Pulaar is a Fula language

Fula language

The Fula or Fulani language is a language of West Africa. It is spoken as a first language by the and related groups from Senegambia and Guinea to Cameroon and Sudan...

 spoken primarily as a first language by Fula people

Fula people

Fula people or Fulani or Fulbe are an ethnic group spread over many countries, predominantly in West Africa, but found also in Central Africa and Sudanese North Africa...

 and Tukolor (or Toorobe) in the Senegal River

Sénégal River

The Sénégal River is a long river in West Africa that forms the border between Senegal and Mauritania.The Sénégal's headwaters are the Semefé and Bafing rivers which both originate in Guinea; they form a small part of the Guinean-Malian border before coming together at Bafoulabé in Mali...

 valley area traditionally known as Futa Tooro

Futa Tooro

Futa Tooro refers to the region on the Senegal River in what is now northern Senegal and southern Mauritania.The word Fuuta was a general name the Fulbe gave to any area they lived in, while Tooro was the actual identity of the region for its inhabitants. The people of the kingdom spoke Pulaar, a...

, and further south and east. Pulaar speakers, known as Haalpulaar'en live in Senegal

Senegal

Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...

, Mauritania

Mauritania

Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...

, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....

 and western Mali

Mali

Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...

.

According to Ethnologue there are several dialect differences, but all are inherently intelligible.

Pulaar is not to be confused with Pular

Pular language

Pular is a Fula language spoken primarily by Fula people in the Fouta Jalon area in Guinea. It is also spoken in parts of Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Senegal. There are a small number of speakers in Mali. Pular is spoken by 2.5 million Guineans, about 28% of the national population. This makes...

, another variety of Fula spoken in Guinea-Conakry (including the Fouta Jallon region). The Pulaar and Pular varieties of Fula are to some extent mutually intelligible, but require a separate literature.

Pulaar is written in a modified Latin alphabet

Latin alphabet

The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...

 but historically was written in an Arabic

Arabic alphabet

The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...

 script known as ajami

Ajami script

The term Ajami , or Ajamiyya , which comes from the Arabic root for "foreign" or "stranger," has been applied to Arabic alphabets used for writing African languages....

 (see Fula orthographies

Fula orthographies

The Fula languages are written primarily in a Latin alphabet, but in some areas is still written in an older Arabic alphabet called the Ajami alphabet.-Background:...

).

Linguistic features

The negative accomplished verb form ends in -aani. (This is slightly different from Maasina Fulfulde

Maasina Fulfulde

Maasina Fulfulde is a Fula language spoken primarily as a first language by Fula people and associated groups in the Inner Niger Delta area traditionally known as Macina in the center of what is now the West African state of Mali...

 and Pular

Pular language

Pular is a Fula language spoken primarily by Fula people in the Fouta Jalon area in Guinea. It is also spoken in parts of Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Senegal. There are a small number of speakers in Mali. Pular is spoken by 2.5 million Guineans, about 28% of the national population. This makes...

.)