|
Languages Of The Gambia
In The Gambia, Mandinka language, Mandinka is spoken as a first language by 38% of the population, Pulaar language, Pulaar by 21%, Wolof language, Wolof by 18%, Soninke language, Soninke by 9 percent, Jola languages, Jola by 4.5 percent, Serer language, Serer by 2.4 percent, Manjak language, Manjak and Bainouk language, Bainouk by 1.6 percent each, Guinea-Bissau Creole, Portuguese Creole by 1 percent, and English language, English by 0.5 percent. Smaller numbers speak several other languages. Gambian Sign Language is used by the deaf. English language, English is the main language for official purposes and education. ''Ethnologue'' 24, 2021 See also * Demographics of the GambiaReferences Languages of the Gambia, {{Afroasiatic-lang-stub ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the island of Great Britain. Existing on a dialect continuum with Scots, and then closest related to the Low Saxon and Frisian languages, English is genealogically West Germanic. However, its vocabulary is also distinctively influenced by dialects of France (about 29% of Modern English words) and Latin (also about 29%), plus some grammar and a small amount of core vocabulary influenced by Old Norse (a North Germanic language). Speakers of English are called Anglophones. The earliest forms of English, collectively known as Old English, evolved from a group of West Germanic (Ingvaeonic) dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century and further mutated by Norse-speaking Viking settlers starting in the 8th and 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mandinka Language
The Mandinka language (; Ajami: ) or Mandingo, is a Mande language spoken by the Mandinka people of Guinea, northern Guinea-Bissau, the Casamance region of Senegal, and in The Gambia where it is one of the principal languages. Mandinka belongs to the Manding branch of Mande and is thus similar to Bambara and Maninka/Malinké but with only 5 instead of 7 vowels. In a majority of areas, it is a tonal language with two tones: low and high, although the particular variety spoken in the Gambia and Senegal borders on a pitch accent due to its proximity with non-tonal neighboring languages like Wolof. Phonology Mandinka is here represented by the variety spoken in Casamance. There is little dialectical diversity. Tone Mandinka has two tones, high and low. Unmodified nouns are either high tone on all syllables or low tone on all syllables. The definite suffix ''-o'' takes a low tone on high-tone nouns and a falling tone on low-tone nouns. It also assimilates any preceding sho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pulaar Language
Pulaar (in Adlam: , in Ajami: ) is a Fula language spoken primarily as a first language by the Fula and Toucouleur peoples in the Senegal River valley area traditionally known as Futa Tooro and further south and east. Pulaar speakers, known as '' Haalpulaar'en'' live in Senegal, Mauritania, the Gambia, and western Mali. The two main speakers of Pulaar are the Toucouleur people and the Fulɓe (also known as Fulani or Peul). Pulaar is the second most spoken local language in Senegal, being a first language for around 22% of the population. This correlates with 23.7% of the country in which Pulaar is the population's ethnicity. Pulaar is one of the national languages of Senegal alongside 13 others. It was admitted as an official language of Senegal by Presidential decree in 1971. There are around 28 known dialects of Pulaar, most of which are mutually intelligible with each other. The Pulaar dialects, as well as other West African languages, are usually referenced under the umbrell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolof Language
Wolof (; Wolofal: ) is a language of Senegal, Mauritania, and the Gambia, 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 the Niger-Congo family, Wolof is not a tonal language. Wolof is the most widely spoken language in Senegal, spoken natively by the Wolof people (40% of the population) but also by most other Senegalese as a second language. Wolof dialects vary geographically and between rural and urban areas. The principal dialect of Dakar, for instance, is an urban mixture of Wolof, French, and Arabic. ''Wolof'' is the standard spelling and may also refer to the Wolof ethnicity or culture. Variants include the older French , , , Gambian Wolof, etc., which now typically refers either to the Jolof Empire or to jollof rice, a common West African rice dish. Now-archaic forms include ''Volof'' and ''Olof''. English is believed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Soninke Language
The Soninke language (Soninke: ''Sooninkanxanne''), also known as Serakhulle or Azer is a Mande languages, Mande language spoken by the Soninke people of Africa. The language has an estimated 2.1 million speakers, primarily located in Mali, and also (in order of numerical importance of the communities) in Senegal, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Ghana. It enjoys the status of a national language in Mali, Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania. The language is relatively homogeneous, with only slight phonological, lexical, and grammatical variations. Linguistically, its nearest relatives is the Bozo language , which is centered on the Inner Niger Delta. It is possible that the language of the Imraguen people and/or the Nemadi dialect are dialects of, or closely related to, Soninke. Phonology Consonants Vowels Long vowels are written double: ''aa'', ''ee'', ''ii'', ''oo'', ''uu''. References External linksPanAfriL10n page on Soninke [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jola Languages
Jola (Joola) or Diola is a dialect continuum spoken in Senegal, the Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. It belongs to the Bak branch of the Niger–Congo language family. Name The name ''Jola'' is an exonym, and may be from the Mandinka word ''joolaa'' 'one who pays back'.Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. ''Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification''. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. There is no widespread endonym used by all of the Jola speakers. Languages The primary branches of Jola proper and to some extent Central Jola are not mutually intelligible. The main varieties are: * Bayot *Jola proper ** Kwatay (Kuwaataay), spoken along the coast south of the Casamance River. ** Karon–Mlomp *** Karon, spoken along the coast of Casamance south of Diouloulou. *** Mlomp **Central Jola *** Jola-Fonyi (Kujamatay), spoken around Bignona. The official standard. *** Bandial, spoken in a small area south of the Casa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serer Language
Serer, often broken into differing regional dialects such as Serer-Sine and Serer saloum, is a language of the kingdoms of Sine and Saloum branch of Niger–Congo spoken by 1.2 million people in Senegal and 30,000 in the Gambia as of 2009. It is the principal language of the Serer people. Classification Serer is one of the Senegambian languages, which are characterized by consonant mutation. The traditional classification of Atlantic is that of Sapir (1971), which found that Serer was closest to Fulani. However, a widely cited misreading of the data by Wilson (1989) inadvertently exchanged Serer for Wolof. Dialects of Serer are Serer Sine (the prestige dialect), Segum, Fadyut-Palmerin, Dyegueme (Gyegem), and Niominka. They are mutually intelligible except for the Sereer spoken in some of the areas surrounding the city of Thiès. Not all Serer people speak Serer. About 200,000 speak Cangin languages. Because the speakers are ethnically Serer, they are commonly thought to be S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manjak Language
Manjak or Manjack (french: Mandjak, ; pt, Manjaco) or Njak is a Bak language of Guinea-Bissau and Senegal. The language is also known as Kanyop. In 2006, the total number of speakers was estimated at 315,300, including 184,000 in Guinea-Bissau, 105,000 in Senegal and 26,300 in The Gambia. Dialects The Manjak dialects below are distinct enough that some might be considered separate languages. *Bok (Babok, Sarar, Teixeira Pinto, Tsaam) *Likes-Utsia (Baraa, Kalkus) *Cur (Churo) *Lund *Yu (Pecixe, Siis, Pulhilh) *Unhate (Binhante, Bissau) The Manjak dialects listed by Wilson (2007) areWilson, William André Auquier. 2007. ''Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification''. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. *Canchungo (''kancuŋuʔ'') – central dialect *Baboque (''babɔk'') (formerly Vila Teixeira Pinto, Teixeira Pinto) – eastern dialect *Churo (') – northern dialect *Pecixe (locally called ''pəhlihl''; otherwi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bainouk Language
Banyum (Banyun), Nyun, or Bainouk, is a Senegambian dialect cluster of Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. Spellings are ''Bagnoun, Banhum, Banyung'' and ''Bainuk, Banyuk''; other names are ''Elomay ~ Elunay''; for the Gunyaamolo variety ''Ñuñ'' or ''Nyamone'', and for Gunyuño ''Guñuun'' or ''Samik''.Hammarström (2015) Ethnologue 16/17/18th editions: a comprehensive review: online appendices The language is referred to as ''gu-jaaxər'' by its speakers.Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. ''Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification''. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. See Baïnounk Gubëeher for the phonology of a closely related language, sometimes thought to be a dialect of Banyum. Varieties There are three varieties of Banyum: Baïnouk-gunyaamolo, Baïnouk Samik, and Baïnouk gunyuño. * Bainouk-Gunyaamolo is spoken by 30,000 people in 2013. It is spoken in the northern Casamance River area, within a triangle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Guinea-Bissau Creole
Guinea-Bissau Creole, also known as Kiriol or Crioulo, is a creole language whose lexicon derives mostly from Portuguese. It is spoken in Guinea Bissau, Senegal and The Gambia. It is also called by its native speakers as , , or . Guinea-Bissau Creole is spoken as a native tongue by 250,000 Bissau-Guineans and as a second language by 1,000,000. A variant of Guinea-Bissau Creole is also spoken in southern Senegal, mainly in the region of Casamance, a former Portuguese colony, which is known as Portuguis Creole or Casamance Creole. Creole is the majority language of the inhabitants of the Casamance region and is used as a language of commerce. Standard Portuguese is the official language of Guinea-Bissau, but Guinea-Bissau Creole is the language of trade, informal literature and entertainment. It is not used in either news media, parliament, public services or educational programming. History The creole languages of Upper Guinea are the oldest-known creoles whose lexicons derive ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gambian English
Gambian English is the variety of English spoken in The Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio .... Gambian English has fewer speakers than any other variety of West African English (WAE), and shares similarities with Sierra Leonean English. The differences between Gambian English and other dialects of African English are mostly lexical and phonological. Gambian English has been influenced by various indigenous Gambian languages. Pronunciation References Gambian culture Languages of the Gambia {{English-lang-stub Dialects of English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gambian Sign Language
Gambian Sign Language is a national sign language used in Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ... by the deaf community there. The only school for deaf children in the Gambia, St John's School for the Deaf, was set up by a Catholic priest from Ireland. Dutch Sign Language was introduced to the school along with British Sign Language which developed into Gambian Sign Language, incorporating some indigenous gestures used by the general population. Unlike much of West Africa, American Sign Language was not introduced to the Gambia until much later so the deaf community is not familiar with American Sign Language. External linksGambian Association of the Deaf & Hard of Hearing French Sign Language family Languages of the Gambia {{sign-lang-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
