Monthly Archives: November 2007

Morning? Afternoon?? Or maybe Evening???

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Below is a table showing how the various portions of the day are labeled in Wolof.

ENGLISH WORD

WOLOF WORD

WHEN USED

day

bëcëg

dawn to nightfall

night

guddi

nightfall to dawn

morning

suba

dawn to about 2pm

afternoon

ngoon

from about 2pm to nightfall

midnight

xaaju guddi *

at midnight

* Literally, “half of the night” (xaaju – to divide, seperate, part, portion).

Ci suba. – In the morning.

Ci ngoon. – In the afternoon.

Ci guddi. – In the evening.

Mouth Anatomy

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GEMMIN BI – THE MOUTH

Some of these expressions are not common in Wolof and may not always be readily understood by some Wolof speakers. Many of these (I believe?) were developed by medical professionals as a way to better communicate more precisely with non-Francophone Wolof speakers.

(mouse over for the french)

gémmiñ gi – mouth
làmmiñ wi – tongue
laa gi – tongue tied
làmmiñ wu ndaw wi – uvula (thing that hangs in back of throat)
denqaleñ bi – palate
tuñ mi – lips
tuñu kaw wi – top lip
tuñu suuf wi – bottom lip
ciiñ mi – gums
bëñ bi – tooth
bëñu reewu bi – incisor teeth
bëñu sell wi – canine teeth
bëñu déegéej bi – molar teeth
bëñu màgg dey – wisdom teeth
sofe – to have mouth ulcers
wuum/uum – toothache
cafko gi – sense of taste

…and now for some Pulaar.

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We have covered some French & Arabic (tuuti rekk) which are of course common in much of the parts that Wolof is spoken but another common native language is Pulaar which is spoken by the Peul peoples. Although most Peuls in Wolof speaking areas will understand Wolof it is always nice to be able to say at least a few things to someone in their mother tongue. So here are a few “essential” phrases that you may want to practice…

No ngoolu daa. Hello.

Nalleen e jamm. Goodbye.

Njaafodaa. Please.

A jaaraamah. Thank you.

Enen ndendidum. You’re welcome.

Achanam hakke. Pardon.

Yaafo. Sorry.

Eey. Yes.

Alaa. No.

Ko Engale tan kaala mi. I speak only English.

Mi nani Faranse seeda. I speak a little French.

No mbiyeteedaa? What’s your name?

Ko … mbiyetee mi. My name is … .

Ko les USA njeyaa mi. I’m from USA.

Wolof Numbers & Counting

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Wolof numbers are basically counted in groups of five. The numbers one through five (and ten) are the main numbers in the Wolof numeric system, all other numbers up to one-hundred are based on these numbers.

Wolof numbers are combined together to form new numbers. For example the
number twelve in Wolof is fukk ak ñaar (10 & 2), which when added together equals
twelve. With the exception of six through nine and all numbers divisible by ten, except for ten, up to one-hundred, such as twenty, thirty, forty, etc. all Wolof number combinations include the Wolof word ak which means ‘and’ or ‘with’.

When a larger number precedes a smaller number the numbers are added. For example the number sixteen in Wolof is fukk ak juróom benn (10 & 6 or 10 & 5 &1) which when added together equals sixteen. All numbers up to nineteen are in this order.

When a smaller number precedes a larger number then the numbers are multiplied. For
example the number forty in Wolof is ñeent fukk (4 & 10) which when multiplied equals forty. All numbers above twenty are in this order.

Wolof number combinations above twenty (except for 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 & 90) call for both addition and multiplication. For example the number thirty-two in Wolof is ñett fukk
ak ñaar (3 & 10 & 2), if written as a mathematical equation it would be 3 x 10 + 2 = 32.

Below is a table of Wolof numbers. Not all numbers are listed. We only included
the basic numbers and also tried to give examples of every kind of number combination. Click HERE for a complete list of Wolof numbers up to 100 along with their mathematical equations.


ENG. SYM.

ENG. WORD

WOLOF WORD

0

zero

tus *
     

1

one

benn

2

two

ñaar

3

three

ñett

4

four

ñeent

5

five

juróom
     

6

six

juróom benn

7

seven

juróom ñaar

8

eight

juróom ñett

9

nine

juróom ñeent

10

ten

fukk
     

11

eleven

fukk ak benn

12

twelve

fukk ak ñaar

13

thirteen

fukk ak ñett

14

fourteen

fukk ak ñeent

15

fifteen

fukk ak juróom
     

16

sixteen

fukk ak juróom benn

17

seventeen

fukk ak juróom ñaar

18

eighteen

fukk ak juróom ñett

19

nineteen

fukk ak juróom ñeent

20

twenty

ñaar fukk
     

21

twenty one

ñaar fukk ak benn

22

twenty two

ñaar fukk ak ñaar

23

twenty three

ñaar fukk ak ñett

24

twenty four

ñaar fukk ak ñeent

25

twenty five

ñaar fukk ak juróom
     

26

twenty six

ñaar fukk ak juróom benn

27

twenty seven

ñaar fukk ak juróom ñaar

28

twenty eight

ñaar fukk ak juróom ñett

29

twenty nine

ñaar fukk ak juróom ñeent

30

thirty

ñett fukk **
     

40

forty

ñeent fukk
     

50

fifty

juróom fukk
     

60

sixty

juróom benn fukk
     

61

sixty one

juróom benn fukk ak benn

62

sixty two

juróom benn fukk ak ñaar

63

sixty three

juróom benn fukk ak ñett

64

sixty four

juróom benn fukk ak ñeent

65

sixty five

juróom benn fukk ak juróom
     

66

sixty six

juróom benn fukk ak juróom benn

67

sixty seven

juróom benn fukk ak juróom ñaar

68

sixty eight

juróom benn fukk ak juróom ñett

69

sixty nine

juróom benn fukk ak juróom ñeent

70

seventy

juróom ñaar fukk
     

80

eighty

juróom ñett fukk
     

90

ninety

juróom ñeent fukk
     

100

one hundred

teemeer
     

1000

one thousand

junni
     

1,000,000

one million

fukki teemeeri junni

* The number zero (0) in Wolof can either be called tus or dara.

** The number thirty (30) in Wolof can either be called ñett fukk or fanweer.

Travel Vocabulary

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Here are a few things that you may come across if traveling to Senegal or the Gambia.

afra – grilled meat, or grilled meat stall (Gambia)

benechin – rice baked in a thick sauce of fish and vegetables (Gambia)

cadeau – gift, tip, bribe or a hand-out (Senegal)

dash – bribe (noun); also used as a verb ‘You dash me something …’ (Gambia)

Ecowas – Economic Community of West African States

factory – fortified slaving station

garage – bus and bush-taxi station (Gambia)

harmattan – the light winds from the north which carry tiny particles of sand from the desert, causing skies to become hazy from December to February

IMF – International Monetary Fund

latcheri - pounded millet

mafé – thick brown groundnut sauce

ndeup – ceremonies where people with a mental illness are treated and healed (Senegal)

occasion – lift (noun), or place in a car or bus (often shortened to occas) (Senegal)

palava – meeting place

Quran – Islamic holy book (also called Koran)

Ramsar – an international convention primarily concerned with the conservation of wetland habitats and associated wildlife

salon du thé – tea shop (Senegal)

tampon – stamp (eg, in passport) (Senegal)

ventilé – room with a fan (Senegal)

Thanks to Lonely Planet’s The Gambia & Senegal; 2nd Edition.

Please, Thank You, You’re Welcome!

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Please – Su la neexee (soo luh ney-khey)
and now en français; S’il vous plaît (seel voo pley)

Thank you – Jërejëf (je-re-jef)
and en français; Merci (mair-see)

You’re welcome – Amul sóló (ah-mool so-loe)
en français; Je vous en prie (zher voo zom pree)

Grrrreetings!

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Proper greetings in the Wolof culture are very important. Often times one will spend several minutes with greetings and pleasantries before getting down to the purpose of their visit. Sometimes the whole visit will just be greetings. Even on Senegalese call-in radio shows the callers and hosts will exchange many greetings before getting on with the caller’s question or comment.

We have put here the four most common greetings you are most likely to encounter on a daily basis when visiting Wolof countries. We have included both Arabic and French as well as Wolof.

GREETING

RESPONSE

WHEN USED

salaam alaikum

malaikum salaam

greeting a group of people
or entering one’s house

nanga def

maangi fi

greeting an individual

ça va

ça va

greeting an individual in passing

ba beneen

ba beneen

upon leaving an individual

Let’s start with pronunciation…

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Since Wolof was not formally a written language there is no universal system for the spelling of Wolof words which often makes it difficult for the begining student to distinguish between similar sounding words when reading Wolof as opposed to actually being able to hear it.

There are also different dialects of Wolof such as Gambian & Senegalese, rural & urban and even traditional & modern. Although the differences are generally slight it can still be somewhat confusing for non-native speakers trying to learn the language.

The distinction between short and long vowels is very important, because it is sometimes the only way to distinguish pairs of words which have different meanings. Long vowels are generally doubled, while short vowels are not.

(Tip: Mouse over the Wolof words and see the definition, also mousing over some of the English words will give the Wolof equivalent.)

VOWELS

VOWEL NEAREST ENGLISH
EQUIVALENT		 WOLOF
EXAMPLES
a absorb banta, tapa, santa
aa far laaj, naaj, caabi
e get dem, lem, gerte
ee where seet, leel
é say bés
éé sane wéér, réér
ë bird kër, dëgër
i in, pit nit, simiis, timis
ii meet siis, lii, kii
o moment xob, romba
ó awe nób, sóf
oo door loo, soo
óó phone góór, fóót
u cook nuyu, ubi
uu moon tuuru, yuuxu

CONSONANTS

CONSONANT NEAREST
ENGLISH EQUIVALENT		 WOLOF
EXAMPLES
b boy bunta, ban
c church caabi, ceeb
d dog def, dara
f fire fas, fetel
g good dogal, duga
j job jambar, jox
k cool kaala, kumpa
l land loolu, laal
m moon meew, dem
n not nit, nax
ñ onion ñeebe, gaañu
p park pare, soopa
r rat raxas, réér
s sign siis, safara
t stamp tubaab, aate
w war waaw, rew
x (see note) * xale, xaalis
y your yaay, yuuxu

* There is no English equivalent for this sound, it is a slightly guttural sound that is between x and k. It may also be pronounced merely as h, especially among non-natives.

PRENASALIZED CONSONANTS

CONSONANT

WOLOF EXAMPLES

mb

mbéy, mbam

nd

ndey, ndigga

nj, ng

ngor

mp

lampa

From time to time you may come across a Wolof word that uses an unsual letter that looks like this:

ŋ

This is called ‘velar nasal’. It is another prenasalized consonant that sounds similar to the ng sound in the English word ‘sing’. This is not to be confused with the consonant ‘ng’ in the table above which has a ‘j’ sound.

For more on Wolof pronunciation please click HERE .

Just what the heck is Wolof anyway?

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Wolof is a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania, and it is the native language of the ethnic group of the Wolof people. Like the neighboring language Fula, it belongs to the Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Unlike many other African languages, Wolof is not a tonal language.

Wolof is the most widely spoken language in Senegal, spoken not only by members of the Wolof ethnic group (approximately 40 percent of the population) but also by most other Senegalese. Wolof dialects may vary between countries (Senegal and the Gambia) and the rural and urban areas. “Dakar-Wolof”, for instance, is an urban mixture of Wolof, French, Arabic, and even a little English spoken in Dakar, the capital of Senegal.

“Wolof” is the standard spelling, and is a term that may also refer to the Wolof ethnic group or to things originating from Wolof culture or tradition. As an aid to pronunciation, some older French publications use the spelling “Ouolof“; for the same reason, some English publications adopt the spelling “Wollof“, predominantly referring to Gambian Wolof. Prior to the 20th Century, the forms “Volof”, and “Olof” were used.

Compared to other African languages, Wolof has had a relatively large influence on Western European languages; banana is a Wolof word in English, and the English word yam is believed to be derived from Wolof/Fula nyami, “to eat food.”

Hello world!

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Welcome to JangaWolof.WordPress.com. This is a resource for all things Wolof. Most entries will be mini Wolof lessons but we will also include links to other resources, articles of interest, notes on culture, etc. As many Wolof speakers are also Francophone we will include some basic French lessons as well with the occasional post about the other many native languages that are also spoken by those who speak Wolof.

We welcome submissions from native Wolof speakers and advanced students who wish to share their knowledge with us, please contact us at DaaraLaaka@hotmail.com with your submissions.