wolof, French, and Arabic.
"Wolof" is the standard spelling and may refer to the Wolof people or to Wolof culture. Variants include the older French Ouolof and the principally Gambian "Wollof". "Jolof", "jollof", etc., now typically refers either to the Jolof Empire or to jollof rice, a common West African rice dish. Now-archaic forms include "Volof" and "Olof".
The English language is believed to have adopted some Wolof words, such as banana, via Spanish or Portuguese, and yum/yummy, from Wolof nyam "to taste";nyam in Barbadian English meaning "to eat" (also compare Seychellois Creole nyanmnyanm, also meaning "to eat").
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Wikipedia