Mauritania - Mauritanie - موريتانيا (MR)

1. Language information / Données sur les langues

1.1 Languages spoken / Langues parlées

a) Official / Officielle(s) :

Arabic. French was official until 1991, but is still used

b) National, indigenous / Nationale(s), indigène(s) :

Arabic, Fula (Pulaar), Wolof, and Soninke are listed as national languages in the constitution. (L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde)

The most widely spoken language is the Hassaniyya dialect of Arabic. Halaoui (1997) discusses the situation of Hassaniyya (Hasanya).

Ethnologue list 6 languages at http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=MR

c) Relevant pages in the Major Languages section of this report / Pages appropriées dans la section de ce rapport sur les Langues principales

Arabic, Fula (Pulaar), Wolof, Soninke

1.2 Policy / Politique

a) Laws/legislation / Lois/législation :

The site L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde has a page on Mauritania at http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/mauritanie.htm

b) Agencies / Agences :

Institute des langues nationales
Ministère de la Culture, de la Jeunesse et des Sports
B.P. 616 - NOUAKCHOTT
(Source: UNESCO, 1985)

c) Languages in education/literacy / Langues dans l'éducation/l'alphabétisation :

Standard Arabic and French are taught in all schools. There are some "experimental" schools in other national languages in the south. (L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde)

UNDP (2006) gives a literacy figure (without reference to which language[s]) of: 51.2%

1.3 Writing in national/indigenous languages / Ecriture en langues nationales/indigènes

a) Orthographies / Orthographes :

Arabic script for Arabic and Hassaniyya.

Latin script (with extended characters) for other languages.

b) Print publications / Editions imprimées :

UNESCO (1985) reported the following periodical (name, frequency of publication, circulation, language). Updated information is needed:

• Foyre Bantare, trimestriel, 1.000, Pulaar/Fulfulde

1.4 Other comments / Autre commentaire :

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2. ICT situation / Situation des TIC

2.1 Infrastructure / Infrastructure

a) Telephones / Téléphones :

• Fixed lines: Telephone mainlines: 7 per 1000 people (APC)
• Mobile subscriptions: 300,000 (10.9 per 100 people) (ITU 2004 cited in Vodafone 2005)

b) Radio stations / Stations de radio :

c) Connectivity / Connectivité :

• International internet bandwidth / Bande passante internationale d'internet :
• ISPs / FSI :
• Geographic coverage / Couverture géographique :

2.2 Computer & internet access / Accès aux ordinateurs et à l'internet

a) Computers & points of access / Ordinateurs et lieux d'accès :

• Number of computers / Nombre d'ordinateurs: 10.3 per 1000 people (APC)
• Cybercafés / Cybercafés:
• Project telecentres / Télécentres de projets:

b) Internet / Internet :

• Dial-up subscribers / Abonnés par ligne téléphonique :
• Internet users / Utilisateurs de l'internet : 14,000 Internet users as of Sept/05, 0.5% of the population, per ITU (Internet World Stats)

c) Other / Autre :

• Digital Opportunity Index (DOI): 0.14 (ITU 2006)

2.3 Policy / Politique

The APC page, "ICT Policy in Mauritania," has some information and links:

• In English: http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21806e_1
• En français: http://afrique.droits.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=s21806e_1

2.4 ICT4D/E & ICT training / TIC pour le développement/éducation, et formation en TIC

2.5 Resources / Ressources

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3. Localisation situation / Situation de localisation

3.1 Country web content / Contenu web du pays

3.2 Web content in indigenous languages / Contenu web en langues indigènes

(See also specific language pages.)

3.3 Software localisation / Localisation de logiciel

Not aware of any software localisation efforts.

(See also specific language pages.)

3.4 Projects & organisations / Projets et organisations

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4. References / Références

APC, "ICT Policy in Mauritania," Africa ICT Policy Monitor, http://rights.apc.org/africa/index.shtml?apc=s21806e_1 ("Politiques de TIC en/au Mauritanie," Observatoire des politiques des TIC en Afrique, http://afrique.droits.apc.org/index.shtml?apc=s21806e_1 )

Halaoui, Nazam. 1997. "Langue dominante, langue rejetée : le hassanya en Mauritanie." DiversCité Langues. En ligne. Vol. I. http://www.uquebec.ca/diverscite or directly at http://www.teluq.uquebec.ca/diverscite/SecArtic/Arts/96/06anh0/06anh0_ftxt.htm

International Telecommunications Union (ITU). 2006. World Information Society Report 2006. Geneva: ITU. http://www.itu.int/osg/spu/publications/worldinformationsociety/2006/wisr-web.pdf

______. 2004. African Telecommunication Indicators 2004. Geneva: ITU.

Internet World Stats: Africa. 2006. http://internetworldstats.com/africa.htm

Leclerc, Jacques. L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde, "Mauritanie," http://www.tlfq.ulaval.ca/axl/afrique/mauritanie.htm

SIL International, Ethnologue: Languages of the World, "Languages of Mauritania," http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=MR

UNDP. 2006. ''Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis. Human Development Report 2006.'' New York: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). [Human development index Adult literacy rate (% ages 15 and older) (HDI) http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/statistics/indicators/3.html ]

UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Africa. 1985. African Community Languages and Their Use in Literacy and Education: A Regional Survey. Dakar: UNESCO.

Vodafone. 2005. "Africa: The Impact of Mobile Phones." The Vodafone Policy Paper Series, Number 3, March 2005. http://www.vodafone.com/assets/files/en/GPP%20SIM%20paper.pdf

Wikipedia, "Mauritania," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritania

______, "Mauritanie," http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauritanie

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