Gambian Wolof (EC)
Language Resources
- Balami, Ahmed. (2021). LEARN WOLOF WITH EASE.
- Ahmed Dahiru Balami, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, writes this book with the aim to facilitate basic communication in Wolof, especially for persons arriving newly in The Gambia. “It first covers common day-to-day conversations, followed by a concise presentation of grammar and finally a short lexicon, with the words divided into the different parts of speech.”
- Gamble, David P. Gambian Wolof-English Dictionary. Brisbane, Calif. :D.P. Gamble, 1991.
- The late David P. Gamble, writer and anthropologist, writes a dictionary of Wolof to English with a short introduction on consonants. His introduction starts by saying “Preparing a Wolof-English dictionary for The Gambia is not a simple task” and continues to share historical, geographical, colonial, etc. insight as to why that is. He also writes “However, this work must be regarded as tentative, with many corrections still to be made, but it is hoped that it will nevertheless be useful to both expatriates who wish to learn Wolof, and Gambians involved in literacy and educational programs” further showing the complications of learning Gambian Wolof.
- Gamble, David P. Elementary Gambian Wolof Grammar. Brisbane, Calif. :D.P. Gamble, 1991.
- David P. Gamble also writes another book that I think will be very useful to me, especially because it is specifically at an elementary level. It is like the dictionary as it includes translations but also includes so much more like lullabies, proverbs, etc. It will be essential in learning basic grammar as It contains sections like possessive case, pronouns, indefinites, adjectives, adverbs, gender, etc.
- edited by David P. Gamble. Verbal and Visual Expressions of Wolof Culture. [Place of publication not identified] :[publisher not identified], 1991.
- The main author of this text is unknown but David P. Gamble is an editor of this version. This book included 5 chapters, all of which may not be useful to me as they also talk about Senegal and Sierra Leone, but Wolof stories, proverbs and an account on a Wolof naming ceremony will be another helpful source of cultural insight.
- Haust, Delia. Codeswitching in Gambia : Eine Soziolinguistische Untersuchung Von Mandinka, Wolof Und Englisch in Kontakt : with an English Summary. Köln :Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, 1995.
- This book is more focused on research on language than language learning specifically but is extremely interesting and related to my research. Haust does an “empirical study of the double overlapping diglossia in Gambia – Mandinka and Wolof – in contrast to the official language English, and as High varieties in contrast to the local languages.” This source will help me understand why certain people speak certain languages outside of geographical reasons.
- Magel, Emil A. (Emil Anthony), 1945-. Folktales from the Gambia : Wolof Fictional Narratives. Washington, D.C. :Three Continents Press, 1984.
- This book contains translations of 45 Wolof folk-tales that give insight to Gambian culture and specifically the Wolof peoples “relationship with their environment, their beliefs about causality, and their social values, morality and customs.” This will help me learn more cultural/traditional aspects of the language.
