View source for Pulaar language

{{Short description|Fula language spoken by Fula and Tukolor peoples}}
{{distinguish|Pular language}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Pulaar
| altname          ={{ubl|{{Lang|ar|بولار|rtl=yes}} (Arabic)|{{Transliteration|wo|Pël}} <small>{{Lang|ff-Arab|{{script/Arabic|ݒࣴلْ}}|rtl=yes}}</small> ([[Wolof language|Wolof]])|''Peul'' (French)}}
| nativename       = Pulaar <small>{{script/Arabic|ݒُلَارْ}}<br>Pulaar Fuuta Tooro<br></small>{{script/Arabic|ݒُلَارْ فُوتَ تࣷورࣷ‎}}
| states           = 
{{Plainlist|
* [[Guinea]] 
* [[Guinea-Bissau]] 
* [[Senegal]]
* [[The Gambia]] 
* [[Mali]] 
* [[Mauritania]]
}} 
| ethnicity        = [[Fula people|Fula]], [[Toucouleur people|Toucouleur]]
| speakers         = {{significant figures|6.292700|2}} million
| date             = 2014–2022 
| ref              = e27
| familycolor      = Niger-Congo
| fam2             = [[Atlantic–Congo languages|Atlantic–Congo]]
| fam3             = [[Senegambian languages|Senegambian]]
| fam4             = [[Fula language|Fula–Wolof]]
| fam5             = [[Fula language|Fula]]
| fam6             = [[Fula language|Western]]
| nation           = [[Senegal]] 
| script           = [[Arabic script|Arabic]] ([[Ajami]])<br>[[Fula orthographies#Guinea|Fula Latin alphabet]]
| iso3             = fuc
| glotto           = pula1263
| glottorefname    = Pulaar
}}

'''Pulaar''' (in [[Latin script|Latin]]: {{lang|fuc|pulaar}}, in [[Ajami script|Ajami]]: {{lang|fuc-Arab|ݒُلَارْ‎ |rtl=yes}}), often referred to as Pulaar du Nord, is dialect of the [[Fula language]] spoken primarily as a first<ref>{{Cite book|title=Pulaar}}</ref> language by the [[Fula people|Fula]] and [[Toucouleur people]]s in the [[Senegal River]] valley area traditionally known as [[Futa Tooro]] and further south and east. Pulaar speakers, known as ''[[wikt:Haalpulaar'en|Haalpulaar'en]]'' live in [[Senegal]], [[Mauritania]], [[the Gambia]], and western [[Mali]]. The two main speakers of Pulaar are the Toucouleur people and the Fulɓe (also known as Fulani or Peul).<ref name=":8" />  Fula, considered as a single language, is the second most spoken local language in Senegal, being a first language for around 22% of the population. This correlates with 23.7% of the country in which Fulbe is the population's ethnicity.<ref name=":0">{{Cite thesis|last=Diallo, Ibrahima|date=2006|others=My University, My University, Marilyn McMeniman|title=Language Planning, Language-In-Education Policy, and Attitudes Towards Languages in Senegal|publisher=Griffith University|url=https://research-repository.griffith.edu.au/handle/10072/366175|doi=10.25904/1912/1429|type=Griffith thesis}}</ref> Pulaar is one of the national languages of Senegal alongside 13 others.<ref name=":0" /> It was admitted as an official language of Senegal by Presidential decree in 1971.<ref name=":0" /> There are around 28 known dialects of Fula, most of which are mutually intelligible with each other.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|date=2020|title=Pulaar|url=https://nalrc.indiana.edu/doc/brochures/pulaar.pdf|access-date=13 October 2020|website=National African Language Resource Center – Indiana}}</ref> The Fula dialects, as well as other [[Niger–Congo languages|West African languages]], are usually referenced under the umbrella term ‘Fula’. Pulaar as a language, however, is not usually referenced as ‘Fula’.<ref name=":3">{{Citation|last=Paster|first=Mary|title=Yearbook of Morphology 2005|chapter=Pulaar verbal extensions and phonologically driven affix order|date=2005|chapter-url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4066-0_6|series=Yearbook of Morphology|pages=155–199|place=Dordrecht|publisher=Springer Netherlands|doi=10.1007/1-4020-4066-0_6|isbn=978-1-4020-4065-8|access-date=2020-11-02}}</ref>

According to ''Ethnologue'' there are several dialectal varieties, but all are mutually intelligible.

Pulaar is not to be confused with [[Pular language|Pular]], another variety of Fula spoken in [[Guinea]] (including the [[Fouta Djallon]] region). The Pulaar and Pular varieties of Fula are to some extent mutually intelligible.

Pulaar is currently written in primarily in the [[Latin script]]. Historically, for centuries, Pulaar has a literary tradition based on the [[Arabic script]], an orthographic tradition now known as "[[Ajami script|Ajami]]". More recently, [[Adlam script|Adlam]] script for Pulaar has been gaining ground as well (see [[Fula alphabets]]).

The word Pulaar translates to 'the language of the Fulɓe' as the stem ''/pul/''  is the singular form of Fulɓe and the suffix ''/-aar/''  means language. The language is believed to have formed in Fuuta Tooro when the ancestors of the Toucouleur people began speaking the language of the Fulɓe. It is then believed that the term ''Haalpulaar'en''  (which means 'speakers of the language of Pulaar') was created to apply to non-Fulɓe speakers of Fulɓe, of which the Toucouleur people are the largest demographic.<ref name=":8" />
[[File:Fula language map.svg|thumb|Map of the Fula languages including Pulaar]]

==Linguistic features==
{{main|Fula language}}

=== Negation ===
The negative accomplished verb form ends in ''-aani''. (This is slightly different from [[Maasina Fulfulde]] and [[Pular language|Pular]].)

=== Noun classes ===
Pulaar contains 21 noun classes. These noun classes can commonly be observed by looking at the suffix of a noun. For example, a noun that is the result of a loan word will typically end in ''-o'' (however, human singular nouns such as ''debbo'' (meaning woman) also end in ''-o''). The class of the noun will often refer to the actual content of the noun. For example, the ''ɗam'' noun class is applied to nouns that describe a liquid.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last=McLaughlin|first=Fiona|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/894201788|title=The Oxford handbook of inflection|publisher=Oxford University Press|others=Baerman, Matthew|year=2015|isbn=978-0-19-959142-8|edition=First|location=Oxford, United Kingdom|pages=425–430|oclc=894201788}}</ref> The table below shows the noun classes in Pulaar and what the class indicates the content of the noun to be:
{| class="wikitable"
|+Noun classes<ref>{{cite book|year=1996|author=Mamadou Ousmane Niang|title=Pulaar-English/English-Pulaar Standard Dictionary|publisher=Hippocrene Books|isbn=9780781804790
|page=xviii|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/Pulaar_English_English_Pulaar.html?id=xJJkAAAAMAAJ|section=The Pulaar Language}}</ref><ref name=":7" />
!Class
!Content of noun
|-
|ngo 
|curved up at edges
|-
|ki
|straight upright, trees, body parts, abstractions
|-
|o
|humans, loanwords
|-
|nge 
|celestial bodies, bovines, abstractions
|-
|ndu
|hollow, inflated, round
|-
|ba
|animals
|-
|ɗam
|liquids, abstractions, mass nouns
|-
|ɗum
|certain loanwords
|-
|ka
|objects, abstractions
|-
|kal
|liquids in small quantity
|-
|ko
|body parts, plants
|-
|nde
|objects
|-
|ndi
|male animals, augmentatives, nouns that cannot be counted
|-
|ngal
|body parts, birds, augmentatives, trees
|-
|ngol
|things that are long and thin, action nouns
|-
|ngel
|diminutives
|-
|ngu
|insects, fish, collectives, abstractions
|-
|ɗe
|(plural) animals, objects
|-
|kon
|(plural) diminutives
|-
|ɗi
|(plural) animals, objects
|-
|ɓe
|(plural) humans
|}

=== Counting system ===
The Pulaar counting system is base five (a quinary-decimal system) which is similar to the surrounding Niger-Congo languages. The number 7, for example, uses the prefix of ''joy'' (5) and the suffix ''ɗiɗi'' (2) becoming ''jeeɗiɗi'' (5+2).<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=Pulaar|url=https://mpi-lingweb.shh.mpg.de/numeral/Pulaar.htm|access-date=2020-11-02|website=mpi-lingweb.shh.mpg.de}}</ref> Other languages that use this system in West Africa include Pular, [[Wolof language|Wolof]], Sereer-Sine and East Limba. These quinary-decimal counting languages can be found in the west African regions of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Gambia.<ref name=":4" /> Pulaar and Pular possess almost identical words for numbers, in which every number from 1 to 10 share the exact same name except for 5 (''joy'' for Pulaar and ''jowi'' for Pular).<ref name=":4" />

=== Vowel suffixes ===
The Pulaar [[verb]] system contains multiple [[suffix]]es which can be added to verbs to change their cases. These suffixes include the -''t'' suffixes, the ''-d'' suffixes, the ''-n'' suffixes, and the ''-r'' suffixes. When multiple suffixes are used in a single verb, they follow the 'TDNR' order. This means that -''t'' suffixes go before ''-d'' suffixes which go before ''-n'' suffixes, and ''-r'' suffixes are the last in order .<ref name=":6" /> There are few exceptions to this rule. An example of this is the word ''nyaam-n-id-ii.'' In this word, the ''-n'' suffix goes before the ''-d'' suffix.<ref name=":6" />

==== ''-t suffixes'' ====
the ''-t'' suffix is added to verbs in order to change the case of the verb.<ref name=":3" /> The [[allomorph]]s ''-t'' or ''-it'' are added to make a verb retaliative, meaning to do in retaliation for a previous action. For example, ''lata'' (meaning ‘kick’) adds the allomorph -''it to'' become ''lat-it-o'' (meaning ‘kick back’).<ref name=":3" /> The allomorphs ''-t'', ''-it'' or ''-ut''  are added to a verb to make it reversive, meaning to do the opposite of the original verb. For example, ''taara'' (meaning ‘wind’) becomes ''taar-t-a'' (meaning ‘unwind’).<ref name=":3" /> The same allomorphs apply for the repetitive case, meaning the repeating of an action. There are no means of distinguishing between a reversive and a repetitious case other than by observing the context of the sentence.<ref name=":3" /> The allomorphs ''-t'' and ''-it'' are used to make a verb [[Reflexive verb|reflexive]], which means to make the object of the action the same as the subject. For example, ''ndaara (''meaning ‘look at’) becomes ''ndaar-t-o (''meaning ‘look at oneself’).<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|author=Arnott, D. W.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/100674|title=The nominal and verbal system of Fula|date=1970|publisher=Clarendon P|isbn=0-19-815127-6|location=Oxford|oclc=100674}}</ref> The allomorphs ''-t, -ut'' and ''-it'' are used to show that a verb is completed with intensity. For example, ''yana'' (meaning ‘fall’) becomes ''yan-t-a'' (meaning ‘fall heavily’).<ref name=":6" /> For words such as ‘''yama'' (meaning ‘ask’), the intensive form becomes ''yam-t-a'' (meaning ‘interrogate’) which is also the same form the repetitive case (meaning ‘ask again’). Therefore, ''yam-t-a'' is either one of those cases and therefore cannot be distinguished without taking into account the context of the sentence it is used in.<ref name=":3" />

=== Cultural influences on language ===
[[File:Boilat-20-Homme et femme toucoulaures.jpg|thumb|An 1853 painting of a Tukulor man and woman (by David Boilat).]]
The [[Toucouleur people]] (also referred to as Tukulor) are one of the largest Pulaar speaking demographics in West Africa. They are an ethnic group of the [[Futa Tooro]] region encompassing the middle of the Senegal River. The Toucouleur people are heavily influenced by [[Islam]], being one of the first black African groups to embrace Islam in the 11th century.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/428033179|title=Encyclopedia of Africa|date=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|others=Appiah, Anthony., Gates, Henry Louis Jr.|isbn=978-0-19-533770-9|location=Oxford|pages=500–501|oclc=428033179}}</ref> Therefore, the Pulaar language has influences from Islam. This influence has led to [[Arabic]] words being integrated into the Pulaar language.<ref name=":5" /> The vocabulary of the Pulaar language is also influenced by the conservative, family-oriented culture of Pulaar. There are Pulaar words which describe relationships between people. The phrase {{transliteration|fuc|jokkere endam'}} (literally translated to "following maternal milk") is used to talk about the responsibilities that one has to maintain their relationship with their family. The word {{transliteration|fuc|musidal}} is used to describe one's blood relationship to a family.<ref name=":5" /> Pulaar's noun classes also indicate the influence of the agricultural lifestyle of Fula people. For example, the ''nge'' class of nouns refers to bovines including cow ({{transliteration|fuc|naage}}) and heifer ({{transliteration|fuc|wiige}}), and the ''ki'' class of nouns refer to trees or objects that are straight upright.<ref name=":7" /> The noun classes relating to themes of agriculture and farming relate to the Toucouleur economy, which consists mainly of raising of stock, crop cultivation and fishing.<ref>{{Cite web|editor-last=Pauls|editor-first=Elizabeth|title=Tukulor {{!}} people|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tukulor|access-date=2020-11-08|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> The Fulɓe people are known for being a semi-nomadic pastoralist group who have a history of cattle-herding, justifying the bovine noun class.<ref name=":8" /> <!-- any paticularities of this variety of Fula here -->

== Orthography ==

Pulaar today is primarily written in Latin alphabet, with orthographic conventions that are in common for all indigenous languages of [[Senegal]]. The Latin alphabet has been standardized in various [[Senegal]]ese government decrees, the latest of which was issued in 2005.<ref name="senegal-latin">Gouvernement du Sénégal, ''Décret N° 2005-990 du 21 octobre 2005''.</ref>

However, historically, similar to other indigenous languages of the region, such as [[Wolof language]], its first writing system was the adaption of the Arabic Script. The Arabic script is used today as well, albeit in a smaller scale, and only mostly limited to Islamic school teachers and students. The [[Arabic script|Arabic]]-based script of Pulaar was set by the government as well, between 1985 and 1990, although never adopted by a decree, as the effort by the Senegalese ministry of education was to be part of a multi-national standardization effort.<ref name="senegal-ajami">{{cite web |first1=Lorna A |last1=Priest |first2=Martin |last2=Hosken |author3=SIL International |author3-link=SIL International |title=''Proposal to add Arabic script characters for African and Asian languages'' |date=12 August 2010 |url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2010/10288r-arabic-proposal.pdf |pages=13–18, 34–37}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable"
|+ Pulaar Latin alphabet<ref>République du Sénégal, ''Décret no 2005-988 relatif à l’orthographe et la séparation des mots en pulaar'', 21 octobre 2005</ref>
|-
| A a || Aa aa || B b || Mb mb || Ɓ ɓ || C c || D d || Nd nd || Ɗ ɗ || E e || Ee ee || F f || G g || Ng ng  || H h || I i || Ii ii || J j || Nj nj 
|-
| {{IPAblink|a}} || {{IPAblink|aː}} ||{{IPAblink|b}} || {{IPAblink|ᵐb}} || {{IPAblink|ɓ}} ||{{IPAblink|t͡ʃ}}‍~{{IPAblink|c}}‍ ||{{IPAblink|d}} || {{IPAblink|ⁿd}}  ||{{IPAblink|ɗ}} ||{{IPAblink|e}} || {{IPAblink|eː}} ||{{IPAblink|f}} ||{{IPAblink|ɡ}} ||  {{IPAblink|ᵑɡ}}  ||{{IPAblink|h}} ||{{IPAblink|i}} || {{IPAblink|iː}} ||{{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}~{{IPAblink|ɟ}}‍ ||  {{IPAblink|ᶮd͡ʒ}}~{{IPAblink|ᶮɟ}}
|-
| K k || L l || M m || N n  || Ñ ñ || Ŋ ŋ || O o || Oo oo || P p || R r || S s || T t || U u || Uu uu || W w || X x|| Y y || Ƴ ƴ ||  ’
|-
| {{IPAblink|k}} ||{{IPAblink|l}} ||{{IPAblink|m}} || {{IPAblink|n}}|| {{IPAblink|ɲ}}  || {{IPAblink|ŋ}} || {{IPAblink|o}} || {{IPAblink|oː}} ||{{IPAblink|p}} || {{IPAblink|r}}  ||{{IPAblink|s}} ||{{IPAblink|t}} ||{{IPAblink|u}} || {{IPAblink|uː}} ||{{IPAblink|w}} || {{IPAblink|x}} ||{{IPAblink|j}}  || {{IPAblink|jˤ}} || {{IPAblink|ʔ}}
|}

{|class="wikitable Unicode" dir="rtl"
|+ Pulaar Ajami alphabet<ref name="senegal-ajami"/>
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ا}}</span><br><small>‌( – / ’ / Aa aa )</small><br>{{IPAblink|∅}}/{{IPAblink|ʔ}}/{{IPAblink|aː}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ب}}</span><br><small>‌(B b)</small><br>{{IPAblink|b}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ݒ}}</span><br><small>‌(P p)</small><br>{{IPAblink|p}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ࢠ}}</span><br><small>‌(Ɓ ɓ)</small><br>{{IPAblink|ɓ}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ت}}</span><br><small>‌(T t)</small><br>{{IPAblink|t}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ݖ}}</span><br><small>‌(C c)</small><br>{{IPAblink|t͡ʃ}}‍~{{IPAblink|c}}‍ 
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ث}}</span><br><small>‌(S s)</small><br>{{IPAblink|s}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ج}}</span><br><small>‌(J j)</small><br>{{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ڃ}}</span><br><small>‌(Ƴ ƴ)</small><br>{{IPAblink|jˤ}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ح}}</span><br><small>‌(H h)</small><br>{{IPAblink|h}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|خ}}</span><br><small>‌(K k)</small><br>{{IPAblink|k}}({{IPAblink|x}})
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|د}}</span><br><small>‌(D d)</small><br>{{IPAblink|d}}
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ذ}}</span><br><small>‌(J j)</small><br>{{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}({{IPAblink|z}})
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ر}}</span><br>(R r)<br>{{IPAblink|r}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ز}}</span><br><small>‌(J j)</small><br>{{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}({{IPAblink|z}})
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|س}}</span><br><small>‌(S s)</small><br>{{IPAblink|s}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ش}}</span><br><small>‌(S s)</small><br>{{IPAblink|s}}({{IPAblink|ʃ}})
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ص}}</span><br><small>‌(S s)</small><br>{{IPAblink|s}}
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ض}}</span><br><small>‌(L l)</small><br>{{IPAblink|l}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:110%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ط}}</span><br><small>‌(Ɗ ɗ)</small><br>{{IPAblink|ɗ}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ظ}}</span><br><small>‌(J j)</small><br>{{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ع}}</span><br><small>‌(- / ’ )</small><br>{{IPAblink|ʔ}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" bgcolor="#FFEFD5" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|غ}}</span><br><small>‌(G g)</small><br>{{IPAblink|ɡ}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ݝ}}</span><br><small>‌(Ŋ ŋ)</small><br>{{IPAblink|ŋ}} 
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ف}}</span><br><small>‌(F f)</small><br>{{IPAblink|f}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ق}}</span><br><small>‌(Q q)</small><br>{{IPAblink|q}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ک}}</span><br><small>‌(K k)</small><br>{{IPAblink|k}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|گ}}</span><br><small>‌(G g)</small><br>{{IPAblink|g}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ل}}</span><br><small>‌(L l)</small><br>{{IPAblink|l}}  
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|م}}</span><br><small>‌(M m)</small><br>{{IPAblink|m}}  
|-
! Arabic<br><small>(Latin)</small><br><nowiki>[</nowiki>[[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]<nowiki>]</nowiki>
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ن}}</span><br><small>‌(N n)</small><br>{{IPAblink|n}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ݧـ ݧ}}</span><br><small>‌(Ñ ñ)</small><br>{{IPAblink|ɲ}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ه}}</span><br><small>‌(H h)</small><br>{{IPAblink|h}} 
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|و}}</span><br><small>‌(W w/Oo oo/Uu uu)</small><br>{{IPAblink|w}}/{{IPAblink|oː}}/{{IPAblink|uː}}
| style="width:7em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | <span style="font-size:100%;line-height:1.35;">{{script/Arabic|ي}}</span><br><small>‌(Y y/Ee ee/Ii ii)</small><br>{{IPAblink|j}}/{{IPAblink|eː}}/{{IPAblink|iː}}
|}

{|
|- style="vertical-align: top;"
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Vowel at the beginning of a word 
|-
! A || E || I || O  || U
|-
! colspan="5"|Short Vowels
|-dir="rtl"
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|اَ}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|اࣹ}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|اِ}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|اࣷ}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|اُ}}</span>
|-
! colspan="5"|Long Vowels
|-
! Aa || Ee || Ii || Oo || Uu
|-dir="rtl"
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|آ}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|اࣹيـ / اࣹي}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|اِيـ / اِي}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|اࣷو}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|اُو}}</span>
|}
|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Vowel at the middle or end of a word 
|-
! a || e || i || o || u || ∅
|-
! colspan="6"|Short Vowels
|-dir="rtl"
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|◌َ}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ࣹ‎}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ِ‎}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ࣷ‎}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ُ‎}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ْ}}</span>
|-
! colspan="6"|Long Vowels
|-
! aa || ee || ii || oo || uu ||
|-dir="rtl"
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|◌َا‎}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ࣹيـ / ◌ࣹي}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ِيـ / ◌ِي}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ࣷو}}</span>
| <span style="font-size:125%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|◌ُو}}</span>
|}
|}

[[Prenasalized consonant]]s are written as a [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]] (combination of two consonants). While historically, there were single letter alternatives, these letters are no longer used. Prenasalized consonants are constructed using ''meem'' (م) or ''noon'' (ن) in combination with other consonants. The letter ''meem'' (م) appears in pairs with ''beh'' (ب), whereas the letter ''noon'' (ن) appears in pairs with ''dal'' (د), ''jeem'' (ج), and ''geh'' (گ).

Prenasalized consonants cannot take the zero-vowel diacritic ''[[Arabic diacritics#Sukūn|sukun]]''  (◌ْ). If they are at the end of the word and have no vowels, they will take the gemination diacritic ''[[shadda]]'' (◌ّ).

Some consider these digraphs as their own independent letters.

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Pulaar Ajami prenasalized Consonant Digraphs
! colspan="4" |Forms
! rowspan="2" |Sound represented
! rowspan="2" |Latin equivalent
|-
!Isolated
!Final
!Medial
!Initial

|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|مب}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ـمبّ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ـمبـ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|مبـ}}</span>
|{{IPAblink|ᵐb}}
| mb
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ند}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ـندّ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ـند}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ند}}</span>
|{{IPAblink|ⁿd}}
| nd
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|نج}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ـنجّ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ـنجـ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|نجـ}}</span>
|{{IPAblink|ᶮɟ}}
| nj
|-
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|نگ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ـنگّ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|ـنگـ}}</span>
|<span style="font-size:160%;">{{Script/Arabic|نگـ}}</span>
|{{IPAblink|ᵑɡ}}
| ng
|}

===Sample Text ===
Article 1 of the [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]].<ref>''Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Pulaar'', United Nations Information Centre, Senegal [https://www.ohchr.org/en/human-rights/universal-declaration/translations/pulaar https://www.ohchr.org/en/human-rights/universal-declaration/translations/pulaar]</ref>

{| class="wikitable" 
|-
! Translation || Latin Script || Ajami (Arabic) Script
|-
| All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
| Innama aadeeji fof poti, ndimɗidi e jibinannde to bannge hakkeeji. Eɓe ngoodi miijo e hakkilantaagal ete eɓe poti huufo ndirde e nder ɓ iynguyummaagu.
| dir="rtl"| <span style="font-size:120%;line-height:1.65;">{{Script/Arabic|اِنَّمَ آدࣹجِ فࣷفْ ݒࣷتِ، ندِمْطِدِ اࣹ جِبِنَندّࣹ تࣷ بَنگّࣹ حَقّࣹجِ. اࣹࢠࣹ نگࣷودِ مِيجࣷ اࣹ حَقِّلَنْتَاگَلْ اࣹتࣹ اࣹࢠࣹ ݒࣷتِ هُوفࣷ ندِرْدࣹ اࣹ ندࣹرْ ࢠْ اِيْنگُيُمَّاگُ.}}</span>
|}

== Decline ==
The Pulaar language is a declining language in West Africa, the surrounding Niger-Congo languages, such as [[Wolof language|Wolof]], are increasing in speakers instead.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=Trudell|first=Barbara|date=2008|title=Practice in Search of a Paradigm: Language Rights, Linguistic Citizenship and Minority Language Communities in Senegal|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14664200802354401|journal=Current Issues in Language Planning|volume=9|issue=4|pages=395–412|doi=10.1080/14664200802354401|s2cid=143535263|issn=1466-4208|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Hames|first=John|date=2017-08-24|title=Language Activism on the Airwaves: Pulaar Radio Broadcasting in the Senegal River Valley|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cccr.12175|journal=Communication, Culture & Critique|volume=10|issue=4|pages=657–674|doi=10.1111/cccr.12175|issn=1753-9129|url-access=subscription}}</ref> A 1987–1988 study of bilingual North Senegalese communities found that the use of Pulaar was decreasing in the younger generation. Pulaar was being replaced by Wolof and French loan words.<ref name=":1" /> John Hames has argued that the reason for this decline in Pulaar in favour for Wolof and French has come down to the fact that the Wolof culture and Senegalese identity are strongly related. In Western Africa, Wolof language is often used in "major pop cultural and entertainment products and radio broadcast content".<ref name=":2" /> Wolof interpreters were used from the late sixteenth century with the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]], therefore Wolof maintained a position in West Africa as the language of trade. Wolof also hold religious importance in West Africa as the [[Mouride|Mouride Muslim Sufi]] order holds its capital in [[Touba]], which is a predominately Wolof-speaking zone.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last=Mc Laughlin|first=Fiona|date=1995|title=Haalpulaar identity as a response to Wolofization∗|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09544169508717793|journal=African Languages and Cultures|volume=8|issue=2|pages=153–168|doi=10.1080/09544169508717793|issn=0954-416X|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The Mouride population constitutes 3-5 million people in Senegal (the population of Senegal is around 16 million).<ref>{{Cite news|date=2011-08-04|title=Senegal's Mourides: Islam's mystical entrepreneurs|publisher=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-14344082|access-date=2020-11-08}}</ref> Fiona McLaughlin argues that this economic and cultural hegemony that the Wolof have is at the expense of the Pulaar language. She states that people in Senegal will call themselves Wolof, despite not being ethnically [[Wolof people|Wolof]], because it is the only language that they learned.<ref name=":8" /> John Hames claims that the prevalence of Wolof in Senegalese culture as well as the lack of government intervention to maintain Pulaar as a contemporary language has led to its decline.<ref name=":2" />

John Hames has argued that the regime of Mauritanian President [[Moktar Ould Daddah]] has helped decrease the prevalence of Pulaar. Hames states that the [[Moors|Moor]] supportive presidency of Daddah led to an increase of Arab education over education of native languages.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The People Who Stand up for Pulaar Activism and Language Loyalty Politics in Senegal and Mauritania|url=https://ufdc.ufl.edu/UFE0051413/00001|access-date=2020-11-07|website=ufdc.ufl.edu}}</ref> One of the more notable examples of this is when the Mauritanian government officially passed a law in 1965 that made it mandatory to teach [[Arabic]] during primary and secondary education.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Baduel|first=Pierre-Robert|date=1989|title=Mauritanie 1945-1990 ou l'État face à la Nation|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3406/remmm.1989.2314|journal=Revue du monde musulman et de la Méditerranée|volume=54|issue=1|pages=11–52|doi=10.3406/remmm.1989.2314|issn=0997-1327|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

=== Efforts to revive language ===
The ''Association pour la Renaissance du Pulaar- Republique Islamique de Mauritanie (''ARP-RIM) was established to teach Pulaar literacy in Mauritania. The organization received increased government funding after the [[1978 Mauritanian coup d'état|coup d'état]] of the then President of Mauritania, [[Moktar Ould Daddah]] in the late 1970s.<ref>{{Cite news |author=Jonathan Kandell |date=1978-07-11 |title=Military Takes Over in Mauritania With a Reportedly Bloodless Coup |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/07/11/archives/military-takes-over-in-mauritania-with-a-reportedly-bloodless-coup.html |access-date=2023-10-23 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The programs which the ARP-RIM participated in included campaigns to increase Pulaar literacy, this was done by creating more radio programs which taught the local languages of Mauritania.<ref name=":2" /> As The ARP-RIM also focused on applying the Pulaar language to primary education as it allocated Pulaar teachers to public schools in Mauritania.<ref name=":2" /> The efforts to revive Pulaar in Mauritania were reduced after the [[1984 Mauritanian coup d'état|1984 coup d'état]] of then President of Mauritania, [[Mohamed Khouna Ould Haidalla]], by Colonel [[Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya|Maaouya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ap|date=1984-12-13|title=MAURITANIA COUP OUSTS PRESIDENT (Published 1984)|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/13/world/mauritania-coup-ousts-president.html|access-date=2020-11-02|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In response to the coup d'état, the [[Manifesto of the Oppressed Black Mauritanian]] was published in 1986 which criticized the perceived power and influence of the Arab "minority" in Mauritania. After the publishing of this manifesto, crackdowns by the Government against Pulaar speaker and teachers increased.<ref name=":2" /> Political imprisonments against the Pulaar people increased, notably Djigo Tafsirou, who was a Pulaar language activist, was arrested and possibly died in detention after 2 years of imprisonment.<ref name=":2" />

The ''Ministère de l'Éducation de Base et des Langues Nationales'' in 1986, (becoming the ''Ministère de l'Alphabétisation et des Langues Nationales'' in 2001) was established by the Senegal government as a means to boost the influence of the local languages of Senegal (including Pulaar). It did this by increasing the literacy amongst its users.<ref name=":0" /> Non-government companies that have aided the influence of the Pulaar language include the cotton producing company in West Africa, SODEFITEX. SODEFITEX has implemented local languages in their training courses for local farmers. A way this has been achieved is by creating radio programs in local languages to reinforce Pulaar to local employees.<ref name=":0" /> International development agencies have increasingly decided to focus on the use of local languages in West Africa to communicate ideas and governance. This is done as a means to increase local governance in regional areas of West Africa. These agencies include [[World Vision International]] and [[Tostan]]. For instance, the provision of basic literacy of Pulaar is one of the main focuses of Tostan.<ref name=":0" /> The government of Senegal has also had talks about creating an academy for national languages.<ref name=":0" />

Mauritanian mathematician Mouhamadou Sy has published two math textbooks <ref>{{Cite news | url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GEsxTXuOZsmtXm9O6_P2JB1xIFlPd74I/view | title=Hiisiwal1.PDF | newspaper=Google Docs }}</ref> in Pulaar.

==References==
{{incubator|fuc}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Languages of the Gambia}}
{{Languages of Mauritania}}
{{Languages of Mali}}
{{Languages of Senegal}}
{{Arabic script}}

[[Category:Fula language]]
[[Category:Languages of Senegal|Fula language]]
[[Category:Languages of Mauritania|Fula language]]
[[Category:Languages of the Gambia|Fula language]]
[[Category:Languages of Mali|Fula language]]
[[Category:Toucouleur language]]