Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, Guinea to the southeast and Guinea-Bissau to the southwest. Senegal nearly surrounds The Gambia, a country occupying a narrow sliver of land along the banks of the Gambia River, which separates Senegal's southern region of Casamance from the rest of the country. It also shares a maritime border with Cape Verde. Senegal's economic and political capital is Dakar.
The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for the western part, which is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean.
Banjul, officially the City of Banjul, is the capital of The Gambia. It is the centre of the eponymous administrative division which is home to an estimated 400,000 residents, making it The Gambia's largest and most densely populated metropolitan area. The city Banjul is located on St Mary's Island, where the Gambia River enters the Atlantic Ocean.
Wolof is a Niger–Congo language spoken by the Wolof people in much of the West African subregion of Senegambia that is split between the countries of Senegal, The Gambia and Mauritania. Like the neighbouring languages Serer and Fula, it belongs to the Senegambian branch of the Niger–Congo language family. Unlike most other languages of its family, Wolof is not a tonal language.
The Serer-Ndut or Ndut also spelt are an ethnic group in Senegal numbering 38600. They are part of the Serer people who collectively make up the third largest ethnic group in Senegal. The Serer-Ndut live mostly in western Senegal in the district of Mont-Roland, northwest of the city of Thiès.
The Senegambia is, in the narrow sense, a historical name for a geographical region in West Africa, named after the Senegal River in the north and the Gambia River in the south. However, there are also text sources which state that Senegambia is understood in a broader sense and equated with the term the Western region. This refers to the coastal areas between Senegal and Sierra Leone, where the inland border in the east was not further defined.
The Soninke language, also known as Serakhulle or Azer or Maraka, is a Mande language spoken by the Soninke people of West Africa. The language has an estimated 2.3 million speakers, primarily located in Mali and Mauritania, and also in Senegal, Ivory Coast, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea. It enjoys the status of a national language in Mauritania, Mali, Senegal and The Gambia.
Isatou Njie-Saidy is a Gambian politician. She was Vice President of the Gambia, as well as Secretary of State for Women's Affairs, from 20 March 1997 to 18 January 2017. She is the first Gambian woman to have held the position of Vice President and one of the first women in West African politics to reach this senior position.
The Jola or Diola are an ethnic group found in Senegal, the Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau. Most Jola live in small villages scattered throughout Senegal, especially in the Lower Casamance region. The main dialect of the Jola language, Fogni, is one of the six national languages of Senegal.
The Constitution mandates free and compulsory primary education in the Gambia, but a lack of resources and education infrastructure has made implementation difficult. In 1995, the gross primary enrollment rate was 77.1 percent and the net primary enrollment rate was 64.7 percent. School fees long prevented many children from attending school, but in February 1998 the president of the Gambia ordered the termination of fees for the first six years of schooling. Girls make up about 40 percent of primary school students, though the figure is much lower in rural areas where cultural factors and poverty prevent parents from sending girls to school. Approximately 20 percent of school-age children attend Koranic schools, which usually have a restricted curriculum.
The Gambia is a Muslim majority country, with Muslims constituting 96.4% of the population, some 3.5% are Christian, and 0.1% practice other religions.
Safene (Saafen), Safi 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.
The Serer-Laalaa or Laalaa are part of the Serer ethnic group of Senegambia. They live in Laa, the Léhar Region, which comprises eighteen villages north of Thies and whose inhabitants are Serer-Laalaa. Although the people are ethnically Serer, their language Laalaa is not a dialect of the Serer-Sine language, but—like Saafi, Noon, Ndut and Palor, one of the Cangin languages.
The medieval history of the Serer people of Senegambia is partly characterised by resisting Islamization from perhaps the 11th century during the Almoravid movement, to the 19th century Marabout movement of Senegambia and continuation of the old Serer paternal dynasties.
Tukar a large village in Senegal. Attached to the rural community of Ngayokhem, it is located in the area of the pre-colonial Kingdom of Sine, west of Senegal. The population is overrun by the Serers. As of 2006 to 2007, the population was estimated at 3000. Ndokh, which was a colony of Tukar, is now a separate village.
Kokh Kox is the creator god of the Noon people. The Noon are members of the Serer ethnic group of Senegal, the Gambia and Mauritania. Kokh Kox is one of the main deities in Serer religion. The Noon people refer to the supreme being as Kokh Kox rather than Roog, the name the majority of Serers refer to the supreme being in the Serer-Sine language. The name Kokh Kox derives from the deity Koox, the name the Saafi people regularly use to refer to the divine.
Venezuelan Australians refers to Australian citizens of Venezuelan descent or birth. According to the 2021 Census there were 6,627 Venezuelan-born citizens who were residing in Australia at the moment of the census. There are an estimated 10,000 Australians of Venezuelan ancestry according to a study of Ivan De La Vega from Simón Bolívar University.
Gambian English is the variety of English spoken in The Gambia. Gambian English has fewer speakers than any other variety of West African English (WAE), and shares similarities with Sierra Leonean English. The differences between Gambian English and other dialects of African English are mostly lexical and phonological. Gambian English has been influenced by various indigenous Gambian languages.
Wolofization or Wolofisation is a cultural and language shift whereby populations or states adopt Wolof language or culture, such as in the Senegambia region. In Senegal, Wolof is a lingua franca The Wolofization phenomenon has taken over all facets of Senegal and encroaching on Gambian soil. This phenomenon has caused other Senegambian ethnic groups great concern and resulted in taking steps to preserve their languages and culture. In this regard, the Serer ethnic group who have had a long history fighting against Islamization and Wolofization have been taking active steps in the past decades by setting up associations and other organisations in order to preserve their languages, culture and "ancient religious past." Haalpulaar speakers, namely the Fula and Toucouleur have also been taking steps to preserve their language.
Gambian literature consists of the oral and written literary tradition of the people of the Gambia. Oral literature, including the traditional griots and various forms of ritual poetry, has historically been the predominant type of cultural transmission in line with the wider Senegambia. An English-language, written Gambian literature has emerged since the 1960s, spearheaded by Lenrie Peters.
