West Africa is a diverse hunk of real-estate that is roughly the size of the United States and divided into 15 countries. There are literally hundreds of people groups, each with their own unique culture and language to match. All of these people fit together like a giant puzzle that make up this region of Africa. Seventeen years ago my husband and I landed in Senegal, which is the furthest puzzle piece west on the African continent. Two things were immediately apparent to me as I entered this new world thousands of miles from my Nebraska home. First, my view of the world was about to expand by leaps and bounds. Second, I would have to become like a child again in order to learn how to connect and communicate with the Senegalese people.
With that I began the long journey of language learning. My husband and I dipped our language learning toes into the French pool. French is the official language of Senegal as well as many other West African countries, so it was an important first step in fitting into the Senegalese culture. After 9 months of classroom instruction in French we transitioned into learning Wolof. Wolof is an African language that is widely used throughout Senegal. I also started teaching English as a Second Language, so my life seemed to revolve around languages. The daily struggle of trying to communicate eventually lessened and the reward was insight and strong friendships that have lasted over many years.
Now we are faced with a move into a new area of Senegal. Along with a new culture comes yet another language and thus the reason for this blog. In the up coming weeks we will be learning the African language of Pulaar. Hopefully, I've learned something about language learning over the years, but one thing is for sure, it is an adventure. From the classroom to the village, there is never a dull moment when you force yourself out of your comfort zone. I have to stress that language learning for the "average joe" is a life long process because you can never learn all there is to know. Furthermore, language and culture learning go hand in hand, and one of the best ways to learn culture is to learn the local language.
So here I go back into the churning waters of African language learning.
