Family: Niger-Congo ==> Atlantic-Congo ==> Atlantic ==> Senegambian ==> Fula-Serer==> Fula
Population of Speakers: 25 million (Data: 2022)
Script: Roman letters
Fulfulde, also known as Fula or Fulani, is a member of the Senegambian branch of the Niger-Congo language family spoken by about 25 million people in many parts of West Africa.
According to Wikipedia, Several names are applied to the language, just as to the Fula people. They call their language Pulaar or Pular in the western dialects and Fulfulde in the central and eastern dialects. Fula, Fulah and Fulani in English come originally from Manding (esp. Mandinka, but also Malinke and Bamana) and Hausa, respectively; Peul in French, also occasionally found in literature in English, comes from Wolof.
It is the first language of the people of Fulɓe (Fula/Fulani), who live mainly in West Africa, and also in Central and North Africa. Fula is also spoken as a second language by others in the region. Fula speakers can be found in Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gambia, Chad, Sierra Leone, Benin, Guinea-Bissau, Sudan, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Liberia and Gabon.
Fulfulde is not currently taught on the IU campus, but we do have access to learning materials. Learn more about Fulfulde on Omniglot and Wikipedia. Additional resources on Open Language Archives Community.