Monthly Archives: December 2007

Some Essential Wolof Phrases

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“Expressions Ouolof Essentielles”

Na nga def. – Hello. (singular)
Na ngeen def. – Hello everybody. (plural)
Jaam nga fanane. – Good morning.
Jamm nga yendoo. – Good afternoon.
Fanaanal jaam. - Goodnight.
Ba beneen. – Goodbye.
Su la nexee. – Please.
Jai-rruh-jef. - Thank you.
Agsil. – You’re welcome. (singular)
Agsileen ak jaam. - You’re all welcome. (plural)
Baal ma. - Sorry./Pardon.
Wau. – Yes.
Deh-det. – No.
Jaam nga am? – Have you peace? (How are you?)
Jaam rek. – Peace only. (I’m fine.)
Yow nag? – And you?
Naka-nga sant? – What’s your first name?
Maa ngi tudd … . – My name is … .
Fan nga dahk? – Where do you live?
Fan nga joghe? – Where are you from? (singular)
Fan ngeen joghe? - Where are you all from? (plural)
Maa ngi joghe les USA. – I’m from the USA.
Deg nga Angale? – Do you speak English?
Deg nga Faranse? – Do you speak French?
Angale rekk laa degg. – I speak only English.
Degg naa tuuti Faranse. – I speak a little French.
Mahn deggumah Wolof. – I don’t speak Wolof.
Mahn deggumah Faranse. - I don’t speak French.
Degguma. – I don’t understand.
Dama bahggoon … . – I’d like … .
Fahn la … ? - Where is … ?
Soreh na? – Is it far?
Cha kanam. – Straight ahead.
Chammoon. - Left.
Ndeyjoor. – right.
Dugghal waay! – Get in!
Lii naata? – How much is this?
Seer na torob. – It’s too much.
May ma jaam! – Leave me alone!

Arabic/Islamic Phrases

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Assalamu alaykum. – Peace be upon you.
Wa alaikumus salam. – And peace be upon you. (reply to above)
Allahu akbar. – Allah is greater. (takbir)
Al hamdu lilah wa shukru lillah. – Praise belongs to Allah and all thanks to Allah.
Bismillah ar rahman ar rahim. – In Allah’s name, most gracious, most merciful.
Insh’Allah. – If Allah wills. (referring to a future action)
Mash’Allah. – What Allah wishes. (indicates good omen)

DATA UNAVAILABLE …

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If you are wondering why the weather and solar/lunar conditions for Banjul is not appearing (located on the side bar on the right-hand side) it is apparently because the “City is not reporting.” Which can be caused by equipment or communication failure which can last from a few days to a few weeks. Once the issue is resolved everything will return to normal.

Days of the Week / Bési Ayubés Bi

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Wolof names for the days of the week are mostly adopted from Arabic.

As usual you can mouse over for the French translations as well.

Monday – Alteneh / Altinay / Altine [al-ti-ney]
Tuesday – Talarta / Talata / Talaata [ta-laa-ta]
Wednesday – Arlahrba / Alarba / Àllarba [al-lar-ba]
Thursday – Alheames / Alxamess / Alxames [al-kha-mes]
Friday – Arjuma / Ajuma / Àjjuma [aj-ju-ma]
Saturday – Gaaw / Gaawo / Gaawu [gaa-woo]
Sunday – Dibéér / Dibeer / Dibéer [dee-beyr]

Saturday may also be known as Aséér. (found this trans. in a Gambian source)

New Opposites List

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New List Thanks To Tubaab bu jigeen
See The Original List & Comments Here “Opposites Attract”
     
beginning – ending (verb): door/tammbali – jeex/mujj

cheap – expensive: yomb – jafe

easy – difficult: jomb – jafe

friend – enemy: xarit – noon

happy – unhappy: beg – tiis

inside – outside: ci biir – ci biti

enter – get out: duggu – genn

left – right: cammoň – ndeyjoor

near – far: jege – sori

open – close (verb): ubbi – téjj

peace – war: jamm – xare
 

Random Vocab

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These were taken from the Gambian Wolof – English Dictionary By David P. Gamble.

banxa – water lily
caxa – necklace
daay – bush fire, forest fire
kaala – turban
pat – a sore throat
pukkus – storage place, a retreat
raaf – to be destroyed, cease to exist
seey – to dissolve
tanna – to choose
waramba – gown

Notes on Orthography

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What’s orthography? It is basically a spelling system. Answers.com defines it as:

  1. The art or study of correct spelling according to established usage.
  2. The aspect of language study concerned with letters and their sequences in words.
  3. A method of representing a language or the sounds of language by written symbols; spelling.

There are groups such as the IPA (International Phonetic Association) and CLAD (Center of Applied Linguistics of Dakar) that have developed Latin based spelling systems for historically non-written languages such as Wolof. The IPA uses a system with the same acronym as their association called the International Phonetic Alphabet. And although I have repeatedly stated that there is no universal standardized system for the spelling of Wolof words, the system devised by CLAD is probably the most widely used (or at least very close variations of it) and in my opinion the easiest to follow. Below are some examples of the same Wolof word for ‘thank you’ using different orthographies:

jërëjëf (Standardized CLAD spelling)

djeredieuf (Common Francophone spelling)

jayraijayf (Used by Nyima Kantorek in her dictionary)

I have also seen it spelled; jai-rruh-jef, jere-jeff & je-re-jef among a variety of other renditions.

There is also a writing system that was developed for Wolof using the Arabic alphabet. This system is called Wolofal.

Opposites Attract

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beginning – end dohre – jehh/rach
cheap – expensive yormba – sehre
easy – difficult yormba – nahary
friend – enemy harit – mbargne
happy – unhappy contarn – mehr
in – out duga – gayna
left – right charmorgne – ndeyjohre
near – far jeague – sory
open – close oube – tayche
peace – war jarma – hareh
question – answer larch – torntu
safety – danger moitu – haiy
tall – short gouda – garta
up – down kow – shoofe
wide – narrow yartu – hertt

Happy Tabaski

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Today is the Muslim holiday Tabaski. In most Muslim countries it is called Eid al-Adha but in much of West Africa it is called Tabaski. Tabaski is the commemoration of the Biblical patriarch Abraham’s (Ibrahim in Arabic) willingness to sacrifice his son as commanded by God. On Tabaski a sheep (or a goat) is slaughtered as a symbolic gesture of the ram that God substituted for Abraham’s son.

Youssou N’dour & Super Etoile performing “Tabaski” in the studio.

Below is a slide show of a Tabaski preparation and celebration in Dakar, Senegal (warning: a few of the pictures are of the slaughter so if you are squeamish to that sort of thing be aware!)

Help Support Janga Wolof

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I have added a donation link in the bottom of the sidebar at the right-hand side of this page. If you feel that this website has been of use to you and you happen to be in a giving mood today, I would greatly appreciate a very small contribution. :)

jere-jef…

La League DJ Décalé Wolof

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La League DJ Décalé Wolof

I do not know where this video is from but Décalé is very popular in the Ivory Coast which I have recently learned has a sizable Wolof population. At about position 1:20 in the video they do a call and response where the Wolof is very clear and easy to catch…much of what they say at this part we have already covered in this blog…test yourself and see if you understand what they are saying!

All In the Family

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family – njabort

grandfather – marm-bu-gore
grandmother – marm-bu-gegain

father – papa
mother – yarboie

husband – jaycahre
wife – jabahre
son – dorm-bu-gore
daughter – dorm-bu-gegain

older brother – maq-bu-gore
younger brother – raca-bu-gore

older sister – maq-bu-gegain
younger sister – raca-bu-gegain

You got the time?

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What time is it? Ban waxtoo jot?
Et maintenant en français; Quelle heure est-il?

Do you have a watch? Am nga montar?
Et en français; Avez-vous une montre?

   Yes, I have a watch. Waaw am naa montar.
Et maintenant en français; Oui, j’ai une montre.

   No, I don’t have a watch. Amuma montar.
Et en français; Non, je n’ai pas de montre.

Some Mandinka

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The Mandinka language, sometimes referred to as Mandingo, is a Mandé language spoken by millions of Mandinka people in Mali, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea-Bissau; it is the main language of The Gambia. It belongs to the Manding branch of Mandé, and is thus fairly similar to Bambara and Maninka or Malinké. It is a tonal language with two tones: low and high.

baadaa – beach

daa – price

kambaanoo – boy

londoo – education

mansaaloo – proverb

hidiki – hiccup

saatee – village

taabuloo – table

Try this fun Mandinka Word Search.

A Couple Slang Words…

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Sai Sai -

“That little crafty one.” (Euphemism given to AIDS in the poor suburbs of Dakar, Senegal.) Also means bad person, “playa”, pimp, crooked business person, etc. Used for men & women. Can be like an insult or badge of pride.

Bin Bins -

A string of beads worn on an elastic string. Senegalese girls typically wear them just beneath the top of their pants or skirts, or sometimes just above. It is considered flirtatious, or even slightly erotic to show one’s bin-bins, particularly to a guy. And if a guy gives a girl a set of bin-bins, it’s pretty clear what that means!

Pronunciation Tips

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Note that these are just general tips and that these rules may not always apply as writers of Wolof sometimes use different spelling systems.

CONSONANTS:

j is pronounced as in jazz but with the tongue a bit nearer the top front teeth

c is pronounced as in church with the tongue a little nearer the top front teeth

ñ is pronounced as in the middle sound in canyon with the tongue tip just behind the front teeth

q is pronounced as a k pulled back into the throat

x is pronounced as in loch in Scottish English or bach in German, with the tongue pulled back in the throat

VOWELS:

a is pronounced as the u in butter not as in cat

à is pronounced as the ‘a’ sound in British English life

e is pronounced as in bed

é is pronounced like the French é, almost like the i in big

ë is pronounced as in Brithish English bird

i is pronounced as in beat

o is pronounced as in hot

ó is pronounced as in the French beau, it does not exist in English

u is pronounced a bit like book but with the lips more rounded

How are we doing?

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I’ve had this blog up for a little while now and the stats show that it’s been getting a number of visitors. The goal of this blog on one hand is to help me build my own Wolof understanding but also to provide a place for others to learn or to improve their Wolof. There are a number of scattered sources online and a few in print but nothing much that is very comprehensive (at least for us Anglophones! There seems to be a number of Francophone sources.) So I hope to use this blog to sort of compile all the information out there in one single place…and also to inspire others with their own Wolof websites to expand their content. Please leave me a comment and let me know how I’m doing, what I should do differently, any suggestions, praise or criticism is welcome!

- J.

Understand This!

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Do you understand? Dégg nga? (deg nguh)
and now en français; Comprenez-vous?

I understand. Dégg naa. (deg naa)
and en français; Je comprends.

I don’t understand. Dégguma. (deg-goo-ma)
en français; Je ne comprends pas.