Grapheme Data for Wolof written with Latin script
This information is based on the current orthography. It does not include obsolete characters.
In Wolof, the letter q is equivalent to x after a nasal (xonx = xonq) or at a geminate xx (ñaxx -ñaq)
Geminated consonants are documented because they are significant in the Arabic script orthography.
Sources:
- Hartell, Rhonda. 1993. Alphabets of Africa. Dakar, Senegal. UNESCO and Summer Institute of Linguistics.
- Currah, Galen. “Wolofal Orthography.”
20 May 2011. Web. Accessed 27 July 2015. - Sawyer, Richard. “How to Make the Sounds in Wolof – Vowels.” Wolof of Senegal. Web. Accessed 27 July 2015.
Contributor: Lorna Evans
Also available for Arabic script.
| Grapheme | USV | Phoneme | Status | Example | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| <aaw> | 0061 0061 0077 | /aːu/ | expected | baawaan ‘to flow like water’ | |
| <aay> | 0061 0061 0079 | /aːi/ | expected | baay ‘father’ | |
| <aa> | 0061 0061 | /ʌː/ | expected | jaar ‘to pass’ | |
| <aw> | 0061 0077 | /au/ | expected | daw ‘to run’ | |
| <ay> | 0061 0079 | /ai/ | expected | bay ‘to cultivate’ | |
| <a◌̀> | 0061 0300 | /a/ | expected | làkk ‘to speak a language’ | |
| <a> | 0061 | /ʌ/ | expected | jar ‘worth’ | |
| <bb> | 0062 0062 | /bː/ | expected | mbubb ‘gown, costume’ | |
| <b> | 0062 | /b/ | expected | benna ‘one’ | |
| <cc> | 0063 0063 | /cː/ | expected | wàcc ‘go down’ | |
| <c> | 0063 | /c/ | expected | caabiy ‘keys of’ | |
| <dd> | 0064 0064 | /dː/ | expected | àddina ‘world, earth’ | |
| <d> | 0064 | /d/ | expected | daw ‘to run’ | |
| <eew> | 0065 0065 0077 | /ɛːu/ | expected | reew ‘impolite’ | |
| <eey> | 0065 0065 0079 | /ɛːi/ | expected | teey ‘in full’ | |
| <ee> | 0065 0065 | /ɛː/ | expected | seet ‘consider’ | |
| <ew> | 0065 0077 | /ɛu/ | expected | sew ‘to be thin’ | |
| <ey> | 0065 0079 | /ɛi/ | expected | tey ‘today’ | |
| <e◌́e> | 0065 0301 0065 | /eː/ | expected | réer ‘be lost’ | |
| <e◌́> | 0065 0301 | /e/ | expected | sér ‘skirt cloth’ | |
| <e◌̈e◌̈> | 0065 0308 0065 0308 | /əː/ | expected | jëëm ‘his forehead’ | |
| <e◌̈> | 0065 0308 | /ə/ | expected | bët ‘eye’ | |
| <e> | 0065 | /ɛ/ | expected | set ‘clean’ | |
| <ff> | 0066 0066 | /fː/ | rare | Effata ‘Ephatha’ | proper name from the Bible |
| <f> | 0066 | /f/ | expected | for ‘to gather’ | |
| <gg> | 0067 0067 | /gː/ | expected | bugga ‘to want’ | |
| <g> | 0067 | /g/ | expected | garab ‘medicine’ | |
| <h> | 0068 | /h/ | rare | ahakaay ‘Oh, yea!’ | |
| <iiw> | 0069 0069 0077 | /iːu/ | expected | siiw ‘to be famous, well known’ | |
| <ii> | 0069 0069 | /iː/ | expected | biir ‘inside’ | |
| <iw> | 0069 0077 | /iu/ | expected | diw ‘to lubricate’ | |
| <i> | 0069 | /i/ | expected | bir ‘to feel certain (that)’ | |
| <jj> | 006A 006A | /dʒː/ | expected | mujje ‘to (do, be) last’ | |
| <j> | 006A | /dʒ/ | expected | jàmm ‘peace’ | |
| <kk> | 006B 006B | /kː/ | expected | làkk ‘to speak a language’ | |
| <k> | 006B | /k/ | expected | kër ‘house’ | |
| <ll> | 006C 006C | /lː/ | expected | delloo ‘to return (something’ | |
| <l> | 006C | /l/ | expected | làkk ‘to speak a language’ | |
| <mb> | 006D 0062 | /ᵐb/ | expected | mbaam ‘pig’ | |
| <mm> | 006D 006D | /mː/ | expected | jàmm ‘peace’ | |
| <mp> | 006D 0070 | /ᵐp/ | expected | samp ‘plant, establish’ | |
| <m> | 006D | /m/ | expected | mar ‘to be thirsty’ | |
| <nc> | 006E 0063 | /ᶮc/ | expected | sanc ‘set, establish’ | |
| <nd> | 006E 0064 | /ⁿd/ | expected | ndiggam ‘his hip, waste’ | |
| <ng> | 006E 0067 | /ᵑg/ | expected | ngato ‘peanut cake’ | |
| <nj> | 006E 006A | /dʒ/ | expected | njool ‘tall’ | |
| <nk> | 006E 006B | /ᵑk/ | expected | banka ‘to be broke’ | |
| <nn> | 006E 006E | /nː/ | expected | benna ‘one’ | |
| <nq> | 006E 0071 | /q/ | common | janq ‘virgin’ | |
| <nt> | 006E 0074 | /ⁿt/ | rare | banta ‘piece of wood’ | |
| <n> | 006E | /n/ | expected | nelaw ‘to sleep’ | |
| <oow> | 006F 006F 0077 | /ɔːu/ | expected | soow ‘to make noise, raw milk’ | |
| <ooy> | 006F 006F 0079 | /ɔːi/ | expected | nooy ‘to be soft’ | |
| <oo> | 006F 006F | /ɔː/ | expected | xool ‘to watch’ | |
| <ow> | 006F 0077 | /ɔu/ | expected | sow ‘(sun) to set’ | |
| <oy> | 006F 0079 | /ɔi/ | expected | doy ‘to be enough’ | |
| <o◌́o> | 006F 0301 006F | /oː/ | expected | góor ‘(be a) man, male’ | |
| <o◌́> | 006F 0301 | /o/ | expected | jóg ‘to get up’ | |
| <o> | 006F | /ɔ/ | expected | xol ‘heart’ | |
| <pp> | 0070 0070 | /pː/ | expected | noppi ‘to rest, cease’ | |
| <p> | 0070 | /p/ | expected | pepp ‘seed, grain’ | |
| <q> | 0071 | /q/ | common | naqar ‘regret, grief’ | |
| <rr> | 0072 0072 | /ɾː/ | expected | curr ‘very (red)’ | |
| <r> | 0072 | /ɾ/ | expected | for ‘to gather’ | |
| <s> | 0073 | /s/ | expected | suuf ‘ground’ | |
| <tt> | 0074 0074 | /tː/ | expected | ëtt ‘court yard’ | |
| <t> | 0074 | /t/ | expected | seet ‘consider’ | |
| <uuy> | 0075 0075 0079 | /uːi/ | expected | fuuy ‘to be proud’ | |
| <uu> | 0075 0075 | /uː/ | expected | tuur ‘to spill’ | |
| <uy> | 0075 0079 | /ui/ | expected | duy ‘to draw water, to fill with water’ | |
| <u> | 0075 | /u/ | expected | tur ‘name’ | |
| <ww> | 0077 0077 | /wː/ | expected | fàww ‘must (Fr. = Il faut…)’ | |
| <w> | 0077 | /w/ | expected | woo ‘to call’ | |
| <x> | 0078 | /x/ | common | xol ‘heart’ | |
| <yy> | 0079 0079 | /jː/ | expected | bàyyi ‘(to) leave, cease’ | |
| <y> | 0079 | /j/ | expected | yem ‘to be equal’ | |
| <éew> | 00E9 0065 0077 | /eːu/ | expected | réew ‘country’ | |
| <éey> | 00E9 0065 0079 | /eːi/ | expected | béey ‘(to have an) infected finger’ | |
| <éw> | 00E9 0077 | /eu/ | expected | déwén ‘next year’ | |
| <éy> | 00E9 0079 | /ei/ | expected | béy ‘goat’ | |
| <ëy> | 00EB 0079 | /əi/ | expected | xëy ‘to (do something) early’ | |
| <ññ> | 00F1 00F1 | /ɲː/ | expected | meññ ‘to bear (fruit)’ | |
| <ñ> | 00F1 | /ɲ/ | expected | ñaw ‘to sew’ | |
| <óoy> | 00F3 006F 0079 | /oːi/ | expected | tóoy ‘to be clumsy, dull’ | |
| <ŋŋ> | 014B 014B | /ŋː/ | expected | fàŋŋaaral ‘(to) show through’ | |
| <ŋ> | 014B | /ŋ/ | expected | daŋar ‘poison’ |