Languagle #73: Wolof
Ndank-ndank mooy japp golo ci ñaay
"Slowly, slowly, you catch the monkey in the bush."
What it means
Patience gets results that force can't. Rush into the bushes and the monkey escapes; move slowly and carefully, and you catch it. The doubled ndank-ndank, 'slowly, slowly', is the part everyone remembers.
How to say it
NDANK NDANK mohy JAPP GO-lo chee NYAAY
C is said ch, and ñ is the ny in 'canyon'. Double vowels are long, and the double p in japp is held for a moment.
Word by word
- Ndank-ndank NDANK NDANK: slowly, slowly
- mooy mohy: is what (it puts the focus on what came before)
- japp japp: catches
- golo GO-lo: monkey
- ci chee: in
- ñaay nyaay: the bush
Where it was written down
A traditional proverb, in Wolof a léeb, passed down by word of mouth.
Similar sayings
- Kirundi: Bukebuke bushikana umusiba ku mugezi. Little by little, a worm will get to the water source. (Languagle #8)
How to recognise Wolof
Wolof uses ñ, ë and accented vowels like à and ó, plus lots of double vowels (aa, oo) and double consonants (pp, kk). It doesn't use the hooked letters that Fulah and Hausa have. Spanish has ñ too, but never ë or double consonants like pp.
About the Wolof language
Wolof is an Atlantic language of the Niger-Congo family, spoken as a first language by around 6 million people in Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. Many more speak it as a second language: it is the everyday common language of Senegal, heard in markets, music and on the radio. Unlike most of its neighbours, it is not tonal. It is written in the Latin alphabet, and also in Wolofal, a version of the Arabic script.