Wolof Vocabulary: Pronouns

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I – maan
me – ma
my – suma
mine – suma
you – yow
your – seen
yours – seen
he – ñoom
she –  ñoom
it – ñoom
him – ñoom
her – ñoom
his – ñoom
hers – ñoom
its – ñoom
their – ñoom
theirs – ñoom

3 thoughts on “Wolof Vocabulary: Pronouns

  1. Are these pronouns used more in the Gambia region? I have it in my mind that “my” is pronounced “sama” in Dakar and its surrounding areas.

    Also, thanks for writing this blog. I have recently started to follow it and have appreciated its assistance with studying Wolof.

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    • These were taken from some old notes of mine and I honestly can’t be certain of the source, however, I believe these may be from my sister who is fairly fluent in Dakar Wolof. From my personal experience though, in Senegal and around Senegalese here in Portland, is that the word for ‘my’ is pronounced like ‘soo-muh’, like the feminine name ‘Sue’ followed by the initial sound in ‘mud’ without the ‘d’. I have seen it often spelled either way (suma vs. sama) but I think the pronunciation is the same? It’s just a matter of the orthography employed and the rules of pronunciation I believe. But as I repeatedly pronounce it to myself as I type this the variance seems very slight and I imagine could be said either way and still be understood. Good question.

      You’re welcome for this blog and thank you for following! I appreciate the support. I’m a student of Wolof myself and am not a native speaker nor am I anywhere near fluent or an expert. Comments like yours are very welcome so we can all learn from each other.

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      • That makes complete sense and I can imagine myself hearing the slight variation improperly.

        I look forward to continuing to learn this beautiful language and am glad to know there is a fellow ally in learning Wolof.

        Have a great evening!

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