Wolof 241: Lesson 1

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WOLOF 241: Lesson 1
Spelling and Pronunciation guide

Wolof sounds can be divided into three groups: 1) Sounds that are spelled like English sounds, 2) sounds that are transcribed with different symbols in English, and 3) sounds that do not exist in English.

1. Sounds that are spelled like English sounds

Instruction: [when sound files are added] click on a Wolof word to hear its pronunciation

Sound	Example		Translation
b		biti	outside
d		diis	heavy
f		fas	horse
j		ji	to plant
k		kaani	red pepper
l		lem	honey
m		mos	taste
n		nit	person
p		put	throat
s		sew	to be skinny
t		tool	farm
w		Wolof	Wolof
y		yar	to educate

2. Sounds that are often transcribed with different symbols in English

Consonants:

Sound	Example		Translation	Explanation
c		caabi	key	like the English 'ch' in 'church'
		ceeb	rice	like the English 'ch' in 'church'
N		Naam	jaw	like the English 'ng' in 'king'
		laN	to be hooked	like the English 'ng' in 'king'
x		xaalis	money	does not have an equivalent in English
		xol	heart	does not have an equivalent in English

Vowels:

Sound	Example 1		Translation	Example 2		Translation
a		man	me		far	boyfriend
e		dem	to go		leer	light
ë		kër	house		bët	eye
i		nit	person		midi	noon
o		bor	loan		mos	to taste
u		nuyu	to greet		wurus	gold

3. Sounds that do not exist in English

Vowels:

Sound	Example 1		Translation	Example 2		Translation
a		matt	to bite		sacc	to steal
e		neeg	room		sew	skinny
ó		góór	man		dóór	to beat

Consonants:

Sound	Example 1		Translation	Example 2		Translation
ñ		ñam	food		añ	lunch
q		seq	rooster		laq	to hide
r		rafet	to be pretty		ree	to laugh
x		xarit	friend		xaalis	money
mb		mbaam	donkey		romb	to go by
mp		samp	to found		domp	to squeeze
nc		sanc	to build		penc	meeting place
nd		ndaa	water pot		pënd	dust
ng		ngelaw	wind		tang	to be hot
nj		njaay	a last name		njool	to be tall
nk		tank	foot		fonk	to respect
nq		xonq	red		sanq	a while ago
nt		sant	last name		buntu	door

Long vowels:

All the vowels in Wolof (except ë) have long counterparts. Vowel length is very important in Wolof because it can differentiate the meaning of words as in the following examples.

Sound	Short		Translation	[vs.]	Long		Translation
a and aa		bax	boil			baax	to be good
e and ee		xet	odor			xeet	ethnic group, type, kind
i and ii		nit	person			niit	to scrutinize, to search with a lamp
o and oo		bor	loan			boor	side
ó and óó		bóli	throat			bóóli	big dish
u and uu		put	throat			puut	name of village

Double consonants / Geminates:

Almost all Wolof consonants have long counterparts. Following are examples of Wolof long consonants:

Sound	Single		Translation	[vs.]	Double		Translation
b and bb		nëb	be rotten			nëbb	to hide
g and gg		tag	land			tagg	to praise
m and mm		gëm	to believe			gëmm	to close one's eyes
t and tt		fat	secure			fatt	to plug

Stress:

In Wolof, the stress generally occurs on the first syllable containing a long vowel; if there is no long vowel, it falls on the first syllable of the word as illustrated in the following examples:

Word		Translation
	'xaalis	money
	'baadoolo	lower class person
	'jigeen	woman
	li'geeykat	worker
	asa'maan	sky
	'xale	child

Note that ( ' ) indicates the stress placed on the syllable it precedes.

EXERCISES

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