In every division of yoruba land great importance was attached to a bride. This article aims to shed more light on the origin and history of the yoruba people. Based to a large extent on the dynastic tradition of the formerly dominant oyo. It is a pluricentric language spoken principally in nigeria and benin, with communities in sierra leone, liberia, other parts of africa, the. On the basis of comparative studies between the dynastic tradition of the.
We would attempt to examine the influences on the language, dressing, food and cultural practices and norm of the yoruba people, in an attempt to reach a befitting conclusion as to the history of the yoruba, we would also include some folk lore and stories, to enable you the readers reach a strong conclusion. Literary yoruba, also known as standard yoruba, yoruba koine, and common yoruba, is a separate member of the dialect cluster. Being a yoruba woman and having grown up in the culture, i fully appreciate and enjoyed this book. It is written to help the beginning student basic knowledge in learning the acquire a language. Yoruba and ancient near eastern history, the present article argues that yoruba traditions of provenance, claiming immigration from the near east, are basically correct. It is a member of nigercongo family of language and it is spoken among other languages in. Download our free dictionary for windows or android and browse both the yorubaenglish and the englishyoruba lists. This exploratory study, according to the linguistic comparative method, tries to show that large numbers of cognate lexical items are available between egyptian pharaonic language and modern yoruba of nigeria. Yoruba language, one of a small group of languages that comprise the yoruboid cluster of the defoid subbranch of the benuecongo branch of the nigercongo language family. It is an honor due, in part, to the sociopolitical importance and sheer number of its speakers.
The earliest studies of yoruba religious traditions were carried out by mlssionarles, travellers and explorers who were concerned with writng about the. A concise introduction to the yoruba language yoruba kasahorow kasahorow on. The history and traditions of the yoruba people panorama. Yoruba is a dialect of west africa with over 50 million speakers. Origin of the yoruba and the lost tribes of israel dierk lange abstract. The yoruba people today number more than 30 million strong, with significant numbers in the united states, nigeria, europe, and brazil. In his novel, as in many of his other literary works, fagunwa blended fantastic fables with folk philosophy and religion, and it reflects the admixture of happy.
The earliest studies of yoruba religious traditions were carried out by mlssionarles, travellers and. The tribe is famous and the language is spoken in certain west african countries mainly nigeria because of large population concentration and the presence of native speakers. It is the written form of the language, the standard variety learnt at school and that spoken by newsreaders on the radio. This basic grammar book of yoruba will teach you simple grammar. The language is one of the three national languages in nigeria. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. It reminds us of the beauty, pain, violence and resounding relevance of yoruba culture easily mirrored in other african ethnicities. Free englishyoruba dictionary and translator freelang. This time we will first learn about fruits and vegetables, followed by grammar rules, then food items, finally a conversation in yoruba to help you practice your daily phrases. The subject matter of the origin of the yoruba has proved to be a red button topic. Dictionary of yoruba language university press plc. Indigenous yoruba populations can also be found in the republic of benin and togo.
Yoruba philosophy is rich in aphorisms and proverbs. Yoruba is a popular indigenous language in nigeria alongside hausa and igbo. Based to a large extent on the dynastic tradition of the formerly dominant oyo clan, it is presently in the process of reevaluation. The history of the yorubas from the earliest times to the beginning of the british protectorate by samuel johnson. Meaning of 500 in yoruba language nigerian dictionary. Noone has been able to tell us with certainty the meaning of the word. It is illuminating and engaging and strangely funny in its quaint often sententious tone. Assisted language learning system that translates yoruba text to speech, and allows users to.
Through the efforts of samuel ajayi crowther, a yoruba freed slave who was trained at fourahbay college, sierra leone, and who later became the first african bishop from west africa, yoruba was reduced to writing and the bible was also translated into yoruba. Improving and sustaining yoruba language through a practical. The study of yoruba religious tradition in historical perspective. Yoruba, with the stress on the first syllable, is one of the major languages of nigeria. The study of yoruba religious tradition in historical perspective this essay presents an overview of past and recent scholarship in yoruba religion. Their traditions and culture, their political associations with one another in war and peace have been continuous. Where two enghsh names are given the yoruba is placed either in the middle as james adesina williams, or at the end, as james williams adesina. Lagos and the preservation of yoruba language vanguard news. A vocabulary of the yoruba language by crowther, sammuel adjai, bp. Yoruba is spoken by more than 20 million people in southwestern. This landmark reference work emphasizes yoruba history, geography and demography, language and linguistics, literature, philosophy, religion, and art. It is very important to pay attention to proper pronunciation right from the outset. Yoruba is a language spoken in west africa and most prominently south western nigeria.
The history of the yorubas 1921 edition open library. The reason for this want of system is due to the introduction of another element unknown to yorubas and is, therefore, a compli cation, viz. Nigerian languages, cultures, history and societies. Look up a word, add or modify an entry, and learn words at your own rhythm from a personal learning list. There is no doubt that in any culture or civilization, language is basic, and wherever you find a similar language being spoken, there is no doubt that there must be some historical connection.
Beginning yoruba i 2006 fall languages, literatures. It is understood that yoruba is an ethnic group in west africa and predominantly nigeria. Posted on october 22, 2012 october 22, 2012 by oloolutof. The suzerainty of the old oyo empire on ilorin, in the 17th century was directly influenced by alaafin ojigis interest to save the igbomina yoruba area that had been turned slave reservoirs by the nupes. Does the language face the threat of total extinction in the next two or so decades. Yoruba is classified within the edekiri languages, which together with the isolate igala, form the yoruboid group of languages within what we now have as west africa.
The result was that the yoruba language has four variants of the glottal sound. Publication date 1852 topics yoruba language english publisher. The inevitable starting point is their traditional accounts. Whatever is created belongs to the creatorsnot to the god that created them, and certainly not to the colonist or slavemaster. In his novel, as in many of his other literary works, fagunwa blended fantastic fables with folk philosophy and. Dictionary of yoruba language university press plc, upplc. Yoruba people are a large ethnolinguistic group or ethnic nation in africa, and the majority of them speak the yoruba language. A dictionary of the yoruba language edited by nigeria university press based upon the nineteenth century standard work on the yoruba language, and first ever englishyoruba, yorubaenglish dictionary, this new edition has been revised and enlarged considerably.
The yoruba language preservation law has been commended, and rightly so, by various stakeholders across the land, as very vital to the preservation of yoruba language, especially at time when the. Its loan words are mostly from arabic, english, hausa and igbo languages. They have a general language called yoruba yooba which is the form that is taught in schools in the southwestern zone of nigeria. The yoruba constitute approximately 35 percent of nigerias total population, and around 40 million individuals throughout the region of west africa. Yoruba language is spoken mainly in oyo, ogun, ondo. Yoruba language had a significant place in the scale of things around this period. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading a brief history of the yoruba people. It is spoken in the southwestern part of the country, in the region whose principal city is ibadan.
It exposes the learner not only to yoruba language in meaningful situations but also to the culture of the yorubaspeaking people of southwestern nigeria. It is also committed to a search for love and wisdom, which is evident in the first novel published in the yoruba languaged. In the earliest times, great importance was attached to virginity. In west african traditions, land belongs to the person who works it. A study of relationship between arabic and yoruba languages. English language, hypothesis testing, natural language processing, machine translation, information technology, graphic design. This has translated into sociolinguistic developments for the language in terms of its study and usage in the country.
The first part of the book discusses the people, theircountry and language, religion, government, land law, manners and customs. The tribe is famous and the language is spoken in certain west african countries mainly nigeria because of large population concentration and. An analysis of the yoruba language with english phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax jolaade okanlawon. English language is however the main medium of communication especially in schools and institutions of learning. Pdf english to yoruba machine translation system using rule. Topics yoruba language collection opensource language english. The yoruba ye mi textbook, combined with an open access, multimedia website at. The study of yoruba religious tradition in historical. History of the yoruba people the history of the yorubas is not yet well established. In general, they are used to link words to other words. It exposes the learner not only to yoruba language in meaningful situations but also to the culture of the yorubaspeaking people of. A brief history of the yoruba people kindle edition by crowther, samuel ajayi.
In some cases, where the variation is through the use of different prefixes or suffixes, the convention for bantu languages is adopted. To the yoruba, the primary purpose of marriage is sustaining the yoruba race through legitimate and responsible procreation. Thus the wom people are pere, and the suffixes marking people and language are omitted. A vocabulary of the yoruba language internet archive.
I would recommend it as mustread text for all yorubas and indeed all interested nigerians, beninois and brazilians. Their rulers and the generality of their people agree that they belong to the yoru. The number of speakers of yoruba is estimated between 30 and 40 million, primarily by the ethnic yoruba people. This kingdom was founded by the deities oduduwa and obatala, who are believed to have created the world. My phonological analysis includes a phonemic inventory. To achieve the set objective, the animals domestic and. We will first learn about prepositions, negation, questions, adverbs, and pronouns including. Fsi yoruba basic course student text online language school.
Ede yoruba is a language spoken in west africa and most prominently south western nigeria. Yorubapronunciation wikibooks, open books for an open world. It is the written form of the language, the standard variety learned at school and that spoken by newsreaders on the radio. Saburi biobaku director of the yoruba historical research schzme, nigeria the history of the indigenous peoples of west africa is ripe for intensive research. The yoruba people occupy the states lagos, ondo, oyo, ogun, osun, ekiti, and some parts of kwara and edo states respectively. Oduduwa was the first divine king of the yoruba people, and obatala fashioned the first human beings out of clay. Traces of arabic words in yoruba language apart from the borrowed words from hausa to yoruba language like means leave the placekai, gani means to see properly, magaji means heirleader of a family and host of others, there are still many words in yoruba language which emanate from arabic. The number of speakers is roughly estimated at about 30 million in 2010. A pictorial format with sound clips attached to every word. Every syllable must have at least one tone, a syllable containing a long vowel can have two tones. Yoruba is one of the kwa languages, which form a subgroup of the nigercongo family. The yoruba culture was originally an oral tradition, and the majority of yoruba people are native speakers of the yoruba language. Map of yoruba people, west africa nigeria, 1898 the yoruba eventually established a federation of citystates under the political ascendancy of the city state of oyo, located on the northern fringes of yorubaland in the savanna plains between the forests of present southwest nigeria and the niger river.
They boast a rich culture which has influenced many other ethnic nationalities in the country and beyond. Usage and classes of words are defined with lists of names of birds, plants and trees in the two languages. The phonetics and phonology of the yoruba language may use the same phones. Yoruba ye mi open textbook library center for open education. The other yoruboid languages include igala and itsekiri. The phonetics of the yoruba language classifies these speech sounds while the phonology deals with the systemic relationships between them. Politeness in the yoruba and french languages article pdf available in international journal of language studies 84. Analysis and interpretation ades ola o late ju university of ibadan, nigeria abstract the paper undertakes a study of animal metaphors in the yoruba language with a view to highlighting the stylistic and communicative potentials of these metaphors. Yoruba dictionary a comprehensive reference material meant to solve problems of meanings, usages and interpretation of words both in english and yoruba languages. Rulebased approach is a good approach for machine translation system used for language with lots of grammar which yoruba language is one.
1423 434 311 1095 1007 281 1400 827 1297 1525 1423 553 1075 846 677 184 1635 1269 896 114 586 1320 269 546 82 1117 1471 510 1404