Serer language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. WikiProject Linguistics or the Linguistics Portal may be able to help recruit one. (November 2008) |
| Serer | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spoken in | Senegal, the Gambia, Mauritania | |
| Region | West Africa | |
| Total speakers | 3.2 million (mother tongue) 3.5 million (second language) |
|
| Language family | Niger-Congo | |
| Language codes | ||
| ISO 639-1 | none | |
| ISO 639-2 | srr | |
| ISO 639-3 | srr – Serer | |
| Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. | ||
The Serer languages are a group of languages spoken by the Serer people in West Africa. They include:
- Serer-Sine spoken in Sine-Saloum, Kaolack, Diourbel, Dakar and many other areas.
- Serer-Safen spoken inland from the Petite Côte, an area southeast of Dakar.
- Serer-Ndut spoken in the Mont-Roland, an area northwest of Thies and in the Kingdom of Biffeche on the Senegal River.
- Serer-Noon spoken around Thies.
- Serer-Palor spoken in a small area between Rufisque and Thies.
- Serer-Lehar spoken in a small area north of Thies.
All the Serer languages except Serer-Sine (the largest) are classified among the Cangin languages.
Most Serer speak Wolof, the language of the Wolof people, as a second language, and those who have grown up in the cities often speak it as a first language.
[edit] Some Serer Greetings
The following greetings and responses and spoken in most regions of Senegal that have serer speakers.
Nam fi'o? (pronounced, nam feeyoh) = How are you doing? -response = mexe meen (prounounced, may hay men) = I am here.
Ta mbind na? (pronounced, tah mbind nah) = How is the family? -Response = Owa maa (pronounced owa maa) = it is good.
In Senegalese culture, greetings are very important. Sometimes, villagers will spend minutes greeting each other.
[edit] External links
- Serer-Sine page from Ethnologue site
