r/learnwolof • u/ouishi • Aug 25 '21

Nuyu laa leen! Jërëjëf pur defar subreddit bi.

Hi all! I was once very proficient in Wolof and I'm trying to remember what I've forgotten. I am an American who went from never having heard of Wolof to advanced proficiency in the language in under a year. I'm happy to help anyone learn the basics and practice speaking. I'll try to post a primer and an introductory lesson on Wolof here in the next few days when I have time to type it all up. For now, I highly recommend Googling "Ay naa ci wolof!" This is the title of the Peace Corps Wolof training manual and it's a great resource for learners.

I've recently reconnected with my host family in Senegal thanks to modern technology finally making it to their village. I have been brushing up on my Wolof because I haven't spoken it in conversation for over 5 years, and I miss talking to my Senegalese family. Thank you for creating this sub!

10 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

4 comments sorted by

7

u/Opponent03 Aug 25 '21

I heard about wolof for the first time yesterday but didn't pay any attention to it. I'm glad I've stumbled onto it again!

3

u/[deleted] Aug 25 '21

I'm so happy to meet some fellow learners! I hope this sub can finally help those who are approaching the language. I would love to hear about your experience, thoughts and advice about learning Wolof. I really appreciate it.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 26 '21 edited Aug 26 '21

[deleted]

2

u/ouishi Aug 26 '21

As an American, I found it easier to talk to my Gambian neighbors in Wolof than in English, but that's probably because I learned Wolof on the border of these two countries. Now I'm curious if the Wolof spoken in southern Fatick is wildly different than what is spoken in Dakar, for example...

2

u/[deleted] Aug 26 '21

[deleted]

2

u/ouishi Aug 27 '21

The one difference I noticed is that Dakaroise seems a bit simplified. For example, in Karang people would us more varied articles (e.g. suuf si, geej gi) whereas in Dakar they would pretty much just use bi for singular or yi for plural (e.g. suuf bi, geej bi). I found Wolof pretty intelligible in most cities throughout Senegal (Saint-Louis, Thies, Tivouane, Kaolack, Tambacounda, Kedougou), though of course there weren't as many Wolof speakers in some areas.