Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

is a multilingual country: '' Ethnologue'' lists 36 languages,

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

being the most widely spoken language. French, which was inherited from the colonial era, is the

official language An official language is a language given supreme status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically the term "official language" does not refer to the language used by a people or country, but by its government (e.g. judiciary, ...

of Senegal. It is used by the administration and understood by about 15–20% of all men and about 1–2% of all women. Senegal is a member State of the

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie The (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, french: La Francophonie , but also called International Organisation of in English-language context) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a ...

. A Senegalese, Abdou Diouf, held the position of its Executive Secretary between 2003 and 2014. Several of the Senegalese languages have the status of "

national language A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection—de facto or de jure—with a nation. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the te ...

s": Balanta-Ganja,

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

, Jola-Fonyi, Mandinka, Mandjak, Mankanya,

Noon Noon (or midday) is 12 o'clock in the daytime. It is written as 12 noon, 12:00 m. (for meridiem, literally 12:00 noon), 12 p.m. (for post meridiem, literally "after noon"), 12 pm, or 12:00 (using a 24-hour clock) or 1200 ( military time). Sola ...

(Serer-Noon),

Pulaar 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 ...

, Serer, Soninke, and

. In terms of usage,

is the lingua franca and the most widely spoken language in Senegal, as a first or second language (80%).

Mande language The Mande languages are spoken in several countries in West Africa by the Mandé peoples and include Maninka, Mandinka, Soninke, Bambara, Kpelle, Dioula, Bozo, Mende, Susu, and Vai. There are "60 to 75 languages spoken by 30 to 40 millio ...

s spoken include Soninke, and Mandinka. Jola (Diola) is a main language in the

Casamance , settlement_type = Geographical region , image_skyline = Senegal Casamance.png , image_caption = Casamance in Senegal , image_flag = Flag of Casamance.svg , image_shield = , motto ...

region. The Guinea Creole dialect, based on

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

is also spoken in that region. In 2008 Senegal, due to its historical connections to Portuguese colonisation in Casamance, was admitted as Associate Observer in the

CPLP The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (Portuguese: ''Comunidade dos Países de Língua Portuguesa''; abbreviated as the CPLP), also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth (''Comunidade Lusófona''), is an international organization and poli ...

(Community of Portuguese Language Countries). Education for the deaf in Senegal uses American Sign Language, introduced by the deaf American missionary Andrew Foster. A local language is

Mbour Sign Language Mbour Sign Language is an indigenous sign language used in a neighborhood of the city of M'Bour in Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') off ...

. A report for the High Council of Francophonie in Paris stated in 1986 that in Senegal, 60,000 people spoke French as a first language and 700,000 spoke French as a second language. The total population of Senegal at the time was 6,500,000.

Languages taught at school

French is a mandatory school subject, as it is the official language of Senegal.

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

is taught as a subject in secondary school across the country.

Languages

* American Sign Language * Badyara * Banyum * Balanta * Bandial *

Bassari The Bassari are people who live in Senegal, Gambia, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau. The total population is between 10,000 and 30,000. Most of the Bassari are concentrated on either side of the Senegal-Guinea border southwest of Kedougou, Kédougou R ...

* Bayot * Bedik *

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 ...

*French *

Fula Fula may refer to: *Fula people (or Fulani, Fulɓe) *Fula language (or Pulaar, Fulfulde, Fulani) **The Fula variety known as the Pulaar language **The Fula variety known as the Pular language **The Fula variety known as Maasina Fulfulde *Al-Fula ...

* Gusilay * Hassaniya Arabic * Jola-Felupe * Jola-Fonyi *

Kasa Kasa may refer to Places *Kasa (kingdom), a former kingdom in Senegal *Kasa, Sweden, a village in northern Sweden *Kasa District, Kyoto, a district in Kyoto, Japan *Kasa Khurd, a village in Maharashtra, India *Kasa-Vubu (commune), a district in t ...

* Karon * Kassonke * Kobiana * Kwatay * Laalaa * Mandinka * Manjak *

Maninka Maninka (also known as Malinke), or more precisely Eastern Maninka, is the name of several closely related languages and dialects of the southeastern Manding subgroup of the Mande language family. It is the mother tongue of the Malinké peopl ...

* Mankanya * Mbouti Sign Language *

Mlomp Mlomp is a rural community and village in the Ziguinchor Region of Senegal in the Casamance, situated approximately south-west of Ziguinchor. As of 2000, it had a population of 7,628, rising to around 8,500 in 2006. Most inhabitants are of Diola ...

* Ndut * Nko *

* Palor *

* Pular * Safen * Serer * Soninke * Wamey *

* Yalunka

References

External links

Linguistic map of Senegal at Muturzikin.com''Ethnologue'' page on SenegalPanAfrican L10n page on Senegal
(In French) {{Senegal-stub stub

Languages taught at school

Languages

References

Further reading

External links