A blog for visitors coming to our wedding in September 2008 to be able to better prepare for the travel and stay in Dakar.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Language
There are many internet sites offering language translation travel cards. Would this be helpful and in what language? French? Senegalese? I can't imagine you or Jeanne will be with us every moment...especially 07 September... :)
Don't consider that you will need any language - your English will do, and I doubt that you will become conversation in another language by September. Consider this an opportunity to learn a little bit of another language with the opportunity to practice, if that interests you. If this is the case, go with French. Everyone that you will meet will speak French.
The most important thing in Africa is to know the greetings. Greeting people is a sign of respect and being polite. You may find it interesting, for example, that there is no real word for please in the local languages. But, if you ask someone for something without properly greeting them first, you may find yourself wondering why that person seems uncooperative.
In Senegal, it is very useful to learn the greetings in Wolof. Some 94% of the Senegalese population speaks Wolof (according to Wikipedia), and it should be closer to 100% in Dakar and the surrounding area.
There are many many languages throughout Africa. In Senegal, Wikipedia again says there are 36 (for a population of just under 12 million). Jeanne, for example, is not Wolof - she is Serere. But, she and her family have to speak Wolof, as it is the primary language of communication. Within the family, they speak Serere, or a mix of Serere, Wolof, and French too. (You will notice that there are many many languages here!)
In Wolof (a always pronounced like papa, spelling changed a bit to try to make it friendly for your pronounciation):
Hello (from the Arabic) - A salam alee koom
Hello (response, from the Arabic) - Aleekoom salam
How are you - Nanga deff (Nanga, sort of like mango)
1 comment:
Don't consider that you will need any language - your English will do, and I doubt that you will become conversation in another language by September. Consider this an opportunity to learn a little bit of another language with the opportunity to practice, if that interests you. If this is the case, go with French. Everyone that you will meet will speak French.
The most important thing in Africa is to know the greetings. Greeting people is a sign of respect and being polite. You may find it interesting, for example, that there is no real word for please in the local languages. But, if you ask someone for something without properly greeting them first, you may find yourself wondering why that person seems uncooperative.
In Senegal, it is very useful to learn the greetings in Wolof. Some 94% of the Senegalese population speaks Wolof (according to Wikipedia), and it should be closer to 100% in Dakar and the surrounding area.
There are many many languages throughout Africa. In Senegal, Wikipedia again says there are 36 (for a population of just under 12 million). Jeanne, for example, is not Wolof - she is Serere. But, she and her family have to speak Wolof, as it is the primary language of communication. Within the family, they speak Serere, or a mix of Serere, Wolof, and French too. (You will notice that there are many many languages here!)
In Wolof (a always pronounced like papa, spelling changed a bit to try to make it friendly for your pronounciation):
Hello (from the Arabic) - A salam alee koom
Hello (response, from the Arabic) - Aleekoom salam
How are you - Nanga deff (Nanga, sort of like mango)
Fine (literally, I am here) - Mangi fee rekk.
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