Typology of linguistic borrowing in the Wolof language

Abstract

This paper offers the results of a typological analysis of loanwords in the Wolof language following the methodology applied by Haspelmath & Tadmor in their Loanword Typology Project (LWT). On the basis of a representative sample of the world’s languages these authors compiled the World Loanword Database (WOLD) and carried out a comparative analysis of the loanword profile of 41 languages focusing on 1460 lexical meanings grouped into 24 semantic fields. Since the Wolof language was not included in their typological analysis as a recipient language, the following text is meant as a further contribution to the LWT
project. On the whole, the Wolof language conforms to the general principles established by Haspelmath and Tadmor, although some minor departures are also observed.