The French language was introduced into Senegal through colonisation. According to Papa Alioune Ndao, professor of linguistics at the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar:
French was taught in Senegal as a mother tongue, as France taught its own children. It 1964 it was decided that French should be taught as a foreign language. This continues to be the status of the French language in education today.
However, the first article of the 2001 Constitution mentions French as the only official language. The other major languages – Malinke, Wolof, Serer, Diola, Soninke and Pular – have the status of “national languages”.
French is the official language of Senegal and is…
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