Fula language

{{short description|Senegambian language of West and Central Africa}} {{Distinguish||text=the Fala language}} {{Infobox language | name = Fula | nativename = ''Fulfulde'' {{lang|ff|{{script/Adlam|𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤬𞤵𞤤𞤣𞤫}}}} {{lang|ff|{{script/Arabic|ࢻُلْࢻُلْدٜ}}}} ''Pulaar'' {{lang|ff|{{script/Adlam|𞤆𞤵𞤤𞤢𞥄𞤪}}}} {{lang|ff|{{script/Arabic|ݒُلَارْ}}}} ''Pular'' {{lang|ff|{{script/Adlam|𞤆𞤵𞤤𞤢𞤪}}}} {{lang|ff|{{script/Arabic|بُۛلَر}}}} | altname = {{Lang|ar|فولا|rtl=yes}} (Arabic) ''Peul'' (French) | map = Fula_language_map.svg | mapcaption = Core and peripheral Fula-speaking regions. Note that most of these areas, with the exceptions of Senegal and Guinea, are not primarily Fula-speaking, as this map only shows the absolute numbers of speakers. | states = Western Africa | region = Sahel | ethnicity = Fula | speakers = L1: {{sigfig|36.854740|2}} million | date = 2014–2021 | ref = e26 | speakers2 = L2: {{sigfig|2.680000|2}} million (2019)<ref name=e26/> | speakers_label = Speakers | familycolor = Niger-Congo | fam2 = Atlantic–Congo | fam3 = West Atlantic | fam4 = Senegambian | fam5 = Fula–Wolof | script = Latin Adlam Arabic (Ajami) | official = Burkina Faso Mali | minority = {{flag|Cameroon}} {{flag|Niger}} | iso1 = ff | iso1comment = – Fulah | iso2 = ful | iso2comment = – Fulah | iso3 = ful | iso3comment = – Fulah | lc1 = fuc | ld1 = Pulaar (Senegambia, Mauritania) | lc2 = fuf | ld2 = Pular (Guinea, Sierra Leone) | lc3 = ffm | ld3 = Maasina Fulfulde (Mali, Ghana) | lc4 = fue | ld4 = Borgu Fulfulde (Benin, Togo) | lc5 = fuh | ld5 = Western Niger Fulfulde (Burkina, Niger) | lc6 = fuq | ld6 = Central–Eastern Niger Fulfulde (Niger) | lc7 = fuv | ld7 = Nigerian Fulfulde (Nigeria) | lc8 = fub | ld8 = Adamawa Fulfulde (Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria) | lc9 = fui | ld9 = Bagirmi Fulfulde (CAR) | glotto = fula1264 | glottorefname = Fula }} {{ SpecialChars | compact = | special = Adlam Unicode characters | fix = Help:Multilingual_support | characters = Adlam letters }} '''Fula''' ({{Audio|LL-Q56475 (hau)-Eunice Ameh-Fula.wav|Listen|help=no }}) ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|f|uː|l|ə}} {{respell|FOO|lə}}),<ref name=Bauer>Laurie Bauer, 2007, ''The Linguistics Student's Handbook'', Edinburgh</ref> natively known as '''Fulfulde''' and also known as '''Fulani''' ({{Audio|LL-Q56475 (hau)-Eunice Ameh-Fulani.wav|Listen|help=no }}) ({{IPAc-en|f|ʊ|ˈ|l|ɑː|n|iː}} {{respell|fuu|LAH|nee}})<ref name=Bauer /> or '''Fulah'''<ref name="ISO 639-2/RA">{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/standards/iso639-2/php/langcodes_name.php?code_ID=151 |title=Documentation for ISO 639 identifier: ful |publisher=ISO 639-2 Registration Authority - Library of Congress |access-date=2017-07-04 |quote=Name: Fulah}}</ref><ref name="ISO 639-3/RA">{{cite web |url=http://www-01.sil.org/iso639-3/documentation.asp?id=ful |title=Documentation for ISO 639 identifier: ful |publisher=ISO 639-3 Registration Authority - SIL International |access-date=2017-07-04 |quote=Name: Fulah}}</ref> ({{lang|ff|Fulfulde}}, {{lang|ff|Pulaar}}, {{lang|ff|Pular}}; Adlam: {{lang|ff|𞤊𞤵𞤤𞤬𞤵𞤤𞤣𞤫}}, {{lang|ff|𞤆𞤵𞤤𞤢𞥄𞤪}}, {{lang|ff|𞤆𞤵𞤤𞤢𞤪}}; Ajami: {{lang|ff|{{script/Arabic|ࢻُلْࢻُلْدٜ}}}}, {{lang|ff|{{script/Arabic|ݒُلَارْ}}}}, {{lang|ff|{{script/Arabic|بُۛلَر}}}}), is a Senegambian language spoken by around 36.8 million people as a set of various dialects in a continuum that stretches across some 18 countries in West and Central Africa. Along with other related languages such as Serer and Wolof, it belongs to the Atlantic geographic group within Niger–Congo, and more specifically to the Senegambian branch. Unlike most Niger-Congo languages, Fula does not have tones.

It is spoken as a first language by the Fula people ("Fulani", {{langx|ff|Fulɓe|link=no}}) from the Senegambia region and Guinea to Cameroon, Nigeria, and Sudan and by related groups such as the Toucouleur people in the Senegal River Valley. It is also spoken as a second language by various peoples in the region, such as the Kirdi of northern Cameroon and northeastern Nigeria.

==Nomenclature== {{infobox ethnonym|Pullo|Fulɓe|Fulfulde}} 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.

==Status== Fula is a lingua franca in Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Gambia, northeastern Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Burkina Faso, Northern Ghana, Southern Niger and Northern Benin (in Borgou Region, where many speakers are bilingual), and a local language in many African countries, such as Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Togo, CAR, Chad, and Sudan, numbering more than 95 million speakers in total.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}

==Varieties== While there are numerous varieties of Fula, it is typically regarded as a single language. Wilson (1989) states that "travelers over wide distances never find communication impossible," and Ka (1991) concludes that despite its geographic span and dialect variation, Fulfulde is still fundamentally one language.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ka |first=Fary |title=Language Standardization in Africa |publisher=Helmut Buske verlag |year=1991 |editor-last=Cyffer |editor-first=N. |location=Hamburg |pages=35–38 |chapter=Problématique de la standardisation linguistique: Le cas du pulaar/fulfulde |quote="...malgré son extension géographique et ses variations dialectales, le fulfulde reste une langue profondément unie."}}</ref> However, ''Ethnologue'' has found that nine different translations are needed {{Citation needed span|text=to make the Bible comprehensible for most Fula speakers,|date=April 2023}} and it treats these varieties as separate languages. Fula dialects are also often split into four regions: the Western area, Central area, Niger and Nigeria, and the Eastern area.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Harrison |first=Annette |last2=Davis |first2=Colin |date=2003 |title=Fulfulde language family report |url=https://www.sil.org/resources/publications/entry/9065 |journal=Journal of Language Survey Reports |issue=ii |pages=13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906172147/http://www-01.sil.org/SILESR/2003/silesr2003-009.html#map5 |archive-date=6 Sep 2014}}</ref> The dialects are as follows:

'''Western Area'''

* Pulaar * Pular

'''Central Area'''

* Maasina Fulfulde * Gorgal Fulflude * Borgu Fulfulde

'''Niger and Nigeria'''

* Nigerian Fulfulde (also known as Hausa States Fulani) * Niger Lettugal Fulfulde

'''Eastern Area'''

* Adamawa Fulfulde * Bagirmi Fulfulde

== Phonology == {{urs|date=January 2026}}

=== Consonants === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" ! colspan="2" | ! Labial ! Alveolar ! Palatal ! Velar ! Glottal |- ! colspan="2" |Nasal | {{IPA link|m}} | {{IPA link|n}} | {{IPA link|ɲ}} | {{IPA link|ŋ}} | |- ! rowspan="3" |Plosive !plain | {{IPA link|p}} | {{IPA link|t}} | {{IPA link|c}} ~ {{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} | {{IPA link|k}} | {{IPA link|ʔ}} |- !voiced | {{IPA link|b}} | {{IPA link|d}} | {{IPA link|ɟ}} ~ {{IPA link|d͡ʒ}} | {{IPA link|ɡ}} | |- !prenasal | {{IPA link|ᵐb}} | {{IPA link|ⁿd}} | {{IPA link|ᶮɟ ~ ᶮd͡ʒ}} | {{IPA link|ᵑɡ}} | |- ! colspan="2" |Implosive | {{IPA link|ɓ}} | {{IPA link|ɗ}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" |Fricative | {{IPA link|f}} | {{IPA link|s}} | | | {{IPA link|h}} |- ! colspan="2" |Trill | | {{IPA link|r}} | | | |- ! colspan="2" |Approximant | |{{IPA link|l}} | {{IPA link|j}} | {{IPA link|w}} |{{IPA link|ˀj}} |} The two sounds {{IPAslink|c}} and {{IPAslink|ɟ}}, may be realized as affricate sounds {{IPAblink|tʃ}} and {{IPAblink|dʒ}}.

=== Vowels === {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" ! !Front !Central !Back |- !Close | {{IPA link|i}} {{IPA link|iː}} | | {{IPA link|u}} {{IPA link|uː}} |- !Mid | {{IPA link|e}} {{IPA link|eː}} | | {{IPA link|o}} {{IPA link|oː}} |- !Open | | {{IPA link|ä|a}} {{IPA link|äː|aː}} | |}

Short /{{IPA|i e o u}}/ vowel sounds can also be realized as [{{IPA|ɪ ɛ ɔ ʊ}}].

==Morphology== Fula is based on verbonominal roots, from which verbal, noun, and modifier words are derived. It uses suffixes (sometimes inaccurately called infixes, as they come between the root and the inflectional ending) to modify meaning. These suffixes often serve the same purposes in Fula that prepositions do in English.

===Noun classes=== The Fula or Fulfulde language is characterized by a robust noun class system, with 24 to 26 noun classes being common across the Fulfulde dialects.<ref name="Arnott 1970 5">{{harvcoltxt|Arnott|1970|p=5}}</ref> Noun classes in Fula are abstract categories with some classes having semantic attributes that characterize a subset of that class' members, and others being marked by a membership too diverse to warrant any semantic categorization of the class' members.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Paradis|1992|p=25}}</ref> For example, classes are for stringy, long things, and another for big things, another for liquids, a noun class for strong, rigid objects, another for human or humanoid traits etc. Gender does not have any role in the Fula noun class system and the marking of gender is done with adjectives rather than class markers.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Arnott|1970|p=74}}</ref> Noun classes are marked by suffixes on nouns. These suffixes are the same as the class name, though they are frequently subject to phonological processes, most frequently the dropping of the suffix's initial consonant.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|McIntosh|1984|pp=45–46}}</ref>

The table below illustrates the class name, the semantic property associated with class membership, and an example of a noun with its class marker. Classes 1 and 2 can be described as personal classes, classes 3–6 as diminutive classes, classes 7–8 as augmentative classes, and classes 9–25 as neutral classes. It is formed on the basis of McIntosh's 1984 description of Kaceccereere Fulfulde, which the author describes as "essentially the same" as David Arnott's 1970 description of the noun classes of the Gombe dialect of Fula. Thus, certain examples from Arnott also informed this table.<ref name="Arnott 1970 5"/><ref>{{harvcoltxt|McIntosh|1984|p=44}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Class name !! Meaning !! Example |- | o {{lang|ff|𞤮}} || Person singular || laam-ɗo 'chief'; also loan words |- | ɓe {{lang|ff|𞤩𞤫}} || Person plural || laam-ɓe 'chiefs' |- | ngel {{lang|ff|𞤲'𞤺𞤫𞤤}} || Diminutive singular || loo-ngel 'little pot' |- | kal {{lang|ff|𞤳𞤢𞤤}} || Diminutive quantities || con-al 'small quantity of flour' |- | ngum/kum {{lang|ff|𞤲'𞤺𞤵𞤥/𞤳𞤵𞤥}} || Diminutive pejorative || laam-ngum/laam-kum 'worthless little chief' |- | kon/koy {{lang|ff|𞤳𞤮𞤲/𞤳𞤮𞤴}} || Diminutive plural || ullu-kon/ullu-koy 'small cats/kittens' |- | nde {{lang|ff|𞤲𞥋𞤣𞤫}} || Various, including globular objects, places, times || loo-nde 'storage pot' |- | ndi {{lang|ff|𞤲𞥋𞤣𞤭}} || Various, including uncountable nouns || com-ri 'tiredness' |- | ndu {{lang|ff|𞤲𞥋𞤣𞤵}} || Various || ullu-ndu 'cat' |- | nga {{lang|ff|𞤲'𞤺𞤢}} || Various, including some large animals || nood-a 'crocodile' |- | nge {{lang|ff|𞤲'𞤺𞤫}} || mainly for 'cow,' 'fire,' 'sun' 'hunger,' || nagg-e 'cow' |- | ngo {{lang|ff|𞤲'𞤺𞤮}} || Various || juu-ngo 'hand' |- | ngu {{lang|ff|𞤲'𞤺𞤵}} || Various || ɓow-ngu 'mosquito' |- | ngal {{lang|ff|𞤲'𞤺𞤢𞤤}} || Various including augmentative singular || ɗem-ngal 'tongue' |- | ngol {{lang|ff|𞤲'𞤺𞤮𞤤}} || Various, often long things || ɓog-gol 'rope' |- | ngii/ngil {{lang|ff|𞤲'𞤺𞤭𞥅/𞤲'𞤺𞤭𞤤}} || Various including augmentative singular || ɓog-gii/ɓog-gii 'big rope' |- | ka {{lang|ff|𞤳𞤢}} || Various || laan-a 'boat' |- | ki {{lang|ff|𞤳𞤭}} || Various || lek-ki 'tree' |- | ko {{lang|ff|𞤳𞤮}} || Various || haak-o 'soup' |- | kol {{lang|ff|𞤳𞤮𞤤}} || 'Calf' 'foal' || ɲal-ol 'calf', mol-ol 'foal' |- | ɗam {{lang|ff|𞤯𞤢𞤥}} || mainly for liquids || lam-ɗam 'salt', ndiy-am 'water' |- | ɗum {{lang|ff|𞤯𞤵𞤥}} || Neutral || maw-ɗum 'big thing' |- | ɗe {{lang|ff|𞤯𞤫}} || Nonhuman plural || juu-ɗe 'hands' |- | ɗi {{lang|ff|𞤯𞤭}} || Nonhuman plural || na'i 'cows' |}

===Voice=== Verbs in Fula are usually classed in three voices: active, middle, and passive.<ref>{{harvcoltxt|Arnott|1956}}</ref> Not every root is used in all voices. Some middle-voice verbs are reflexive.

A common example are verbs from the root -{{lang|ff|𞤤𞤮𞥅𞤼}} {{Transliteration|ff|loot-}}: * {{lang|ff|𞤤𞤮𞥅𞤼𞤵𞤣𞤫}} {{Transliteration|ff|lootude}}, to wash (something) [active voice] * {{lang|ff|𞤤𞤮𞥅𞤼𞤢𞥄𞤣𞤫}} {{Transliteration|ff|lootaade}}, to wash (oneself) [middle voice] * {{lang|ff|𞤤𞤮𞥅𞤼𞤫𞥅𞤣𞤫}} {{Transliteration|ff|looteede}}, to be washed [passive voice]

===Consonant mutation=== Another feature of the language is initial consonant mutation between singular and plural forms of both nouns and verbs in most dialects. In Pular, however, only nouns experience consonant mutation, not verbs.

A simplified schema is: * w ↔ b ↔ mb * r ↔ d ↔ nd * y ↔ j ↔ nj * w ↔ g ↔ ng * f ↔ p * s ↔ c * h ↔ k

===Pronouns=== Fula has inclusive and exclusive first-person plural pronouns. The inclusive pronouns include both the speaker and those being spoken to, while the exclusive pronouns exclude the listeners.

The pronoun that corresponds to a given noun is determined by the noun class. Because men and women belong to the same noun class, the English pronouns "he" and "she" are translated into Fula by the same pronoun. However, depending on the dialect, there are some 25 different noun classes, each with its own pronoun. Sometimes those pronouns have both a nominative case (i.e., used as verb subject) and an accusative or dative case (i.e., used as a verb object) as well as a possessive form. Relative pronouns generally take the same form as the nominative.

== Writing systems == {{Main|Fula alphabets}}

Five different scripts have been or are used to write Fula. It was historically written in a form the Arabic alphabet known as Ajami, and although not standardized, it is still used by some today. During the colonial period and after independence, the Latin script began to be used to write Fula,<ref>Peter Easton and Sonja Fagerberg-Diallo, "[https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/533551468305671696/pdf/23000-Replacement-file-IKNT38.pdf Senegal: Indigenous Language and Literature as a Non-profit Business. The ARED Story]," IK Notes, No. 38, Nov. 2001</ref> leading to a efforts facilitated by UNESCO to standardize transcription. This process also addressed other African languages, incorporating use of modified letters to represent sounds particular to these languages, and it has been the basis for Latin-based Fula orthographies since the mid-1960s.

There were two unsuccessful efforts in the 1950s and 1960s to create a unique script to write Fulfulde,<ref name="Atlantic" /><ref name="The Randall M. Hasson Blog" /><ref name="BachDeborah" /> namely Fula Dita and Fula Ba.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dalby |first1=David |title=Further Indigenous Scripts of West Africa: Manding, Wolof and Fula Alphabets and Yoruba 'Holy' Writing |journal=African Language Studies |date=1969 |volume=X |pages=161–181 |publisher=University of London. School of Oriental and African Studies}}</ref> In 1989, the Adlam script was created specifically for Fula.

=== Adlam script === {{main|Adlam script}} {{Infobox writing system |name = Adlam Pular 𞤀𞤣𞤤𞤢𞤥 𞤆𞤵𞤤𞤢𞤪 |type = Alphabet |time = created 1989 |languages = Fula |creator = Ibrahima Barry and Abdoulaye Barry |iso15924 = Adlm |unicode = U+1E900–U+1E95F |note = |qid = Q19606346 }}

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, two teenage brothers, Ibrahima and Abdoulaye Barry from the Nzérékoré Region of Guinea, created the Adlam script, which accurately represents all the sounds of Fulani. The script is written from right to left and includes 28 letters with 5 vowels and 23 consonants.<ref name="Atlantic">{{cite news |last=Waddell |first=Kaveh |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/11/the-alphabet-that-will-save-a-people-from-disappearing/506987/ |title=The Alphabet That Will Save a People From Disappearing |author-link=Kaveh Waddell |date=Nov 16, 2016 |website=The Atlantic}}</ref><ref name="The Randall M. Hasson Blog">{{cite web|last1=Hasson|first1=Randall|title=The ADLaM Story – How Alphabet Changes Culture|url=http://blog.randallmhasson.com/2014/04/the-adlam-story-how-alphabet-changes.html|website=The Randall M. Hasson Blog|access-date=4 April 2018|archive-date=21 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821113728/http://blog.randallmhasson.com/2014/04/the-adlam-story-how-alphabet-changes.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="BachDeborah">{{cite web |last1=Bach |first1=Deborah |title=Ibrahima & Abdoulaye Barry — How a new alphabet is helping an ancient people write its own future. |url=https://news.microsoft.com/stories/people/adlam.html?ocid=lock |website=Story Labs |publisher=Microsoft |access-date=25 December 2019 |date=29 July 2019}}</ref>

=== Arabic script === Fula has also been written in the Arabic script or the Ajami script since before European colonization by many scholars and learned people including Usman dan Fodio and the early emirs of the northern Nigeria emirates. This continues to a certain degree and notably in some areas like Guinea and Cameroon.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

Fula also has Arabic loanwords.

=== Latin alphabet === [[File:الابجدية الفولانية بالحرف اللاتيني.jpg|thumb|Smartphone keyboard used for Fula, with the special letters D with hook (ɗ), B with hook (ɓ) and eng (ŋ)]] When written using the Latin script, Fula uses the following additional special "hooked" characters to distinguish meaningfully different sounds in the language: Ɓ/ɓ {{IPAblink|ɓ}}, Ɗ/ɗ {{IPAblink|ɗ|ɗ }}, Ŋ/ŋ {{IPAblink|ŋ}}, Ɲ/ɲ {{IPAblink|ɲ| ɲ}}, Ƴ/ƴ {{IPAblink|ˀj}}. The letters c, j, and r, respectively represent the sounds [{{IPA|c ~ tʃ}}], [{{IPA|ɟ ~ dʒ}}], and [{{IPA|r}}]. Double vowel characters indicate that the vowels are elongated. An apostrophe (ʼ) is used as a glottal stop. It uses the five vowel system denoting vowel sounds and their lengths. In Nigeria ʼy substitutes ƴ, and in Senegal Ñ/ñ is used instead of ɲ.{{clarify|date=February 2013}}

====Sample Fula alphabet==== '''a, aa, b, mb (or nb), ɓ, c, d, nd, ɗ, e, ee, f, g, ng, h, i, ii, j, nj, k, l, m, n, ŋ, ɲ (ny '''or '''ñ''')''', o, oo, p, r, s, t, u, uu, w, y, ƴ (or {{hamza}}y), {{hamza}}'''

The letters '''q, v, x, z''' are used in some cases for loan words.  {| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center ! colspan="33" |Fula Alphabets |- |A |B |Nb |Ɓ |C |D |Nd |Ɗ |E |F |G |Ng |H |I |J |Nj |K |L |M |N |Ŋ |Ɲ |O |P |R |S |T |U |W |Y |Ƴ |{{hamza}} |- ! colspan="33" |Lowercase |- |a |b |nb |ɓ |c |d |nd |ɗ |e |f |g |ng |h |i |j |nj |k |l |m |n |ŋ |ɲ |o |p |r |s |t |u |w |y |ƴ |{{hamza}} |- ! colspan="33" |IPA |- |{{IPA link|a}} |{{IPA link|b}} |{{IPA link|ᵐb}} |{{IPA link|ɓ}} |{{IPA link|c}}~{{IPA link|t͡ʃ}} |{{IPA link|d}} |{{IPA link|ⁿd}} |{{IPA link|ɗ}} |{{IPA link|ɛ}}~{{IPA link|e}} |{{IPA link|f}} |{{IPA link|g}} |{{IPA link|ᵑɡ}} |{{IPA link|h}} |{{IPA link|ɪ}}~{{IPA link|i}} |{{IPA link|ɟ}}~{{IPA link|d͡ʒ}} |{{IPA link|ᶮɟ}}~{{IPA link|ᶮd͡ʒ}} |{{IPA link|k}} |{{IPA link|l}} |{{IPA link|m}} |{{IPA link|n}} |{{IPA link|ŋ}} |{{IPA link|ɲ}} |{{IPA link|ɔ}}~{{IPA link|o}} |{{IPA link|p}} |{{IPA link|r}} |{{IPA link|s}} |{{IPA link|t}} |{{IPA link|ʊ}}~{{IPA link|u}} |{{IPA link|w}} |{{IPA link|j}} |{{IPA link|ˀj}} |{{IPA link|ʔ}} |}

Long vowels are written doubled: <aa, ee, ii, oo, uu> The standard Fulfulde alphabet adopted during the UNESCO-sponsored expert meeting in Bamako in March 1966 is as follows:<ref>{{cite web |author=UNESCO |url=http://www.bisharat.net/Documents/Bamako1966.htm |title=Rapport Final de la Réunion d'un groupe d'experts pour l'unification des alphabets des langues nationales |location=Bamako |year=1966 |access-date=2023-12-23}}</ref> a, b, mb, ɓ, c, d, nd, ɗ, e, f, g, ng, h, i, j, nj, k, l, m, n, ŋ, ny (''later'' ɲ ''or'' ñ), o, p, r, s, t, u, w, y, ƴ, {{hamza}}.

== Sample text == The following is a sample text in Fula of Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Pulaar |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/human-rights/universal-declaration/translations/pulaar |access-date=2023-01-31 |website=OHCHR |language=en}}</ref> The first line is in Adlam, the second in Latin script, the third in IPA.

{{fs interlinear |lang=ff |indent=2 |𞤋𞤲𞥆𞤢𞤥𞤢 𞤢𞥄𞤣𞤫𞥅𞤶𞤭 𞤬𞤮𞤬 𞤨𞤮𞤼𞤭, 𞤲𞤣𞤭𞤥𞤯𞤭𞤣𞤭 𞤫 𞤶𞤭𞤦𞤭𞤲𞤢𞤲𞥆𞤣𞤫 𞤼𞤮 𞤦𞤢𞤲𞥆𞤺𞤫 𞤸𞤢𞤳𞥆𞤫𞥅𞤶𞤭. 𞤉𞤩𞤫 𞤽𞤮𞥅𞤣𞤭 𞤥𞤭𞥅𞤶𞤮 𞤫 𞤸𞤢𞤳𞥆𞤭𞤤𞤢𞤲𞤼𞤢𞥄𞤺𞤢𞤤 𞤫𞤼𞤫 𞤫𞤩𞤫 𞤨𞤮𞤼𞤭 𞤸𞤵𞥅𞤬𞤮 𞤲𞤣𞤭𞤪𞤣𞤫 𞤫 𞤲𞤣𞤫𞤪 𞤩 𞤭𞤴𞤽𞤵𞤴𞤵𞤥𞥆𞤢𞥄𞤺𞤵 |Innama aadeeji fof poti, ndimɗidi e jibinannde to bannge hakkeeji. Eɓe ngoodi miijo e hakkilantaagal ete eɓe poti huufo ndirde e nder ɓ iynguyummaagu. |/inːama aːdeːɟi fof poti, ⁿdimɗidi e ɟibinanⁿde to banᵑge hakːeːɟi. eɓe ᵑgoːdi miːɟo e hakːilantaːgal ete eɓe poti huːfo ⁿdirde e ⁿder ɓ ijᵑgujumːaːgu./ |"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." }}

==See also== * Pular grammar (a presentation for one variety of Fula) *David Whitehorn Arnott

== Notes == {{reflist|40em}}

=== References === *{{Cite journal |last=Arnott |first=D. W. |author-link=David Whitehorn Arnott |date=1956 |title=The Middle Voice in Fula |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=130–144 |jstor=610132 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X00122244 |s2cid=163033896}} * {{cite book |last=Arnott |first=D. W. |url=https://archive.org/details/nominalverbalsys0000arno/mode/2up |title=The Nominal and Verbal Systems of Fula |location=London |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1970|isbn=978-0-19-815127-2 }} * {{cite encyclopedia |last=Arnott |first=D. W. |title=Fula |encyclopedia=International Encyclopedia of Linguistics |volume=2 |editor-first=W. |editor-last=Frawley |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003}} * {{cite book |last=McIntosh |first=Mary |title=Fulfulde Syntax and Verbal Morphology |location=London |publisher=St Edmundsbury Press |year=1984 |isbn=9780710300744}} * {{cite book |last=Paradis |first=Carole |title=Lexical Phonology and Morphology: The Nominal Classes in Fula |location=New York |publisher=Garland Publishing |year=1992 |isbn=9780815306979}} * {{cite book |last=Reichardt |first=Charles Augustus Ludwig |title=Grammar of the Fulde Language: With an Appendix of Some Original Traditions and Portions of Scripture Translated Into Fulde: Together with Eight Chapters of the Book of Genesis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lqUTAAAAQAAJ |year=1876 |publisher=Church Missionary Society |translator=Dr. Baikie}} * {{cite journal |last=Shehu |first=Ahmadu |title=Stress Placement Rules in Fulfulde: A Review |year=2014 |journal=HARSHE Journal of African Languages |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319187165 |pages=169–186}} * {{cite encyclopedia |last=Wilson |first=W. A. A. |year=1945 |title=Atlantic |editor-link=John Bendor-Samuel |editor-last=Bendor-Samuel |editor-first=John |encyclopedia=The Niger–Congo Languages |pages=81–104}}

== External links == {{InterWiki|code=ff}} {{Wiktionary category}} {{Wikivoyage|Fulfulde phrasebook|Fulfulde|a phrasebook}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20180114133025/http://www.mafindi.com/blogs/1/10/how-to-write-fulfulde-in-ajami-baleri-e-masle Fulfulde Ajami script how to] * [http://www.languagesgulper.com/eng/Fula.html Fula- Language Gulper] *[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mafindi.android fulfulde app on googleplay] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20180111154945/http://www-01.sil.org/silesr/2003/silesr2003-009.html Fulfulde Language Family Report (SIL)] – includes maps of the dialects * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150419144235/http://www.webpulaaku.net/defte/dwarnott/nominal-verbal-systems-fula/general-introduction.html D. W. Arnott. The Nominal and Verbal Systems of Fula General Introduction] webPulaaku * [http://globalrecordings.net/langcode/fub Listen to a sample of Adamawa Fulfulde from Global Recordings Network] * [http://www.skyknowledge.com/adlam.htm Adlam alphabet]

;Fula on the web Below are some websites from different countries that use the Latin alphabet of Fula/Fulfulde: * Nigeria: {{URL|https://www.mafindi.com/words}} {{URL|https://www.mafindi.africa/words}} * Nigeria: {{URL|fulfulde24.com}} * Nigeria: {{URL|https://www.rfi.fr/ff/}} * Mauritania: {{URL|Pulaar.org}} * Mauritania: {{URL|Pulaagu.com}} * Guinea: {{URL|Jowlol.org}} * Guinea: {{URL|Tabaldefouta.org}} * Guinea: {{URL|Misiide.net}} * Guinea: {{URL|Webpulaaku.net}} * Sierra Leone: {{URL|Peeral.com}} * Fuuta Tooro: {{URL|www.pulaaronline.com}}

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