A brief history of the Wolof people The word "Wolof" also refers to the Wolof language, as well as to the states, cultures, and traditions of the Wolof people. Older French books often use the spelling Ouolof.

A brief history of the Wolof people

The word "Wolof" also refers to the Wolof language, as well as to the states, cultures, and traditions of the Wolof people. Older French books often use the spelling Ouolof. 

You can also find Wolluf, Volof, and Olof, as well as rarer spellings like Yolof, Dylof, Chelof, Galof, Lolof, and others, up to the 19th century. Wollof and Woloff are both used to talk about the Gambian Wolof in English, but Wollof is closer to how the name is pronounced by people who speak English. 

Jolof is also often spelled as Jolof, but this is usually in reference to the Jolof Empire and Jolof Kingdom, which were in central Senegal from the 14th to the 19th centuries. In the same way, Jollof rice is the name of a rice dish from West Africa.