An African man playing the xalam.

Baye Janha plays the guitar like the ancient Khalam of the Wolof tribe of the Senegambia region and the Ganawa south Moroccan sound to a mass effect with his guitar. He was the band leader of the Gelewarr band, the Super Alligators, Fabulous Eagles, Supreme Eagles, Tambato band, the Karantaba band and Ifang Bondi. His playing technique can be distinctly heard on the SARABA CD/ALBUM recorded in Senegal on Griot records. He was awarded a medal in Algeria as one of Africa’s top guitarists with his solo group The Karantaba Band.

Full story: http://allafrica.com/stories/201207130531.html

World-renowned Senegalese griot, singer, poet and emcee Baay Bia linked up with Nomadic Wax in 2007 on his first trip to the United States. Since then, he has toured with the Nomadic Wax ‘African Underground All Stars’ on numerous occasions. Baay Bia is a unique emcee who combines the traditional musical sounds of Senegal with contemporary hip hop and reggae. He rhymes and sings in Wolof and was born into a griot family, a lineage that has a major influence over his music and his sound. In July of 2009, Baay Bia worked together with Nomadic Wax filmmaker Magee McIlvaine (co-director of ‘Democracy in Dakar’) to put together a music video for ‘Liy Am Amna,’ one of Baay Bia’s most popular songs in Senegal.

 Wolof 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 Language from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolof_language

↓ scroll down for more resources ↓

Essentials | sólo

English
Wolof / Français
pro·nun·ci·a·tion
[Pulaar / Mandinka]

Hello.
Salaam aleekum. / Bonjour.
sa·laam a·ley·kum / bon·zhoor
[P: No ngoolu daa. / M: I be ñaading.]

Goodbye.
Mangi dem. / Au revoir.
maan·gee dem / o·rer·vwar
[P: Ñalleen e jamm. / M: Fo tuma doo.]

Please.
Bu la neexee. / S’il vous plaît.
boo la ney·khey / seel voo pley
[P: Njaafodaa. / M: Dukare.]

Thank you.
Jërejëf. / Merci.
je·re·jef / mair·see
[P: A jaaraamah. / M: I ning bara.]

You’re welcome.
Amul sólo. / Je vous en prie.
uh·mool so·lo / zher voo zom pree
[P: Enen ndendidum. / M: Mbee le dentaala.]

Yes.
Waaw. / Oui.
wow / wee
[P: Eey. / M: Haa.]

No.
Déedéet. / Non.
dey·deyt / non
[P: Alaa. / M: Hani.]

Sorry. (Excuse me.)
Baal ma. (Jéggël ma.) / Pardon. (Excusez-moi.)
baal ma (jey·guhl mah) / par·don (ek·skew·zay·mwa)
[P: Achanam hakke. (Yaafo.) / M: Hakko tuñe.]

Do you speak English?
Ndax dégg nga angale? / Parlez-vous anglais?
ndakh deg nguh an·ga·ley / par·ley·voo ong·ley
[P: Ada faama engale? / M: Ye angkale kango moyle?]

Do you understand? (Do you speak … ?)
Dégg nga? / Comprenez-vous?
deg nguh / kom·pre·ney·voo
[P: (Ada nana ... ?) / M: (Ye ... kango moyle?)]

I understand.
Dégg naa. / Je comprends.
deg na / zher kom·pron
[P: Mi faami. / M: Ngaa kalamuta le.]

I don’t understand.
Dégguma. / Je ne comprends pas.
deg·goo·ma / zher ner kom·pron pa
[P: Mi faamaani / M: Mma kalamuta.]

Help!
Wóoy! / Au secours!
wohy / o·skoor
[P: Ballal! / M: Nso orangzola!]

Meeting & Greeting | ndaje ak nuyoo

May peace be with you. (“Hello.”)
As salaamu alay kum.

• And with you be peace.
  Mu alay kum salaam.

How was your night? (“Good morning.”)
Jàmm nga fanaane?

• Very peaceful.
  Jàmm rekk. (Peace only.)

How was your day? (“Good afternoon/evening.”)
Jàmm nga yendoo?

• Very peaceful.
  Jàmm rekk. (Peace only.)

How are you?
Na nga def?

• I’m fine.
  Maa ngi fi. (I am here.)

How is your family?
Ana sa waa kër?

• They are fine.
  Jàmm rekk. / Ñu nga fa. (They are there.)

Is your wife well?
Mbaa sa jabar jàmm?

• She is fine.
  Jàmm rekk. (Peace only.)

How is your child?
Sa doom jàmm?

• He/She is fine.
  Mi ngi ci jàmm. (He/She is at peace.)

What is your name?
Nanga tudd?

• My name is …
  Maa ngi tudd …

Where are you from?
Foo jóge?

• I am from …
  Maa ngi jóge …

At the Market | ci marse bi

How much?/How many?
Ñaata la?

How much are you selling this for?
Ñaata ngay jaaye bii?

How much is it?
Ñaata lay jar?

That’s expensive!
Seer na lóol!

I will pay …
Fey naa la …

What did you say?
Nga ni?

Reduce your price!
Waññil!

I’ll add 100cfa, but no more.
Tekk naa ci ñaar-fukk, du ma ci yokk dara.

I can’t add any more.
Du ma ci tekk dara.

• Give me the money.
  Indil xaalis bi.

How much is your fish?
Sa jën wi, ñaata lay jar?

• 100cfa.
  Ñaar fukk. (20 – multiply by 5 to get cfa amount.)

I will pay 75cfa.
Fey naa la fukk ak juróom.

• How many do you want?
  Ñaata?

Three, how much is that?
Ñett, ñaata la?

•  225cfa, give me the money.
  Ñeent fukk ak juróom, indil xaalis bi.

Thank you.
Jërë jëf.

That watch, how much does it cost?
Sa montre bi, ñaata lay jar?

• 5000cfa.
  Junni. (1000)

Bring your price down a bit.
Waññil.

• How much will you pay?
  Loo fey? (What you pay?)

1500cfa.
Ñetti teemeer. (three hundred)

• No, that’s not what it’s worth.
  Deedeet du njëg-am.

I’ll add 100cfa, nothing more.
Tegg naa ci ñaar fukk, du ma ci yokk dara.

• Give me the money.
  Indil xaalis bi.

These shoes, how much are they?
Sa dall yi, ñaata lay jar?

• 10,000cfa.
  Ñaari junni. (two thousand)

That’s very expensive!
Seer na lool!

• What would be a better price?
  Lu seerul?

3400cfa.
Juroom mbenni teemeer ak juróom ñett fukk. (680 / 5 + 1 x 100 + 5 + 3 x 10)

Taxis | taksi bi

How much is it from here to Sandaga?
Fii ba Sandaga ñaata? (Here until Sandaga how much?)

• 1000cfa.
  Ñaari teemeer. (200)

That’s too much, how about 700cfa?
Seer na lool, teemeer ak ñeent fukk angi?

• That’s no good, I’ll do it for 850cfa.
  Loolu baaxul, defal naa la ko teemeer ak juróom ñaar fukk.

I only have 800cfa.
Teemeer ak juróom benn fukki dërëm laa am.

• OK, get in.
  Yéegal.

Stop here.
Taxawal fii./Fii baax na./May ma fii.

Dining | lekk

I am hungry.
Da maa xiif.

I am thirsty.
Da maa mar.

Excuse me, where is the nearest restaurant?
Baal ma, fan moo am restoraan?

Where is the toilet/restroom?
Fan mooy seen wanaag?

Thank you.
Jërë-jëf. (The act was worth it.)

May peace be with you. (“Hello.”)
As salaamu alay kum.

• And with you be peace.
  Mu alay kum salaam.

• Welcome. / Come in.
  Agsi leen. (You‘ve arrived.)

A table for three.
Ñett lanu. (We are three people.)

What do you have that is ready?
Lu fi am soti.

• Here’s the menu.
  Kart baa ngi.

I will have fish-and-rice.
Di naa jël ceebu jën.

For me, the yassa.
Man, yaasa.

Is there mafé?
Ndax am na maafe mi?

• Yes, there is.
  Waaw waaw, am na.

I do not like hot pepper.
Bëgguma kaani.

I like hot pepper.
Bëgg naa kaani.

• It’s spicy.
  Saf na kaani. (It tastes hot.)
• It’s not spicy.
  Saful kaani. (It does not taste hot.)

• What will you have to drink?
  Lu ngeen di naan?

Bring us some sweet drinks.
Indil nu naan gu saf suukër.

Please bring me/us some cold water.
Indil ma/nu ndox mu sedd.

Some ice please.
Tuuti galaas.

It is cold.
Sedd na.

It is not cold.
Seddul.

It is hot.
Tang na.

It is not hot.
Tangul.

More sauce please.
Dollil tuuti ñeex.

I/We would like to pay.
Damaa/Danu bëgg fey.

It was good.
Neexoon na.

I am full.
Suur na.

We are going.
Nu ngi dem.

Goodbye for now.
Ba beneen yoon. (Until next time.)

Telling the Time | waxtu wi

What time is it?
Ban waxtoo jot?

Do you have a watch?
Am nga montar?

• Yes, I have a watch.
  Waaw am naa montar.
• No, I don’t have a watch.
  Amuma montar.

Look up words: Dictionary
Find more phrases: Phrase Dictionary

Download Basic Wolof Phrases as a PDF file that you can access offline on your computer or smartphone. (Includes about 400 extra phrases.)

Follow me on Twitter: @JangaWolof
Subscribe to me on Facebook: Janga Wolof Facebook Profile
Like the official Janga Wolof Facebook page: Janga Wolof Facebook Page

Join the discussion: Janga Wolof Discussion Boards

Donate to Janga Wolof:

This site will always remain free but by making a small donation you will be helping me to be able to acquire more Wolof resources that I can use to make this site even better. Many of these resources are rare and can cost $100 or more! (many of which I have to translate from other languages) Which is the reason I started this site in the first place — because of the lack of access to Wolof materials for English speakers, and hopefully I’ve been doing my small part to provide a suitable place for English speakers wishing to learn this wonderful language.

Help me publish the Janga Wolof Dictionary: (info. coming soon)

Wolof Phrasebooks, Dictionaries & Textbooks:

http://www.omniglot.com/writing/wolof.htm

Wolof was first written with a version of the Arabic script known as Wolofal, which is still used by many older men in Senegal. The Wolof orthography using the Latin alphabet was standardised in 1974 and is the official script for Wolof in Senegal.

Wolof is also sometimes written with an alphabet devised by Assane Faye, a Senegalese artist, in 1961. This alphabet is written from right to left and is modelled loosely on the Arabic script.

Home > Online dictionaries by language > Wolof dictionaries

http://www.lexicool.com/dictionaries_wolof.asp

	English-Wolof
	English Wolof Dictionary – 1995 (EN<->WO), Swedish/Wolof/English Dictionary (SV>WO-EN), Universal Declaration of Human Rights (MULTI) …
	French-Wolof
	Freelang Dictionary (FR<->WO), Universal Declaration of Human Rights (MULTI) …
	Italian-Wolof
	De Judicibus – Italian-Wolof General Dictionary (IT<->WO), Bravo – Wolof Swearing Dictionary (WO>IT), Universal Declaration of Human Rights (MULTI) …
	Spanish-Wolof
	Universal Declaration of Human Rights (MULTI) …
	Swedish-Wolof
	Swedish/Wolof/English Dictionary (SV>WO-EN), Universal Declaration of Human Rights (MULTI) …

Un petit lexique de base

Le vocabulaire de tous les jours

http://www.au-senegal.com/Lexique-senegalais-francais-wolof.html?lang=fr

Certaines choses difficiles à traduire

• Way : synonyme de copain, pote, qu’on utilise aussi quand la personne n’est pas du tout un copain (laisse-moi way).
• Dé ! : interjection qui marque la fin d’une phrase, pour en souligner fortement son contenu (il a trop duré dé !).
• Dal : signifie « alors » et sert également à insister : toi dal. Sert également de virgule.
• Sakh : utilisé avec « torop » (voir ci-dessous), signigie « même » et permet d’accentuer le caractère excessif d’une chose : ki, da fa rafet torop sakh = elle, elle est très jolie même.
• Nag : signifie « en tout cas, aussi ». Kon nag : donc
• Chetetet ! : exclamation utilisée pour marquer la stupéfaction la plus totale. (Le car rapide est tombé de l’autoroute : chetetet !)
• Borom : propriétaire, patron, chef : Borom kër : chef de famille – borom bitik : boutiquier – borom taxi : chauffeur de taxi.
• Xanna : signifie « est-ce que », mais s’emploie lorsqu’on suppose que la réponse est positive : Xanna il est fou ?

AUDIOS – Traduction en Wolof du « Wassilatoul Mouna ou Tayssir » de Seydil Hadj Malick SY

AUDIOS – Traduction en Wolof du « Wassilatoul Mouna ou Tayssir » de Seydil Hadj Malick SY

http://www.asfiyahi.org/AUDIOS-Traduction-en-Wolof-du-Wassilatoul-Mouna-ou-Tayssir-de-Seydil-Hadj-Malick-SY_a756.html

Learn Wolof for free

http://www.polyglot-learn-language.com/language/wolof

STUDY WOLOF ONLINE

http://languagelearningsystem.com/learn-wolof-language/

Wolof Video Course

5 Video lessons/chapters are available for free. The site is funded by a grant and they are looking for contributors to help develop more learning materials.

Wolof Online

A Wolof Primer. Some people say Wolof if too hard to learn or teach, this website is seeking to prove them wrong. There ae 11 learning modules (for a fee) and a English-Wolof dictionary and Wolof grammar text that you can download for free in .pdf format.

Wikipedia – Wolof

Improve your Wolof language skills by reading the Wolof language version of Wikipedia.

An Annotated Guide to Learning the Wolof Language

http://wolofresources.org/language/wolof_language_guide.htm

So you would like to learn Wolof?

This site offers links to a whole lot of resources both on and off the Internet to help you do just that. We give you some guidance about how to go about learning Wolof, especially if you have access to a native Wolof speaker. We have provided a guide on how to make each sound in Wolof. We have also provided a detailed Senegalese Wolof grammar manual (.pdf format, 382kB) and a number of vocabulary resource pages, listing Wolof vocabulary for a particular subject. Then there are resources you might find helpful. And the Internet provides plenty of things for you to read and listen to in Wolof. A good number of institutions in the U.S.A and Europe actually have Wolof courses. Finally there are various articles about the Wolof language and its use, right from the very light to serious academic works. A new addition to the site is a series of modules in Wolof for the program Online Bible including those parts of the Bible in Wolof published to date, a gospel harmony, a Wolof Bible dictionary, and a Wolof-English Bible dictionary-concordance.

When Aaron asked in his post for “Words English needs but doesn’t have,” I thought of a Wolof word to add to the list, but I don’t know how to spell it. enday san? n’day san?

Read the whole article here.

Please keep in mind that our Wolof Primer is not a full, college level course.

http://www.wolofonline.com/

Pàcc bi dajale baati wu-fraas yees tekki ci Wolof

Pàcc bi dajale baati wu-fraas yees tekki ci Wolof

http://www.xibaaryi.com/index.php?option=com_quickfaq&view=category&cid=2&Itemid=136

Dictionnaire wolof

Lexilogos – mots et merveilles d’ici et d’allieurs

http://www.lexilogos.com/wolof_dictionnaire.htm

 Dictionnaire wolof-français & français-wolof (extraits) par Jean-Léopold Diouf (2003) dictionnaire wolof > français & français > wolof (succinct) dictionnaire wolof-anglais [PDF]

 proverbes wolofs & traduction en français

 Dictionnaire français-volof & abrégé de la grammaire volofe, par V.-J. Guy-Grand & O. Abiven (1923) 

 La langue wolof & vocabulaire français-wolof, par Jean-Baptiste Rambaud (1903)

 Dictionnaire français-wolof et français-bambara, par Jean Dard (1825)

 dictionnaire wolof > français

prepared by Peace Corps The Gambia PO Box 582 Banjul The Gambia tel: 220 392120 1995

http://resourcepage.gambia.dk/ftp/wollof.pdf

FREELANG Wolof-English and English-Wolof online dictionary

http://www.freelang.net/online/wolof.php

Cours De Wolof

Les Cours de Wolof en ligne

http://www.senegalaisement.com/senegal/wolof.html

- de faire une recherche de mots le français et le wolof.
- d’ajouter vos propre mots de vocabulaires que vous apprendrez dans les leçons.
- de créer des listes d’apprentissages sous forme de jeu pour assimiler petit à petit le vocabulaire.

Mode d’emploi :
1) télécharger le programme en cliquant ici 
2) décompressez le (automatique avec Windows XP)
3) Ouvrez dictionnaire.exe
4) Ouvrez install.exe
5) Ca y est c’est fini ! Il ne vous reste plus quà lancer le programme en allant dans “démarrer -> programmes ->dictionnaire”

annoying things about senegal

Ndëmm amul. – He said that witchcraft does not exist.

Am na ñetti doom. – He has three children.

Am sa caabi! – Take your key!

Dafa am xel-ñaar ci mbir mi, moo tax joxeegul tontam. – He hesitated on the issue, which is why he has not yet given his answer. (am xel-ñaar – hesitate)

Source: Dictionnaire wolof-français, Arame Fal.

beef - yarpe-nack
chicken - yarpe-ganarre
goat - yarpe-baiy
hamburger - hamburger
lamb - yarpe-harre
meat - yarpa
pork - yarpe-mbam
shrimp - cepa-cepa

Source: Wolof Dictionary & Phrasebook, Nyima Kantorek.

The coordinating conjunctions in English are: and, but, or, yet, for, nor & so.

In this post we will be dealing specifically with the and conjunction which in Wolof is ak/ag when connecting nouns and pronouns or te when connecting verbs and phrases.

Below are examples of ak in use:

ak kan? – and who?
man ak yow – me and you
ndey ak baay – mother and father
bile ak bale – this and that
suma xaalis ak sa xaalis – my money and your money

Ak also means with:

mu tase fa ak bukki – he encountered there a hyena
ak jamma – with peace, in peace
kaay ak ñun – come with us
pañe bi dafa fees ak doj – the basket is full of stones
dox na ñaar i fan ak fas am – he went for two days with his horse
mu rendi ko ak paaka – he cut its throat with a knife
kaay lekka ak ñun – come eat with us

When used with numbers ak is used like plus:

fukk ak benn – eleven
fukk ak ñaar – twelve
fukk ak ñett – thirteen

Source: Gambian Wolof – English Dictionary, David P. Gamble.

Asalaam alaikum.
May peace be with you. (greeting)

Malaikum salaam.
And with you be peace. (reply to above)

Allahu akbar.
God is greater. (than me, you, anything)

Alhumdulilah.
Praise God. (said to thank God)

Bismilah.
In God’s name. (said before meals)

Inch’Allah.
If God wills it. (refers to a future action)

Mash’Allah.
What God wishes. (indicates a good omen)

The International Develepment Association, IDA, is the World Bank’s Fund for the Poorest. One of the world’s largest sources of aid, IDA provides support for health and education, infrastructure and agriculture, and economic and institutional development to the 79 poorest countries – 39 of them in Africa. These countries are home to 2.5 billion people, 1.5 billion of whom survive on $2 a day or less.

http://www.worldbank.org/ida

Pro Wrestling, Senegal Style

Pro Wrestling, Senegal Style – NYTimes.com

Senegalese wrestling match at the stade Demba Diop in Dakar.

Senegalese wrestling (fr. Lutte sénégalaise, Njom in Serer language, Laamb in Wolof) is a type of Folk wrestling traditionally performed by the Serer people and now a national sport in Senegal and parts of The Gambia, and is part of a larger West African form of traditional wrestling (fr. Lutte Traditionnelle). The Senegalese form traditionally allows blows with the hands (frappe), the only of the West African traditions to do so. As a larger confederation and championship around Lutte Traditionnelle has developed since the 1990s, Senegalese fighters now practice both forms, called officially Lutte Traditionnelle sans frappe (for the international version) and Lutte Traditionnelle avec frappe for the striking version. Senegalese wrestling – Wikipedia

Laamb glossary:

laamb – traditional Senegalese wrestling. Laamb is the Wolof word for wrestling which is borrowed from Serer Fara-Lamb Siin (Fara of Mandinka origin whilst Lamb of Serer origin) the chief griot who used to beat the tam-tam of Sine called Lamb or Laamb in Serer. The lamb was part of the music accompaniment of wrestling in pre-colonial times as well as after Senegal’s independence. The Serer word for wrestling is njom which derives from the Serer word jom (heart or honour). In French it is called Lutte sénégalaise. 

gris-gris (pronounced gree-gree) - also spelled grigri, is a voodoo amulet originating in Africa which is believed to protect the wearer from evil or brings luck, and in some West African countries is used as a method of birth control. It consists of a small cloth bag, usually inscribed with verses from the Qur’an and containing a ritual number of small objects, worn on the person. Although the exact origins of the word are unknown, some historians trace the word back to the African word juju meaning fetish. An alternative theory is that the word originates with the French joujou meaning doll or play-thing.

mbër – Laamb wrestler.

bàkk – a type of dance performed before a match. (not sure if this is something that is still done or something that was done before it became a national sport)

More YouTube – Senegalese wrestling videos

It is the dawn of Senegal’s independence from France, and as Dakar citizens celebrate in the streets we soon become aware that only faces have changed in the handover of power. White money still controls the government.

How much are you [selling] this for?
Ñaata ngay [jaaye] bii?

How much is it?
Ñaata lay [jar]? (lit. ‘how much is it [worth]‘)

That’s [expensive]!
[Seer] na lóol! (lit. ‘very [expensive]‘) 

I will [pay] 1000 CFA.
[Fey] naa  la ñaari teemeeri dërëm.

What did [you] say?
[Nga] ni?

[Lower] your price!
[Waññil]! (lit. ‘[reduce]‘)

I’ll add [100 CFA] but no more.
Tekk naa ci [ñaar-fukk] du ma ci yokk dara.

I can’t add [any] more.
Du ma ci tekk [dara].

[Give] me the money.
[Indil] xaalis bi.

[How much] is that?
[Ñaata] la?

Conversational Wolof Language! Learn Wolof in One Month!

http://www.abibitumikasa.com/wolof.html

It appears that this class has already started but it also looks like they re-offer it regularly.