Wolof belongs to the Northern Branch of the West Atlantic Group of Niger Congo. It is spoken in Senegal and The Gambia. A few speakers are reported for the southwest corner of Mauritania.
Grimes (1996) reports 2.7 million Wolof speakers, while World Almanac (1998) gives a figure of 7 million, including second language speakers. Estimates for Senegal range from 1.2 million first- language speakers (Voegelin and Voegelin 1977), to 1.5 million (Sauvageot 1981), to 2 million (UBS 1982). The UBS also estimates around 40,000 first-language speakers in the Gambia, or about 13 percent of the population.
Wolof is a major language of Senegal, the first language of more than one-third of the population. In addition, it serves as the most widely used non-European lingua franca. Although French is the official language of Senegal, the current policy objective is to have students read in the predominant language of their region. These include Wolof, Serer, Fulfulde (Pulaar), Diola, Mandingue Manding), and Sarakole (Soninke). Wolof is used in radio and television broadcasts and by civil servants (Nussbaum 1970). In The Gambia, Wolof follows behind Malinke and Fulfulde in importance. Plans have been made to use Wolof as the medium of education at the primary level.
A standard Wolof orthography has been in use since 1975.
One set of materials is sufficient.
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