The Fula language, also known as Fulani (Fula: Fulfulde, Pulaar, Pular; ) is a non-tonal language spoken as various closely related dialects, in a continuum that stretches across some 20 countries of West and Central Africa. Like other related languages such as Serer and Wolof, it belongs to the Atlantic branch of the Niger–Congo language family. It is spoken as a first language by the (Fula or Fulani people) and related groups (such as the Tukulor in the Senegal River Valley) from Senegambia and Guinea to Cameroon and Sudan. It is also spoken as a second language by various peoples in the region, such as the Kirdi of Northern Cameroon and North-Eastern Nigeria.