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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.
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. Jola (Diola) is a main language in the Casamance region. The Guinea Creole dialect, based on Portuguese is also spoken in that region.
Original author's note: these show areas of traditional concentration of Wolof communities. Distribution of self-identified Wolof people is wider, populations are intermixed, and use of Wolof language has come to be near universal in Senegal.
Map of the ethnic groups of Senegal drawn by David Boilat (1853). There are various ethnic groups in Senegal. According to "CIA World Factbook: Senegal" (2019 estimates), the ethnic groups are Wolof (39%); Fula (probably including the Halpulaar speaking Toucouleur) (27.5%)); Serer group (probably including the Serer Cangin peoples (16%)); Mandinka (4.9%); Jola (4.2%); Soninke (2.4%); other 5.4 ...
Location of Senegal Satellite image of Senegal Senegal's cities and main towns Topography of Senegal. Senegal is a coastal West African nation located 14 degrees north of the equator and 14 degrees west of the Prime Meridian. The country's total area is 196,190 km 2 of which 192,000 km 2 is land and 4,190 km 2 is water.
The West Atlantic languages are defined by their noun-class systems, which are similar to those found in other Niger–Congo languages, most famously the Bantu languages. Most West Atlantic, and indeed Niger–Congo, noun-class systems are marked with prefixes, and linguists generally believe that this reflects the proto-Niger–Congo system.
Futa Toro and West African kingdoms, c. 18th century. Futa Toro (Wolof and Fula: Fuuta Tooro, فُوتَ تࣷورࣷ , 𞤆𞤵𞥄𞤼𞤢 𞤚𞤮𞥄𞤪𞤮; Arabic: فوتا تورو), often simply the Futa, is a semidesert region around the middle run of the Senegal River.