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16 Senegal

  • Ursula Reutner
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Manual of Romance Languages in Africa
This chapter is in the book Manual of Romance Languages in Africa

Abstract

Senegal is a multilingual country dominated by French and Wolof. French is the sole official language, though spoken by only 25 % of the population. Wolof is the main vehicular language, which most Senegalese understand and 40 % use as their first language. Pulaar is the first language of almost a quarter of the population. Sereer, Maninka, Jola, and Soninke are other major national languages. Following an overview of the Senegalese languages and their geographical and social distribution, this chapter takes a look at historical aspects that partly explain the modern-day linguistic situation: the fate of African kingdoms and empires, the arrival of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British, the traces they left in onomastics, as well as the contact with French for almost four centuries. Senegal became the first French colony within sub-Saharan Africa, hosted the capital of French West Africa, sent the first deputy from sub-Saharan Africa to the French parliament, and produced the first Prix Goncourt winner from sub-Saharan Africa, Mohamed Mbougar Sarr. Senegal’s long-ruling presidents Léopold Sédar Senghor and Abdou Diouf were fierce defenders of Francophonie. They contributed to the paradoxical situation that a minority language functions as official, while the language spoken by the large majority remains unofficial. Nevertheless, Wolofization has progressed at the expense of other national languages and cultures. Today, national languages are used in the informal communication of the administration, in oral media, religion, music, and film, while French dominates the official written communication, the education system, and written media. Senegalese French is often characterized by a different pronunciation of front rounded vowels and mid vowels, the insertion of epenthetic vowels, a typical realization of the rhotic, a particular assignment and realization of stress, the appearance of new phonemes and morphosyntactic structures, as well as the enrichment of the lexicon. Some Senegalese are proud of their variety but also show purist attitudes. Code-mixing and code-switching are frequent and may result in Franwolof.

Abstract

Senegal is a multilingual country dominated by French and Wolof. French is the sole official language, though spoken by only 25 % of the population. Wolof is the main vehicular language, which most Senegalese understand and 40 % use as their first language. Pulaar is the first language of almost a quarter of the population. Sereer, Maninka, Jola, and Soninke are other major national languages. Following an overview of the Senegalese languages and their geographical and social distribution, this chapter takes a look at historical aspects that partly explain the modern-day linguistic situation: the fate of African kingdoms and empires, the arrival of the Portuguese, Dutch, and British, the traces they left in onomastics, as well as the contact with French for almost four centuries. Senegal became the first French colony within sub-Saharan Africa, hosted the capital of French West Africa, sent the first deputy from sub-Saharan Africa to the French parliament, and produced the first Prix Goncourt winner from sub-Saharan Africa, Mohamed Mbougar Sarr. Senegal’s long-ruling presidents Léopold Sédar Senghor and Abdou Diouf were fierce defenders of Francophonie. They contributed to the paradoxical situation that a minority language functions as official, while the language spoken by the large majority remains unofficial. Nevertheless, Wolofization has progressed at the expense of other national languages and cultures. Today, national languages are used in the informal communication of the administration, in oral media, religion, music, and film, while French dominates the official written communication, the education system, and written media. Senegalese French is often characterized by a different pronunciation of front rounded vowels and mid vowels, the insertion of epenthetic vowels, a typical realization of the rhotic, a particular assignment and realization of stress, the appearance of new phonemes and morphosyntactic structures, as well as the enrichment of the lexicon. Some Senegalese are proud of their variety but also show purist attitudes. Code-mixing and code-switching are frequent and may result in Franwolof.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Manuals of Romance Linguistics V
  3. Table of Contents VII
  4. 1 Introduction 1
  5. Northern Africa
  6. French
  7. 2 Algeria 23
  8. 3 Morocco 43
  9. 4 Tunisia 71
  10. Italian
  11. 5 Libya 85
  12. Portuguese
  13. 6 Portugal: Madeira 95
  14. Spanish
  15. 7 Spain: Canary Islands 115
  16. 8 Spain: Ceuta and Melilla 147
  17. Western Africa
  18. French
  19. 9 Benin 169
  20. 10 Burkina Faso 193
  21. 11 Côte d’Ivoire 221
  22. 12 Guinea 241
  23. 13 Mali 265
  24. 14 Mauritania 289
  25. 15 Niger 319
  26. 16 Senegal 337
  27. 17 Togo 391
  28. Portuguese
  29. 18 Cabo Verde 413
  30. 19 Guinea-Bissau 447
  31. Middle Africa
  32. French
  33. 20 Cameroon 469
  34. 21 Central African Republic 483
  35. 22 Chad 497
  36. 23 Congo-Brazzaville 507
  37. 24 Congo-Kinshasa 537
  38. 25 Gabon 551
  39. Portuguese
  40. 26 Angola 579
  41. 27 São Tomé and Príncipe 609
  42. Spanish
  43. 28 Equatorial Guinea 625
  44. Eastern Africa
  45. French
  46. 29 Burundi and Rwanda 643
  47. 30 Djibouti 669
  48. 31 France: Réunion and Mayotte 691
  49. 32 Madagascar and Comoros 717
  50. 33 Mauritius and Seychelles 753
  51. Italian
  52. 34 Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia 783
  53. Portuguese
  54. 35 Mozambique 809
  55. Overview
  56. Country Key Facts
  57. 36 Country Key Facts 827
  58. Language Index 841
  59. Linguistic Subject Index 849
  60. General Subject Index 855
  61. Person Index 867
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110628869-016

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Manuals of Romance Linguistics V
  3. Table of Contents VII
  4. 1 Introduction 1
  5. Northern Africa
  6. French
  7. 2 Algeria 23
  8. 3 Morocco 43
  9. 4 Tunisia 71
  10. Italian
  11. 5 Libya 85
  12. Portuguese
  13. 6 Portugal: Madeira 95
  14. Spanish
  15. 7 Spain: Canary Islands 115
  16. 8 Spain: Ceuta and Melilla 147
  17. Western Africa
  18. French
  19. 9 Benin 169
  20. 10 Burkina Faso 193
  21. 11 Côte d’Ivoire 221
  22. 12 Guinea 241
  23. 13 Mali 265
  24. 14 Mauritania 289
  25. 15 Niger 319
  26. 16 Senegal 337
  27. 17 Togo 391
  28. Portuguese
  29. 18 Cabo Verde 413
  30. 19 Guinea-Bissau 447
  31. Middle Africa
  32. French
  33. 20 Cameroon 469
  34. 21 Central African Republic 483
  35. 22 Chad 497
  36. 23 Congo-Brazzaville 507
  37. 24 Congo-Kinshasa 537
  38. 25 Gabon 551
  39. Portuguese
  40. 26 Angola 579
  41. 27 São Tomé and Príncipe 609
  42. Spanish
  43. 28 Equatorial Guinea 625
  44. Eastern Africa
  45. French
  46. 29 Burundi and Rwanda 643
  47. 30 Djibouti 669
  48. 31 France: Réunion and Mayotte 691
  49. 32 Madagascar and Comoros 717
  50. 33 Mauritius and Seychelles 753
  51. Italian
  52. 34 Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia 783
  53. Portuguese
  54. 35 Mozambique 809
  55. Overview
  56. Country Key Facts
  57. 36 Country Key Facts 827
  58. Language Index 841
  59. Linguistic Subject Index 849
  60. General Subject Index 855
  61. Person Index 867
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