Editing Senegal (section)

=== Languages ===
{{Main|Languages of Senegal}}

French is the [[official language]], spoken by all those who have spent several years in the educational system, in which French is used as the medium of instruction (Koranic schools are also popular, but Arabic is less widely spoken outside of the context of recitation). Overall, speakers of French were estimated to make up 26% of the population in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.francophonie.org/|title=Portail de l'Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF)|website=Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie|access-date=18 February 2023|archive-date=1 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130601233227/http://www.francophonie.org/-Etats-et-gouvernements-.html|url-status=live}}</ref> During the 15th century, many European territories started to engage in trade in Senegal. In the 19th century, France increased its colonial influence in Senegal and thus the number of French-speaking people multiplied continuously. French was ratified as the official language of Senegal in 1960 when the country achieved independence.

Most people also speak their own ethnic language while, especially in Dakar, [[Wolof language|Wolof]] is the [[lingua franca]].<ref>{{citation|title=Wolof|author=National African Language Research Center|publisher=University of Wisconsin |location=Madison}}</ref> [[Pulaar]] is spoken by the Fulas and Toucouleur. The [[Serer language]] is widely spoken by both Serers and non-Serers (including President Sall, whose wife is Serer); so are the [[Cangin languages]], whose speakers are ethnically Serers. [[Jola languages]] are widely spoken in the [[Casamance]]. Overall Senegal is home to around 39 distinct languages. Several have the legal status of "[[national language]]s": [[Balanta-Ganja language|Balanta-Ganja]], [[Arabic]], [[Jola-Fonyi language|Jola-Fonyi]], [[Mandinka language|Mandinka]], [[Mandjak language|Mandjak]], [[Mankanya language|Mankanya]], [[Noon language|Noon]] (Serer-Noon), [[Pulaar language|Pulaar]], Serer, [[Soninke language|Soninke]], and Wolof.

English is taught as a [[English as a second or foreign language|foreign language]] in secondary schools and many graduate school programs, and it is the only subject matter that has a special office in the Ministry of Education.<ref name=warwick>{{citation|website=The Warwick ELT|title=The Status of English and Other Languages in Senegal|author=Oumar Moussa Djigo|date=31 December 2016|url=https://thewarwickeltezine.wordpress.com/2016/12/31/77/|access-date=10 August 2019|archive-date=10 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190810155205/https://thewarwickeltezine.wordpress.com/2016/12/31/77/|url-status=live}}</ref> Dakar is home to a few bilingual schools which offer half of their curriculum in English. The Senegalese American Bilingual School (SABS), Yavuz Selim, and The West African College of the Atlantic (WACA) train thousands of fluent English speakers in four-year programs. English is widely used by the scientific community and in business, including by the ''Modou-Modou'' (illiterate, self-taught businessmen).<ref name=warwick />

[[Portuguese Creole]], locally known as Portuguese, is a prominent minority language in [[Ziguinchor]], regional capital of the Casamance, spoken by local Portuguese creoles and immigrants from Guinea-Bissau. The local Cape Verdean community speak a similar Portuguese creole, [[Cape Verdean Creole]], and standard Portuguese. Portuguese was introduced in Senegal's secondary education in 1961 in Dakar by the country's first president, [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]]. It is currently available in most of Senegal and in higher education. It is especially prevalent in Casamance as it relates with the local cultural identity.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/encarte/encarte98a.htm | title=A Língua Portuguesa no Senegal | date=12–25 April 2006 | access-date=10 December 2014 | author=José Horta | publisher=Instituto Camões | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000233/http://www.instituto-camoes.pt/encarte/encarte98a.htm | archive-date=4 March 2016 | df=dmy-all }}</ref>
[[File:Dakar Roofs - Beach & Ocean (5651584098).jpg|thumb|Aerial view of Yoff Commune, Dakar]]

A variety of immigrant languages are spoken, such as [[Bambara language|Bambara]] (70,000), [[Mossi language|Mooré]] (37,000), [[Cape Verdean Creole|Kabuverdiano]] (34,000), [[Krio language|Krio]] (6,100), Vietnamese (2,500), and Portuguese (1,700), mostly in Dakar.<ref name=warwick />

While French is the sole official language, a rising Senegalese linguistic nationalist movement supports the integration of Wolof, the common vernacular language of the country, into the national constitution.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.slateafrique.com/21377/linguistique-senegal-est-il-encore-un-pays-francophone | title=Le Sénégal est-il encore un pays francophone? | date=19 August 2012 | access-date=19 August 2012 | author=Pierre Cherruau | archive-date=14 November 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114083002/http://www.slateafrique.com/21377/linguistique-senegal-est-il-encore-un-pays-francophone | url-status=live }}</ref>

Senegalese regions of Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaffrine, Kaolack, Kedougou, Kolda, Louga, Matam, Saint-Louis, Sedhiou, Tambacounda, Thies and Ziguinchor are members of the International Association of Francophone regions.