Wolof is the main language of Senegal, and is also spoken in Gambia and Mauritania.
Note: Wolof is primarily an oral not written language, so written spellings may vary considerably.
hyrA
;C-: is always pronounced "Ch" Words borrowed from French should use "S" instead of C but might not always be written that way. ;R-: Should be rolled. ;;After a double consonant,:: repeat the vowel preceding vowel sound slightly. For example, Tudd (to call oneself) sounds almost like "tuddu" and jamm (peace) sounds like "Jamma" with a very soft a / e muet (if you speak French, for reference) at the end. ;Ng -: Difficult for a non-speaker to replicate. Focus on the "g" sound and if possible add the n to the end of the preceding word. For example, Fan nga joge? (Where to you come from) sounds more like Fann ga joge?
goeses
; Hello. : Salamalekum(This is Arabic) / Response: Malekum Salaam. ; Hello. (informal) : . (Sa va)French ; How are you? : Na'nga def? (?) ; Fine, thank you. : Mangi fi rekk. (jama rek or I'm in peace) ; Alhumdililay. : Thanks be to God. (From Arabic.) May be used after 'jama rek' to express thanks. ; What is your name? : Nanga tudd? ; My name is... : Mangi tudd... ; Nice to meet you. : . () ; Please : (S'il vous plait) ; Thank you. : Jere jef. () ; You're welcome. : ñoku boku. (__) ; Yes. : . (waaw) ; No. : . (de det) ; Excuse me. (getting attention) : . (pardon) ; Excuse me. (begging pardon) : . (baal ma) ; I'm sorry. : . (maasa) ; Goodbye : Be benen yoon. (Means see you next time, or a la prochaine in French) ; See you very soon : Leegi leegi. ; See you later : Ba ci kanam. ; I'm going (informal) : . (maangi dem) ; I can't speak Wolof [well]. : [ ]. ([Man degguma ?????? ]) ; Do you speak English? : ? (Degg nga anglais?) ; I speak some english : ? (Degg naa tutti tutti anglais) ; Help! : ! (dembalema) ; Look out! : ! (me hole) ; How is the morning? : Naka suba si? ; How is the evening? : Naka si ngom si? ; Good night. : Fanaanal ak jamm. Plural: Fanaaleen ak jamm. (NB: Slight "a" sound follows the double consonant.) ; Good night (to sleep) : . (bon nuit)French ; I don't understand. : . (je ne comprend pas)French (Degguma) ; Where is... ? : ? (Ana ...?) ; Where are you from? : (Fooy degga?) or Fan nga joge?
; How is your work? : Naka liggeye bi? () ; How is your family? : Naka wa kerr gi? () or Ana wa ker ga? ; My house (family) is fine (here). : Nyung fi rekk. ; How did you sleep? : Nanga fananay? ; White person : Toubab (__)
; Monday
Altine ; Tuesday Taalata ; Wednesday Alarba ; Thursday Alxames ; Friday Ajjuma ; Saturday Gaaw ; Sunday Dibeer
; How much is it? : Ñaata la? () ; What does it cost? : Nyata? ()
; Breakfast : (Ndekki) ; Lunch : (An) ; Dinner : (Reer)
; (Ci) Marse bi : (at) the market ; Ñaata la? : How much is it? ; ____ francs : ____ CFA (NB: Numbers used for prices will usually be in French and in thousands with inflation.) ; Waxale : to bargain ; Maangi waxale : I bargain ; Cher na (torop) : It's (very) expensive (Used to try to haggle the price down)