Kiwolofu

Kiwolofu ni lugha iongewayo nchini Senegal, Gambia, na Mauritania. Lahaja za Kiwolofu zinaweza kufanana sana kati ya nchi hizo, zikiwa sambamba kabisa kitabia na hata kuongelewa kieneo.

Lugha hiyo ipo kama lugha jirani ya Kifula inayohesabiwa kati ya lugha za Kisenegambia^[1] ya familia ya Lugha za Kiniger-Kongo.

Ni lugha hasa ya Wawolofu, lakini nchini Senegal haizungumzwi na Wawolofu tu, bali hata Wasenegal wengine huzumgumza lugha hiyo; hivyo karibuni asilimia 40 ya wakazi wake huizungumza kama lugha mama.

Idadi ya wasemaji kama lugha mama ni takriban milioni 3.2 na karibu idadi ileile hutumia Kiwolofu kama lugha ya pili.

Kuna lahaja mbalimbali kama vile "Dakar-Wolof". Dakar ni mji wenye watu mchanganyiko, yaani kuna waongeaji wa Kiwolofu, Kifaransa, Kiarabu, na hata Kiingereza huzungumzwa kidogo katika mji huo ambao uko nchini Senegal; hivyo Kiwolofu chao ni cha mchanganyiko.

Maeneo mengine ya Kiwolofu ni kama vile:

• Loukala
• Saint Louis
• Casamanca
• Banjul
• Nouakchott

• Wolof Language Resources Archived 2 Juni 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
• makala za OLAC kuhusu Kiwolofu
• lugha ya Kiwolofu katika Glottolog
• Ethnologue Site on the Wolof Language
• Kiwolofu katika tovuti ya Multitree
• An Annotated Guide to Learning the Wolof Language Archived 4 Julai 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
• Leipoldt's Wolof Language Project (in English) Archived 27 Septemba 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
• Leipoldt's Wolof Language Project (in German) Archived 15 Mei 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
• Yahoo group about Wolof (in English and German)
• Wolof Online
• Wolof English Dictionary Archived 1 Machi 2010 at the Wayback Machine. (this dictionary mixes Senagalese and Gambian variants without notice, and does not use a standard orthography)
• A French-Wolof-French dictionary partially available at Google Books.
• Firicat.com Archived 2 Mei 2006 at the Wayback Machine. (an online Wolof to English translator; you can add your own words to this dictionary; refers almost exclusively to the Gambian variants and does not use a standard orthography)
• PanAfrican L10n page on Wolof
• OSAD spécialisée dans l’éducation non formelle et l’édition des ouvrages en langues nationales Archived 13 Mei 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
• JangaWolof.wordpress.com (A blog about the Wolof language and culture)

Makala hii kuhusu mambo ya lugha bado ni mbegu. Je, unajua kitu kuhusu Kiwolofu kama historia yake, uenezi au maendeleo yake? Labda unaona habari katika Wikipedia ya Kiingereza au lugha nyingine zinazofaa kutafsiriwa? Basi unaweza kuisaidia Wikipedia kwa kuihariri na kuongeza habari.