Difference between revisions of "Language/Wolof/Grammar/Gender"
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[[File:Wolof-Language-PolyglotClub.jpg|thumb]] | [[File:Wolof-Language-PolyglotClub.jpg|thumb]] | ||
Wolof lacks gender-specific pronouns: there is one word encompassing the English 'he', 'she', and 'it'. The descriptors bu góor (male / masculine) or bu jigéen (female / feminine) are often added to words like xarit, 'friend', and rakk, 'younger sibling' in order to indicate the person's gender. | Wolof lacks gender-specific pronouns: there is one word encompassing the English 'he', 'she', and 'it'. The descriptors bu góor (male / masculine) or bu jigéen (female / feminine) are often added to words like xarit, 'friend', and rakk, 'younger sibling' in order to indicate the person's gender. | ||
For the most part, Wolof does not have noun concord ("agreement") classes as in Bantu or Romance languages. But the markers of noun definiteness (usually called "definite articles" in grammatical terminology) do agree with the noun they modify. There are at least ten articles in Wolof, some of them indicating a singular noun, others a plural noun. In "City Wolof" (the type of Wolof spoken in big cities like Dakar), the article “bi” is often used as a generic article when the actual article is not known; it is the singular definite article and the plural is “yi”. | For the most part, Wolof does not have noun concord ("agreement") classes as in Bantu or Romance languages. But the markers of noun definiteness (usually called "definite articles" in grammatical terminology) do agree with the noun they modify. There are at least ten articles in Wolof, some of them indicating a singular noun, others a plural noun. In "City Wolof" (the type of Wolof spoken in big cities like Dakar), the article “bi” is often used as a generic article when the actual article is not known; it is the singular definite article and the plural is “yi”. | ||
Any loan noun from French or English uses –bi –- butik-bi, xarit-bi, 'the boutique, the friend' | Any loan noun from French or English uses –bi –- butik-bi, xarit-bi, 'the boutique, the friend' | ||
Most Arabic or religious terms use –ji -- jumma-ji, jigéen-ji, 'the mosque, the girl' | Most Arabic or religious terms use –ji -- jumma-ji, jigéen-ji, 'the mosque, the girl' | ||
Nouns referring to persons typically use -ki -- nit-ki, nit-ñi, 'the person, the people' | Nouns referring to persons typically use -ki -- nit-ki, nit-ñi, 'the person, the people' | ||
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Miscellaneous articles: si, gi, wi, mi, li, yi. | Miscellaneous articles: si, gi, wi, mi, li, yi. | ||
<span link>Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson:</span> [[Language/Wolof/Grammar/Static-verbs|Static verbs]], [[Language/Wolof/Grammar/Conjugation|Conjugation]], [[Language/Wolof/Grammar/Conditional|Conditional]] & [[Language/Wolof/Grammar/How-to-Use-Have|How to Use Have]]. | |||
==Source== | ==Source== | ||
http://publish.illinois.edu/wolof201fall14/files/2014/08/NEW_WOLOF_BOOK.pdf | http://publish.illinois.edu/wolof201fall14/files/2014/08/NEW_WOLOF_BOOK.pdf | ||
== | ==Other Lessons== | ||
* [[Language/Wolof/Grammar/Negation|Negation]] | * [[Language/Wolof/Grammar/Negation|Negation]] | ||
* [[Language/Wolof/Grammar/Plural-Nouns-—-Definite-articles|Plural Nouns — Definite articles]] | * [[Language/Wolof/Grammar/Plural-Nouns-—-Definite-articles|Plural Nouns — Definite articles]] | ||
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* [[Language/Wolof/Grammar/Am-(to-have)-in-the-present-tense|Am (to have) in the present tense]] | * [[Language/Wolof/Grammar/Am-(to-have)-in-the-present-tense|Am (to have) in the present tense]] | ||
* [[Language/Wolof/Grammar/Conjugation|Conjugation]] | * [[Language/Wolof/Grammar/Conjugation|Conjugation]] | ||
<span maj></span> <span gpt></span> <span model=gpt-3.5-turbo></span> | <span maj></span> <span gpt></span> <span model=gpt-3.5-turbo></span> | ||
<span links></span> | |||
Latest revision as of 13:06, 27 March 2023
Wolof lacks gender-specific pronouns: there is one word encompassing the English 'he', 'she', and 'it'. The descriptors bu góor (male / masculine) or bu jigéen (female / feminine) are often added to words like xarit, 'friend', and rakk, 'younger sibling' in order to indicate the person's gender.
For the most part, Wolof does not have noun concord ("agreement") classes as in Bantu or Romance languages. But the markers of noun definiteness (usually called "definite articles" in grammatical terminology) do agree with the noun they modify. There are at least ten articles in Wolof, some of them indicating a singular noun, others a plural noun. In "City Wolof" (the type of Wolof spoken in big cities like Dakar), the article “bi” is often used as a generic article when the actual article is not known; it is the singular definite article and the plural is “yi”.
Any loan noun from French or English uses –bi –- butik-bi, xarit-bi, 'the boutique, the friend'
Most Arabic or religious terms use –ji -- jumma-ji, jigéen-ji, 'the mosque, the girl'
Nouns referring to persons typically use -ki -- nit-ki, nit-ñi, 'the person, the people'
Miscellaneous articles: si, gi, wi, mi, li, yi.
Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson: Static verbs, Conjugation, Conditional & How to Use Have.
Source[edit | edit source]
http://publish.illinois.edu/wolof201fall14/files/2014/08/NEW_WOLOF_BOOK.pdf
Other Lessons[edit | edit source]
- Negation
- Plural Nouns — Definite articles
- Notable characteristics
- Pronouns and How to ask questions
- Nouns
- Conditional
- Plural Nouns — Indefinite article
- The possessive expressed by “U”
- Am (to have) in the present tense
- Conjugation