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A Wolof speaker, recorded in Taiwan. Wolof (/ ˈ w oʊ l ɒ f / WOH-lof; [2] Wolof làkk, وࣷلࣷفْ لࣵکّ) is a Niger–Congo language spoken by the Wolof people in much of the West African subregion of Senegambia that is split between the countries of Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania.
Wolof (/ ˈ w ɒ l ɒ f /) 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.
Wolofization or Wolofisation is a cultural and language shift whereby populations or states adopt Wolof language or culture, such as in the Senegambia region. In Senegal, Wolof is a lingua franca [1] [2] [3] The Wolofization phenomenon has taken over all facets of Senegal and encroaching on Gambian soil. [3]
Senegal is a Francophone country, where, as of 2024, 5.13 million (27.73%) out of 18.50 million people speak French. [2] In terms of usage, Wolof is the lingua franca and the most widely spoken language in Senegal, as a first or second language (80%). [3] Mande languages spoken include Soninke, and Mandinka.
The most populous unitary language is Wolof, the national language of Senegal, with four million native speakers and millions more second-language users. There are perhaps 13 million speakers of the various varieties of Fula , and over a million speakers of Serer [ citation needed ] .
The prevalence of the Wolof both linguistically and politically has continued to increase throughout the years; this tendency has been called the "wolofisation" of Senegal. [6] The Fula, those who speak the Fula language, are the second most populous group, representing 27.5% of the country's population.
The film is based on Sembène's novel The Money-Order and is the director's first film in his native Wolof language. Since most of the Senegalese population at the time did not understand French, Sembène wanted to create cinema for Wolof speakers. This is believed to be the first full-length African language film from West Africa. [1]
Because of this history, French is the official language, but it is understood by only a minority of the population. [20] Over 30 languages are spoken in Senegal. Wolof is the most widely spoken one, with 80% of the population speaking it as a first or second language, [21] acting as Senegal's lingua franca alongside French.