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Safen language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Saafi-Saafi language)
Safene
Saafi-Saafi
Native toSenegal
EthnicitySaafi people
Native speakers
200,000 (2012)[1]
Latin, Arabic[1]
Language codes
ISO 639-3sav
Glottologsaaf1238
PersonSaafi
PeopleSaafici
LanguageSaafi-Saafi
CountrySafene

Safene (Saafen), Safi[2] or Saafi-Saafi, is the principal Cangin language, spoken by 200,000 people in Senegal. Speakers are heavily concentrated in the area surrounding Dakar, particularly in the Thiès Region.

Orthography

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The Safen language is written in either the Arabic or the Latin script.[1] The official orthography uses a Latin alphabet with 23 consonants and 5 vowels.[3]

Alphabet
A B Ɓ C D Ɗ E F G H I J K L M N Ñ Ŋ O P R S T U W Y Ƴ
a b ɓ c d ɗ e f g h i j k l m n ñ ŋ o p r s t u w y ƴ

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Safene at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ Wilson, William André Auquier. 2007. Guinea Languages of the Atlantic group: description and internal classification. (Schriften zur Afrikanistik, 12.) Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
  3. ^ "Décret n° 2005-989 du 21 octobre 2005" [Decree 2005-989 of 21 October 2005]. Journal officiel de la République du Sénégal (in French). Dakar. May 27, 2006.

Bibliography

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  • (in English) Walter Pichl, The Cangin Group - A Language Group in Northern Senegal, Pittsburgh, PA : Institute of African Affairs, Duquesne University, Coll. African Reprint Series, 1966, vol. 20
  • (in French) Chérif Mbodj, Recherches sur la phonologie et la morphologie de la langue saafi. Le parler de Boukhou, Université de Nice, 1984