Words of Wisdom in Wolof

December 2, 2008

Wolof, one of six national languages which include Pulaar, Serer, Diola, and Mandinka, is by far the most widely used language in Senegal, spoken by about 80 per cent of the population. It is one of the Niger-Congo languages, like Chichewa, Xhosa and Zulu. Wolof spelling using the Latin alphabet was standardized only in 1974. As some readers may remember, Wolof has no word for please, which shocked me initially.

Equally interesting is that its verbs are unchangeable words which are not conjugated; instead, personal pronouns are conjugated to express different tenses or aspects of an action. Whereas grammar is something that only a specialized few can truly appreciate, however, proverbs are fascinating and can be appreciated by a wide audience.

Often proverbs are clues to the culture and customs or even the political situation of a country, and Senegal is no exception. West Africa is particularly rich in proverbs as compared to the Americas, for example, and many of the local proverbs here involve animals such as crocodiles, hyenas and (of course!) lions.

“You can leave a log in the river for a very long time, but it will never become a crocodile,” is one expression: Bant, lumu yàgg cig dex, du tax mu soppiku jasig. I suppose this is the rough equivalent of a leopard not changing its spots.

There is a rather ironic saying I like a lot, and I have heard it in two variants. The first is that it is easy enough to say you have a camel: Am naa giléém ca Gànnaar yomb naa wax. The alternate version is, “I have a camel, but it is in Mauritania.” I did not quite understand this one at first, but then my principal clued me in: the absent camel does neither the speaker nor his interlocutor much good if it is in Mauritania, now does it?

The relationship of children to their parents is key in a society that loves its children and commands respect of elders; hence, an egg doesn’t wrestle with a pebble. (Nen du bëreek doj. In addition to making good sense generally, this quote also explains why it is that children should obey their parents).

Food is extremely important in any society, but so is conversation, the social glue that holds people together. Conversation is therefore like a meal: those who are there join in. Waxtaan ñam la, ku ko teewe ca nga. This expression also reflects the famous Senegalese tradition of teranga, where it is considered rude to eat in front of another without inviting him or her to share.

Then there are some expressions that are very similar to those I grew up hearing, such as ‘You catch more bees with honey than with vinegar.’ In the Wolof version, active verbs are used: if licking will not help you obtain something, biting certainly will not, or Lu la mar mayul, màtt du la komay.

As I am not a Wolof speaker, I cannot vouch for the accuracy of the proverbs as they appear here. (In other words, it is hard to become proficient at something you have not studied, or Lo doonul talibeem, mënulo doone serignam.) I therefore debated whether or not I ought to include the expressions in Wolof at all, but as the importance of indigenous languages, particularly in postcolonial Africa, is something we discuss quite often in class, I wanted readers at least to have some idea of the actual phrases in Wolof.

I have not yet given up hopes of learning Wolof myself, for it is said that if you stand by the well long enough, eventually a bucket will materialize: Ku yàgg ci teen, baag fekk la fa.

Speakers of Wolof are welcome to send in comments or corrections, or even to add proverbs to the marvelous site I used to do my research:

http://www.au-senegal.com/-Proverbes-wolof.html?debut_proverbes=20#pagination_proverbes

About the Author : Tamara-Diana Braunstein brings us her stories from Senegal every week. She was born in Brooklyn, New York. She is a restless wanderer who earned an MA from the University of Freiburg and has worked in a youth hostel in the French Alps, a law firm in Montreal, the Metropolitan Museum of Art as well as in university press publishing. At the moment her home base is Dakar, Senegal, where she is supposed to be teaching but is doing far more learning, as you will see by reading her blog at www.senegalschoolmarm.blogspot.com