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The 'Fula language' is a language of West Africa, spoken by the Fule (Fula or Fulani people) from Senegambia and Guinea to Cameroon and Sudan. It is also spoken as the first language by the Tukulor in the Senegal River Valley and as a second language by peoples in other areas.
There are several names applied to the language, just as there are to the Fula people. They call their language 'Pulaar' or 'Pular' in the western dialects and 'Fulfulde' (pronounced ''full-full-day'') in the central and eastern dialects. ''Fula(h)'' and ''Fulani'' in English come originally from Manding and Hausa, respectively; ''Peul'' in French from Wolof.

Contents

Classification

Dialects

East Central

Fulfulde, Western Niger (Niger)

Fulfulde, Central-Eastern Niger (Niger)

Fulfulde, Nigerian (Nigeria)

Eastern

Fulfulde, Adamawa, fub

Fulfulde, Bagirmi, fui

West Central

Fulfulde, Maasina, ffm

Fulfulde, Borgu, fub

Pular

Western

Pulaar

Writing systems

Latin alphabet

Arabic script

Fula alphabet

References

External links

Classification

Fula belongs to the Atlantic branch of the Niger-Congo language family.
Fula is based on verbo-nominal roots, from which verbal, noun and modifier words are derived. It also uses infixes (a syllable inserted in the "middle" of a word, actually following the root and before the ending) to modify meaning. There are about 26 noun classes (the number may vary slightly in different dialects). Initial consonant mutation between singular and plural forms is another feature of the language. The language also has inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns. Fula has the reputation of being complex, but it is very regular (few exceptions or "irregular" forms).

Dialects

While there are numerous dialects of Fula, it is typically regarded as a single language. Wilson (1989) states that "travellers over wide distances never find communication impossible." Bible translators estimate that at least 7 different translations are needed to make it comprehensible for all Fulfulde speakers.
Ethnologue, however, treats several of the varieties as separate languages:

East Central

Fulfulde, Western Niger (Niger)

Fulfulde, Central-Eastern Niger (Niger)

Fulfulde, Nigerian (Nigeria)

★ 1.700.000 in Nigeria (2000)

Eastern

Fulfulde, Adamawa, fub

★ 700.000 speakers in Cameroon (1993)

★ 128.000 in Chad (1993)

★ 90.000 in Sudan (1982)

Fulfulde, Bagirmi, fui

★ 24000 speakers in Chad

★ 156.000 speakers in Central African Republic (1996).

West Central

Fulfulde, Maasina, ffm

Main articles: Maasina Fulfulde


★ 900.000 speakers in Mali (1991)

★ 7000 speakers in Ghana (1991)

Fulfulde, Borgu, fub

★ 280.000 speakers in Benin (2002)

★ 48.000 speakers in Togo (1993)

★ also spoken in Nigeria

Pular

Main articles: Pular language

Alternative name is sometimes given as Fuuta Jalon (which is actually the name of the region in which it is spoken).

★ 2.550.000 speakers in Guinea (1991)

★ 50.000 speakers in Mali (1991)

★ 136.000 speakers in Senegal (2002)

★ 178.000 speakers in Sierra Leone (1991)
Pular is an official regional language in Guinea, and many speakers are monolingual. The language has borrowed a lot from Arabic and French, but also from English, Portuguese, Malinke, Susu, Wolof and others.

Western

Pulaar

★ Mauritania, Senegal and The Gambia

Writing systems

Latin alphabet

When written using the Latin alphabet, Fula uses the following additional special "hooked" characters to distinguish meaningfully different sounds in the language: (i.e. ''implosive B, implosive D, velar N [sounds like "ng" in "king'], palatal N, ejective Y''). The apostrophe () is used as a glottal stop. In Nigeria substitutes , and in Senegal ñ is used instead of .

Arabic script

Fula has also been written in the Arabic script or ''Ajami'' since before colonization. This continues to a certain degree and notably in some areas like Guinea.

Fula alphabet

'''a, aa, b, mb, ɓ, c, d, nd, ɗ, e, ee, f, g, ng, h, i, ii, j, nj, k, l, m, n, ŋ, ny, o, oo, p, q, r, s, t, u, uu, w, x, y, yy, z'''

References

★ Arnott, David W. (1970). ''The nominal and verbal systems of Fula''. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

★ Wilson, W. A. A. (1989). Atlantic. In John Bendor-Samuel (Ed.), ''The Niger-Congo Languages'', pp. 81-104.

External links

★ http://www.jamtan.com

★ http://www.kawtal.org

★ http://www.kawtal.com

★ Miɗo Waawi Pular! Learner's guide to Pular (Fuuta Jallon) by Herb Caudill and Ousmane Diallo

★ Online learner's guide to Adamaoua Fulfulde

★ Ethnologue entry for Fula

★ Fulfulde Language Family Report (SIL) - includes maps of the dialects

★ FULA (Fulfulde, Pulaar, Fulani, Peul) Language Page from MSU's Webbook of Afrian Language Resources (from the 1980s)

★ Pular Language Ebooks, freely downloadable PDFs

★ PanAfrican L10n page on Fula