This looks like a great promising dictionary…the only thing is that it’s mostly all in French but on the other hand this can be very helpful in learning the French along with your Wolof as you Google Translate the French into English!
Oh, and the address for the website? It is http://wolofici.wordpress.com
I’m not native Wolof but whenever I’m in Senegal or around speakers here at home we always use ‘lekk’ for both ‘eat’ and ‘food’. I think ‘ñam’ is the same and that it can be used in both ways. I know it’s true of many languages that the word for ‘eat’ and ‘food’ are the same.
The Peace Corps Gambian Wolof dictionary has ‘cin’ for food and ‘kojomtu’ and ‘lumpa’ for ‘eat’.
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as far as I know the word nyam in wolof it mean food. soo demee saalum ku leek aw niam sa biir meeti nione kooku niamaco yore.
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Looking for the spelling of godmother in wolof. Thanks for any help =)
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Try “goro” – that’s “mother/father-inlaw” Or “daughter/son-inlaw”
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Heyy, I was reading an article about African words in Jamaican Patwa and it said that our word “nyam” meaning “to eat”, comes from the Wolof Language. And I wanted to know just how true that really is? Thanks! =)
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“Lekk” means “to eat” in Wolof. “Nyam” as far as I know is the same as the English word “yam” for the vegetable. There is an often disputed theory about a lot of words in use in English, primarily in African-American communities, have Wolof roots. This may be true but it’s not easily proven. It’s also doubtful since a lot of the terminology that is accredited to Wolof weren’t known to be in use in the Americas until the last century.
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I don’t know about in Wolof, but in Pulaar (which is spoken in and around Kolda, Senegal) the word for eating is also “nyam”. that is the command to eat. Pulaar comes from fulfulde. It’s just a dialect, so it may have originated form there, but I’m not sure.
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That is true. However, it is not “to eat” (which in Wolof is “lekk”) but it means “food” and it should be written as follows: ñam.
Other languages such as Pular/Fula and Sereer, “ñaam” is the root of the verb “to eat”.
Ar ñam (Pulaar)= Come and eat
Gari ñam (Sereer)= Come and eat
Kaay lekk ñam bu neex (Wolof)= Come and eat delicious food. (Kaay lekk=come and eat; ñam bu neex= delicious food.
There is a new book call learn wolof, Alagie joof that is very good and can help answer many of your questions. Go to facebook and search for Learn wolof.
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I have tried to order it whit no answer? Where else can I get a copy of this cd/book?
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whats the translation for the word ..”eternal , immortal ” in wolof ??? can anyone help please !
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The translation is: Njaka jom
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whats the translation for the word ..”eternal , immortal ” in wolof ??? can anyone help please !
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Sassunee
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nice…the more wolof resources online and in print the better…
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Hi Amadou,
It is very gratifying working on the dictionary. My brain is updating like hell.
Don’t worry about the English side of life. English words will show up in one month or so.
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Dalal ak jàmm,
Language & Culture of The Senegambia
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