Wolof is spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania. It is part of the Senegambian branch of the Niger-Congo language family, but unlike many of the Niger-Congo languages, it is not tonal. Although Wolof is the mother tongue of around 40 percent of Senegal’s population, it is the most widely spoken language in the country, as most Senegalese speak it as a second language.