The main languages spoken in my region are Pulaar, Soninke, Mandinke, Wolof, and French. I’m learning Pulaar in my village and have found the town uses two dialects of the language that are similar but differ just enough for me to get confused when switching between the two. While French and Wolof are the official languages of Senegal, there are 36 recognized languages spoken throughout the nation. People are very proud of their cultures and prefer to talk in their native language rather than French or Wolof. Time, money and dates are all referred to in French, and all school subjects, medical systems and professional settings are conducted in French. As girls do not typically attend school for very many years, most women in my community do not speak French.
The currency used in Senegal is called the West African Franc (CFA). 627 CFA is equivalent to $1 USD (United States dollar). Last week I went to my local boutique and bought 18 eggs, two onions, one cup of vinegar, one tomato and two small packets of black pepper for 2,000 CFA. That’s about $3 USD. The CFA is also used in seven other West African countries and is guaranteed value by France, as long as these countries agree to keep at least 50% of their foreign reserves in the French treasury. This continues to be a controversial topic for these former French colonies.
