Tag Archives: phrasebooks

‘Lonely Planet Phrasebooks Africa’ Book Review

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Africa Phrasebook

Africa Phrasebook

This book should be available at your local bookstore. Travel and outdoor stores also often carry Lonely Planet titles. If you prefer to do all your book shopping online then Amazon or the Lonely Planet website should be your best bets.

I’m a fan of Lonely Planet publications. In my opinion they are the best. Their products are visually appealing and packed with information in a very easy to find format. They use a very simple pronunciation key to aid in the pronunciation of every word in the book.

The only problems I have with this book is that the Wolof section is rather small (as are all the sections) but what they do have is very good. Much of the Wolof used is actually Wolofized French and not traditional Wolof…which is fine considering this is not a “lesson book” but a book designed for easy communication for travellers. The book also includes sections for French & Arabic among several other African languages.

 

Sample entry from book:

I need a doctor (who speaks English).   Dama soxla doktoor (bu dégg angale).   da•ma sokh•la dok•tohr (boo deg an•ga•le)

 

Contents:

  • Pronunciation
  • Introduction
  • Language Difficulties
  • Time, dates & numbers
  • Border Crossing
  • Tickets
  • Transport
  • Directions
  • Accommodation
  • Banking & Communications
  • Tours
  • Shopping
  • Making Conversation
  • Eating Out
  • Emergencies
  • Medical Needs
  • Dictionary

‘Say It In Wolof!’ Phrasebook Review

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‘Say It In Wolof!‘ by Ababacar Gueye. Translated by Sue Hall.

BSDA No. 8531150404 3rd Edition (English) – Also available in French. ©2005

As far as I know it is not available online or anywhere outside of Senegal. It might be possible to special order it from the contact info below:

Lakki Reew Mi Project 1
568 Av. Abebe Bikila Grd Dakar. SN.
Mobile phone: 571.59.92
Email: lakkireewmib@yahoo.fr

My review:

It’s a very short book but has a lot of useful phrases for everyday life in Dakar. The one minor flaw of this book is that there are a few typos. There is even an omission of a letter in the pronunciation section – there’s a description of how to pronounce the letter but where the letter should be is blank.

Sample phrase from book:

Three. How much is that? Ñett. Ñaata la?

Book contents:

  • Introduction
  • Pronouncing and writing certain sounds
  • Greetings and basic chit-chat
  • Numbers
  • Money
  • Negotiating prices
  • Taxis
  • Restaurant
  • Family
  • Times of day
  • Telling the time
  • Remarks
  • Thanks
Wolof Phrasebook

Say It In Wolof! by Ababacar Gueye

Suggested Reference Materials

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Lonely Planet Phrasebooks: Africa

Along with 12 other languages used in Africa, including French & Arabic, this little phrasebook has a great little Wolof section. Lonely Planet is probably one of the best publishers of guidebooks and phrasebooks for travelers. Other Lonely Planet materials I would suggest are; French Phrasebook and/or Fast Talk Audio French, Healthy Travel Africa and the latest edition of The Gambia & Senegal Travel Guide. (They also publish separate travel guides for Africa, West Africa & just about every other region & country of Africa.)

Wolof Dictionary & Phrasebook

This Wolof-English / English-Wolof dictionary & phrasebook by Nyima Kantorek and published by Hippocrene Books is the only somewhat comprehensive Wolof dictionary in mass publication that I have been able to find anywhere. The one flaw of this book is that they chose to create a new orthography instead of using the established CLAD orthography which makes many of the words appear foreign even to native speakers but once you get used to it this book becomes a valuable (or is that invaluable?) resource for many new words and phrases. Hippocrene also publishes an excellent Pulaar dictionary.