Skip to main content
Fulani

Fulani

1 8.4
A group of related West African languages used as a common language from Senegal to Chad
  • noun
: fula
  • The Fulani languages are spoken widely across West Africa, serving as a common means of communication.

Examples

  • "Investigators with the Manhattan district attorney's office learned the call had been recorded and had it translated from a "unique dialect of Fulani," a language from the woman's native country, Guinea, according to a well-placed law enforcement official.

    Blog text (20)
  • Some of the manuscripts were phonetically translated into Arabic from West African languages such as Tamashek, Songhay, and Fulani.

    Academic text (2004)
  • It was then, I think, that the Minister telephoned somewhere—whether to the Presidency I do not know—but he telephoned and was speaking in the Fulani language.

    Academic text (1990)
  • Many international scholars study Fulani to understand its role as a lingua franca in the Sahel region.

  • Fulani is one of the languages that connects communities from Senegal to Chad.

Synonyms

Fula
vsFulani
1 8.5

A language spoken across West Africa and used by many people to communicate

is more exact pointing to a close family rather than a general group
Peul
vsFulani
1 9.9

A language spoken by Fulani people across West Africa

is broader referring to a family rather than only one tongue
Ful
vsFulani
9.9

A language spoken by the Fulani people across West Africa

is specifically a family rather than an ambiguous single-or-group term

Surface Forms

Fulani singular
Fulani plural

Etymology

Fulani for the language comes from the same names, like Fula or Fulfulde, so the word simply means the 'language' spoken by the Fulani people across much of West Africa.