Languages of Senegal

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Languages of Senegal
Francophone African Sign Language
Keyboard layout
Ethnolinguistic map of Senegal
Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie[1]
.

Senegal is a multilingual country: Ethnologue lists 36 languages, Wolof being the most widely spoken language.

French, which was inherited from the colonial era, is used by the administration and understood by about 15–20% of all men and about 1–2% of all women.[1] Senegal is a member State of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie. A Senegalese, Abdou Diouf, held the position of its Executive Secretary between 2003 and 2014.

Several of the Senegalese languages have the status of "

Mandjak, Mankanya, Noon (Serer-Noon), Pulaar, Serer, and Soninke
.

In terms of usage, Wolof is the lingua franca and the most widely spoken language in Senegal, as a first or second language (80%).[2]

CPLP
(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.

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.[3]

Languages taught at school

French is a mandatory school subject, as it is the official language of Senegal. English is taught as a subject in secondary school across the country.[4][5]

Languages

References

  1. ^ Jacques Leclerc (2010-10-04). "Sénégal". Trésor de la langue française au Québec. Archived from the original on 2012-02-29. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
  2. ^ Pariona, Amber (27 September 2017). "What Languages Are Spoken in Senegal?". WorldAtlas. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  3. ^ Meisler, Stanley. "Seduction Still Works : French--a Language in Decline." Los Angeles Times. March 1, 1986. Retrieved on May 18, 2013.
  4. ^ "Young Senegalese Turn to English".
  5. ^ "The Warwick Elt". 31 December 2016.

Further reading

  • Dumont, Pierre (1982). Le français et les langues africaines au Sénégal. Paris: AACT and Karthala.

External links