1. Wollof - English Dictionary
prepared by
Peace Corps The Gambia
PO Box 582
Banjul
The Gambia
tel: 220 392120
1995
2. PRONOUNCIATION GUIDE
The wolof pronunciation system is relatively simple. Every symbol stands for only one sound, that is every symbol is
pronounced the same way in every word.
The distinction between short and long vowels is very important, because it is sometimes the only way to distinguish pairs of
words which have different meanings. Long vowels are always doubled, while short vowels are not.
There is a lot of prenalization in wolof. There usually occur with nasals such as m, n, etc...
VOWELS
As indicated, wolof vowels are either long or short. A long vowel is indicated a doubling of the symbol, and it must be
pronounced a little longer than a short vowel (which is not doubled). Long and short vowels can occur anywhere in the word.
Vowel
a
aa
e
ee
é
éé
ë
i
ii
o
ó
oo
óó
u
uu
CONSONANTS
E
F
G
I
J
M
N
O
P
Q
x
S
U
V
W
Z
[
Nearest English Equivalent
Wolof Examples
absorb
far
get
where
say
sane
bird
in, pit
meet
moment
no
door
phone
cook
moon
banta, tapa, santa
laaj, naaj, caabi
dem, lem, gerte
seet, leel
bés
wéér, réér
kër, dëgër
nit, simiis, timis
siis, lii, kii
xob, romba
nób, sóf
loo, soo
góór, fóót
nuyu, ubi
tuuru, yuuxu
ER
FKLQFKXUFK
GRJ
ILUH
JRRG
MRE
FRRO
ODQG
PRRQ
QRE
RQLRQQ