Yoruba art and language consists of an introduction and nine chapters. The other official languages are english, hausa, and igbo. Yoruba dream symbols every culture and people around the world attach different meaning to signs and symbols we see in our dreams. He is the orisha of wisdom, knowledge, and divination. In togo, atakpame keeps yoruba language alive punch newspapers. Yoruba synonyms, yoruba pronunciation, yoruba translation, english dictionary definition of yoruba. History of the yoruba people the history of the yorubas is not yet well established. First, bear in mind that there is no single generallyagreedupon translation for the word hello in yoruba language. If you want to learn oko in english, you will find the translation here, along with other translations from yoruba to english. Orisha worship, sometimes referred to as santeria, is still widely practiced in cuba, puerto rico, the dominican republic, panama, venezuela, colombia, tobagotrinidad and brazil, most practitioners are yoruba descendants. For a native speaker who knows the context of a common word this is no big deal. Nigeria in yoruba, translation, englishyoruba dictionary. Dada adelowo introduction this paper is motiated by the need. List of nigerian languages yoruba, hausa, igbo, pidgin english.
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. It means necessity is mother of invention, creativity is often achieved after overcoming many difficulties. Another word for opposite of meaning of rhymes with sentences with find word forms translate from english translate to english words with friends scrabble crossword codeword words starting with words ending with words containing exactly words containing letters pronounce find conjugations find names. The concept of ori in the traditional yoruba visual. Like me, i bear jonathan charles but still i prefer being called chibueze meaning god is king in my language. Dictionary of the yoruba language 1910 vocabulary of the yoruba language by samuel ajayi crowther 1852 vocabulary of the yoruba language 1843 grammar and dictionary of the yoruba language by thomas bowen 1858 the body in yoruba pdf by mark dingemanse 2006. Yoruba is a language spoken in west africa and most prominently south western nigeria. So some yoruba proverbs and idioms should be found on every social media page of a nigerian person as it shows wisdom. I always wanted to know their exact meaning and recognized that interpretation varies a lot. Standard yoruba has its origin in the 1850s, when samuel a. Bi aji ni kutukutuka di eleda mu when one wakes up early in the morning, one should hold on to his eleda. The incomplete yoruba guide to lukumi orisha image.
It comprises the beliefs of the yoruba people, whose homeland is in the south western part of nigeria and adjoining parts of benin and togo. If you want to learn baba oko mi in english, you will find the translation here, along with other translations from yoruba to english. Yoruba definition of yoruba by the free dictionary. Traditional yoruba names and their meanings by nobody. May 12, 20 proudly yoruba is dedicated in teaching and promoting our language to the world. Translate yoruba in english online and download now our free translator to use any time at no charge.
There are many yoruba names whose meanings are now lost due to the fact that the words forming the roots of those words are no longer in use. Ife people are ancient, originally spiritual, highly advanced artistic and agriculturalist yoruboidspeaking people that forms the subgroup of the larger yoruba people of west africa, particularly in nigeria and the republic of benin. Yoruba dictionary 1858 bowen free ebook download as pdf file. Lets imbibe that culture of answering our fathers given name irrespective of the english one we adopt.
Their rulers and the generality of their people agree that they belong to the yoru. This paper is an attempt to situate yoruba proverbs, names, roleexpectations, aspirations and consciousness towards building and contributing to the development of a national consciousness. The yoruba deities are old but are not the oldest in origin yet they are very. However, since the word hello is used as a form of greeting, ill teach you a number of different ways to greet people in yoruba that have the same meaning as hello. There are various dialect within yoruba language, hence most animals and birds are called in different names according to the various dialects. Transfer rulebased machine translation is use in the development of the system.
Yoruba is the native tongue of the yoruba people, it is spoken in nigeria, benin, togo and among communities in brazil, sierra leone and cuba. Egun are the spirits of departed ancestors, whether related by blood or by religious lineage. If there is a shrine in the home, a plate of food will be placed to it before the people are served on certain religious occasions. The yoruba names can be nominal or sentential and the names has been classified into three. In other words, the study of the yoruba names could be the study of the grammar of the language. Yoruba vocabulary quick online learning all languages. We are the sons and daughters of oduduwa and not yorubas there are two demeaning and insulting names that the fulani gave to southerners. Belonging to the kwa group of languages, yoruba is a tonal tongue. When youre after an internet english to yoruba key phrases translators, this is basically the webpage you require. Sep 09, 2010 names are not mere identification tags. Below we picked 70% of the most commonly used words. There are about 30 million native speakers of yoruba in nigeria, a tonal language with many dialects. Jan, 2016 ykeme gives you a brief break down of the history of the orishas and some of the ones that are never mentioned. The yoruba are predominately christians and muslims as their main religion.
Nigerians at home and abroad use different kinds of nigerian slangs during conversations, this usually come up whenever they see their fellow nigerians either t home or abroad, they usually use these slangs either in their local language, whenever they see one another they flow in slangs in local, pidgin english and english languages. The yoruba vocabulary is the backbone for learning. The yorubla language is still spoken ceremoniously and is referred to as lukumi. Laying emphasis on different names of god, watch, share and be lifted. The number of speakers of yoruba is estimated between 30 and 40 million, primarily by the ethnic yoruba people.
Yet the beliefs of yoruba are also incredibly widespread around the world. Ask questions about yoruba language and culture here. Language egba people speaks northwest yoruba nwy dialect of the yoruboid languages which belongs to the larger nigercongo language phylum. This page contains a course in yoruba phrases and daily expressions as well as a list of other lessons in grammar topics and common words in yoruba. The basics of yoruba an african spiritual tradition metal. Dec 30, 2015 in togo, atakpame keeps yoruba language alive. Traditional yoruba names and their meanings culture. Traditional yoruba names and their meanings culture nigeria.
I started taking private yoruba classes with a nigerian teacher and got into the retranslationissue. Selected people within the agboyiketu lcda were taken as sample population. Here, i am compiling a list of dream symbols as believed by the yoruba. The whole list contains 600 popular words and sentence. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Understanding the yoruba religious beliefs and concepts. The fact remained that as the people of a particular ethnic community differs in language, so also their. Gender dialectics of yoruba drum poetry shared meaning can be made possible w hen there is consideration for situational contexts, the use of stock phrases and practical interpretation of tonal marks.
Yoruba english dictionary dictionary of the yoruba language 1910 vocabulary of the yoruba language by samuel ajayi crowther 1852 vocabulary of the yoruba language 1843 grammar and dictionary of the yoruba language by thomas bowen 1858 the body in yoruba pdf by mark. This study examined the social functions of greetings in english and yoruba languages. Yoruba orthography, ibadan university press, 1965, p. The number of speakers of yoru ba i s estimated between 30 and 40 million, primarily by the ethnic yoru ba people. And even in the face of the growing insecurity, poverty and unemployment, the countrys citizens have been ranked among. Nyamiri meaning fetcher of water in reference to the people of the southeast and yariba in reference. The dual is used when referring specifically to both eyes for example. It is believed that a comparative study of this type will reveal the differences which are assumed to be responsible for linguistic interference and are thus sources of difficulties for a yoruba learner of english. Aug 27, 20 yoruba is a west african spirituality that some anthropologists estimate is 10,000 years old. To modify is to specify the exact meaning of another word. We have incorporated yoruba translator specific tools from a variety of well known language translator internet sites at your disposal. Yoruba learners of english encounter in learning english adjectives. The number of speakers of yoruba is approaching 80 million. Yorubic medicine has come to be widely known in nigeria as the ultimate traditional medical practice due to its holistic approacrch to treatment.
Some of these popular slangs include slangs like how far. It is a pluri centric langu age spoken principally in nigeria and benin, with communities in sierra leone, liberia, other parts of africa, the. Jun 25, 2016 i always wanted to know their exact meaning and recognized that interpretation varies a lot. Data are collected from the compilation of yoruba numerals and observation of its use coupled with the researchers intuitive knowledge of the language. A study of relationship between arabic and yoruba languages. Their traditions and culture, their political associations with one another in war and peace have been continuous. Topics yoruba language collection opensource language english. As i was enrolled in african language studies as a student at first i thought it should not be too difficult deciphering the yoruba. Apart from egba people of abeokuta, nyw dialect is also spoken in ibadan. Contrastive study of english and yoruba morphological. The more you master it the more you get closer to mastering the yoruba language.
This source of knowledge is believed to have a keen understanding of the human form and of purity, and is therefore praised as often being more effective than other remedies. Okun and oworo are the two main dialects in yoruba. Based to a large extent on the dynastic tradition of the formerly dominant oyo. A vocabulary of the yoruba language pdf free download. Therefore memorizing them will give you a 70% boost in the language. Thus, to unveil the meaning of these veiled taboo expressions, a discussion is introduced relevant to contextual featuressuch.
Yoruba language has a distinction between human and nonhuman nouns e. In the same vein, oko husband is used to refer to a. Learning the yoruba nouns is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. Adjectives are words used to modify nouns or pronouns. When fidel castro gained control of cuba, many of the yoruba priests who no longer desired to live in cuba, came to the united states in the 1960s.
A lot of research was done before yoruba names of animals was published. Im trying to learn yoruba mongbiyanju lati ko ede yoruba its a hard language ede tole ni its an easy language ede ti kole ni oh. When an individual is born, her soul incarnates, that is, takes on a physical body. The real origin and meanings of yoruba names oldnaija. They occupy major states in the country like lagos, ogun, ondo, and the osun states and can be found in the minority group in some other states. Yoruba has some productive methods of word derivation. It has different answers to important questions in their religion and wise words. The point of a talking drum is to make noises which sound like words spoken in a tonal language like yoruba.
It is in view of the above that a synchronic study of english and yoruba morphological systems is undertaken here. Nigeria or aspects of these languages as in the case with igbo. Names like obi which i havent heard any yoruba man answering before have all been left to weed away. As a modifier, adjective does not change the basic meaning of the word it modifies. The book therefore begins with a section on orthography and phonological notes to instruct the nonyoruba speaker in basic comprehension of the language. These are signs and symbols that have been tried and tested through the ages. The above remarks have throughout had reference to these, however, are not the only points deserving of notice in connexion with our grammatical peculiarities. Yoruba english dictionary online translation, language, grammar, literature. Apr 29, 2011 yoruba proverbs and their meaning eera ko fe poroporo denu. Unveiling the taboo of sexual intercourse in the beulah. The concept of ori in the traditional yoruba visual representation 215 ori lo da mi the deity is my creator eniyan ko o it is not man olorun ni it is god ori lo da mi the deity is my creator ori here refers to the deity the creator himself, whereas in another of the yoruba sayings. For example erinmi watersea elephant is more common than erinmilokun. Ransome kuti family northwest yoruba is historically a part of the. Specifically, the yoruba language is classified as a member of the defoid category of the benuecongo subgroup of languages, part of the nigercongo language family campbell 1991.
It is a pluricentric language spoken principally in nigeria and benin, with communities in sierra leone, liberia, other parts of africa, the americas, and europe. Here is the collection of 698 genuine nigeria yoruba names and their correct meaning. Ede yoruba is a langua ge spoken in west africa and most prominently south western nigeria. This video contains the most common vocabulary in yoruba. Unlike english and other european languages, the tone used when pronouncing a vowel can change the meaning of the.
It is customary to offer the first serving of any meal to egun. Also if you want to know the meaning of your yoruba name, you are welcome to ask. However, from the yoruba viewpoint, traditional yoruba medicine further delves into other aspects in terms of the patients emotional and spiritual balanceimbalance. It was used because it allows us to use manual tagging of the part of speech pos. But first we need to know what the role of nouns is in the structure of the grammar in yoruba. This is the first city in the united states in which a person was initiated into the yoruba religion, with mercedes nobles priestess of shango.
A west benuecongo language of northcentral nigeria. This last is the ultimate character for ifa is the universality, that the yoruba say that orunmilaifa talks in all languages, lives within all religions, that none is distant, because ifa, en it life for the earth, walked all over the earth, because he came to save everyones life by order of olodumare to save us. Yoruba language and culture yoruba is a language predominately spoken in west africa by approximately 20 million people. Jan 17, 2020 in other cases, where the word oko means other things for example. The main morphological processes in the language include. Naming among the yoruba people could be a basis for learning the structure of the yoruba names, because this names are structured like phrases and sentences having extant meaning. When a kings palace burns down, the rebuilt palace is more beautiful. This is my husband oko mi niyi say hi to thomas for me bami ki thomas.
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