Ethnicity Toucouleur, Fula ISO 639-3 fuc | Native speakers 3.7 million (2006) Glottolog pula1263 | |
Native to Senegal, Mauritania, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali Language family Niger–Congo
Atlantic–Congo
Senegambian
Fula–Serer
Fula
Pulaar | ||
Pulaar is a Fula language spoken primarily as a first language by the Fula and Toucouleur peoples in the Senegal River valley area traditionally known as Futa Tooro and further south and east. Pulaar speakers, known as Haalpulaar'en live in Senegal, Mauritania, the Gambia, and western Mali.
According to Ethnologue there are several dialect differences, but all are mutually intelligible.
Pulaar is not to be confused with 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, but require a separate literature.
Pulaar is written in a Latin script, but historically was written in an Arabic script known as "Ajami script" (see Fula alphabets).
Linguistic features
The negative accomplished verb form ends in -aani. (This is slightly different from Maasina Fulfulde and Pular.)