Wolof
Description
Wolof is a member of the West Atlantic group of languages. Originally, it was only spoken in the Senegambia area. But with the intense cross immigration between Senegal and Mauritania, the language has gained additional speakers. In the mean time, the traditional trade called Bana-Bana between Senegal and Mali has favored a notable increase of Wolof speakers within the Malian population.
Spoken by more than ninety percent of the population, Wolof is the first national language among six others in Senegal. The dominant position of the Wolof language can be explained by the fact that the Wolof community was nearer than other communities to the colonial administration which was mostly settled in big cities. Thus, it was a necessity for other ethnic groups to speak Wolof once they migrated to towns such as Dakar where Wolof is the primary language of communication.
Today, the number of people speaking Wolof in West Africa can be estimated at eight million. Like most African languages, Wolof was essentially oral. In the past, Senegalese scholars in Arabic used the Arabic alphabet in their attempts to give Wolof written status. It was only in 1975 that the Senegalese administration adopted the Latin alphabet to write Wolof.
(Source: African Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania)
Instructor
Mbacke Thioune