Yoruba Writing: Standards and Trends

Tèmítọ́pẹ́ Olúmúyìwá Ph.D.

Department of Linguistics and Languages
Adékúnlé Ajáṣin University, Akungba-Akoko

ABSTRACT

This paper presents the state of Yorùbá orthography. The first effort at standardizing Yorùbá writing system came
in 1875, and there has been a great deal of refinements and orthographies since. Specifically, a great rush of
activity in standardizing written Yorùbá came in the years after independence when effort to introduce the
teaching of Nigerian languages in schools and the application of those languages to official activities. The present
standards were established in 1974, however, there remains a great deal of contention over writing conventions-
spelling, grammar, the use of tone marks. The paper explores examples from journalism, religious writing,
education and literature, and advertising to demonstrate ongoing deviations from the approved orthography.

Key Words: Yorùbá, Orthography, Standard, Trends, Writing

Introduction

The term ‘Yorùbá’ is considered as the association of several subgroups bound to one another by language and
tradition, Igue (1973:9). Yoruba occupies a large area in the south-western part of Nigeria extending through
Lagos, Ògùn, Ọ̀yọ́, Ọ̀ṣun, Òǹ dó, Èkìtì, Kwara, Kogi and Edo States. Yorùba can also be found in the Republics of
Benin and Togo, and also in Brazil, Cuba, Sierra-Leone and Trinidad and Tobago. The Yorùbá outside Nigeria is
regarded as ‘Diaspora Yorùbá ‘. The spread of Yorùbá population in Diaspora is extremely thin, their language has
not benefited from the advantages of the linguistic development derived from the work of Anglo-Saxon
missionaries. This has lead to little (if any) development of the Yorùbá language in these countries. This we
assumed has also led to the Yorùbá cultural weakening and destroyed among them, the idea of their belonging to
a wider Yorùbá national group, which would have manifested itself as a linguistic entity.

The name ‘Yorùbá is also applied to the language of the people. Yorùbá language belongs to the West Benue-
Congo family of the Niger-Congo phylum (Williamson and Blench 2000:31). In their efforts to stimulate writing in
Yorùbá language for evangelism in Yorùbá nation, the missionaries, involuntarily and perhaps unconsciously,
contributed to the creation of a written form, known as standard Yorùbá. It is believed that standard Yorùbá has
a place of honour among its dialects because it is the only variant which is socially defined within the linguistic
area; other dialects are geographically and socially restricted. This standard Yorùbá is however, only a part of the
Yorùbá language, Adetugbo (1973: 183). The Yorùbá language being an aggregate and not the sum total of all the
dialects it subsumes within the Yorùbá linguistic area.

The language has various dialects, which have been classified into major dialect areas by different scholars like
Adétùgbọ́ (1967), Akinkúgbé (1976), Oyèlaràn (1976) and Awóbùlúyì (1998). These dialects share some linguistic
features which allow some degree of mutual intelligibility,

Writing is a way of communication which uses a system of visual marks on some kind of surface, Crystal
(2003:257). It is one of graphic expressions. The graphic marks represent, with varying regularity, individual
speech sounds, in an alphabetic system such as is found in Yorùbá and other natural languages. Yorùbá was not
reduced to writing until the nineteenth century, mainly through the efforts of the Church Missionary Society
(CMS). During the period, the CMS organized a mission to the Yorùbá country under the leadership of Rev.Henry
Tonwnsend and Rev. Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the first African clergyman within the CMS. Several fruitless efforts
were made to invent new characters or adapt the Arabic script from its Islamised neighbours to the North. The
Roman script was eventually adopted, as the mission believed that this would help it members to overcome the
problem of having to learn strange characters before they could undertake scholastic and evangelistic work.

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The Historical Development of the Yorùbá Orthography

The historical development of Yorùbá orthography is recorded in different works such as Johnson (1921), Ajayi
(1960), Bámgbóṣé (1965), Oyèláràn (1973) and Aroh unmọ́láṣe (1987), among others. Yorùbá was reduced to
writing by people with very little or no formal training in Linguistics or language studies in the early nineteenth
century. According to Ajayi (19601-2), Yorùbá was reduced to writing by Bowdich (A British diplomat in the Gold
Coast). Research has revealed that Bowdich collected Yorùbá words for numerals in 1817. His collection was
published in his book “Mission to Ashantee” in 1819. This was the first attempt to print Yoruba words. In 1829,
Mrs H. Kilham collected and published Yorùbá vocabularies. She was the first known linguist to produce Yorùbá
vocabulary in written form. Clapperton, a notable explorer, also collected and published Yorùbá vocabulary in
1829. Between 1830 and 1832, Raban published his booklets, which thus became the first volumes in the Yoruba
language.

In the various works produced so far, variations could be noticed in spelling conventions adopted by different
writers in their works. Such variations gave rise to controversy over the rules for reducing the language to
writing. The controversy led Gollmer (1847) to propose an orthography that formed the basis of the Church
Missionary Society’s (1848) ‘Rules for Reducing Unwritten Language to Alphabetic Writing in Roman Characters.’
Further efforts towards standardizing Yoruba orthography followed in 1875 when the Church Missionary Society
th th
(C.M.S) organized a conference on Yorùbá orthography between January 28 and 29 at the C.M.S, Faji Mission
House, Lagos. Ajayi Crowther was one of the Africans who featured prominently at that conference (Bámgbóṣé
1965:5). After a careful consideration of some motivations, both linguistic and nonlinguistic, the conference
resolved a number of anomalies noticed in the spelling conventions in use at that time. The conference produced
what it thought was a harmonized orthography for use. However in the 1930’s, the International African Institute
(IAI) took up the responsibility for providing guidelines for practical orthographies for African languages Oyèláràn
(1973:37). The institute, which explicitly based its alphabet on IPA symbols, came up with its first memorandum
entitled, ‘Practical Orthography of African Languages’. The authors of this memorandum were so much familiar
with the 1875 Yorùbá Orthography that they included Yorùbá among the languages used to demonstrate the use
s
of their own proposed alphabet for the design of reformed orthography for African languages. IAI’ alphabet has
since inspired the orthographies of a large number of African languages. However, in the later years, the overall
trend seems to be a retreat from the IAI symbols with greater recourse to ordinary Roman letters and diagraphs
as used in writing of English or French.

Almost twenty-five years after IAI came up with its ‘practical Orthography of African Languages’, Wolff (1954)
undertook the study of Nigerian Languages with a view of proposed framework from which the orthographies of
Northern Nigerian languages can be derived. He was aware in matters concerning the Yorùbá Orthography that
the Roman alphabet as opposed to Arabic scripts was inadequate. He opined that the people of Nigeria may wish
to learn to read languages spoken in other parts of the world and alphabets should not be a stumbling block in
the way of their efforts.

The harmonized Yorùbá Orthography of 1875 was in use for almost a century until Àjàyí (1960) advocated for
another conference to further reform it for use in schools. In anticipation of such a conference, Bámgbóṣé (1965)
appraised the 1875 orthographies and made recommendations for its reform because of the difficulties the
native speakers are experiencing in using it. In response to these two scholars, the government of the old
Western Region (a linguistically homogenous state), acting through the Western Nigeria Ministry of Education,
set up a Yorùbá Orthography Committee in January 1966 to review the 1875 orthography and recommend to the
Ministry a Yorùbá orthography which would be standard for the whole region such that the Ministry could easily
justify making Yorùbá compulsory in all schools in the Region.

When the committee met, it gave a restrictive interpretation to its terms of reference. That was why the
Committee’s report showed that neither a standard orthography nor a general convention existed for use. The
report also created new controversies that gave rise to divergent practices. Besides, some of the
recommendations contained there cannot be justified. In the light of this, the Western State government set up
yet another Orthography Committee in March 1969 to review the 1966 orthography report. The Committee met
between March and November 1969 and reviewed the 1966 Yorùbá orthography. Unfortunately, however, a
good number of their recommendations were based solely on the authority of the 1875 Faji House orthography.

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Between 1969 and 1971, different scholars and groups made private attempts to standardize Yorùbá
orthography. Thus, in 1971, the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities set up orthography
committees to look into the orthographies of some Nigerian languages with a view to reforming and
standardizing them. Among the languages selected were Efik, Hausa, Igbo and Yorùbá. The committee that
worked on Yorùbá orthography requested and received memoranda containing suggestions about reforming that
orthography. In 1973, the Federal Ministry of Education set up its Joint Consultative Committee (J.C.C) to look
into the orthographies of some Nigerian languages with the aim of standardizing them. The Ministry, in matters
concerning Yorùbá orthography, collected the orthography reports of 1966 and 1969 along with the
recommendations of the orthography committee set up by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian
Universities and gave them to the J.C.C to work out a standard Yorùbá orthography. After a thorough
examination of the orthography reports on Yorùbá, the J.C.C approved the report of the committee set up on
Yorùbá orthography by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors as ‘Standard’ Yorùbá orthography in June 1974. This
‘Standard Yoruba’ orthography was to be used in schools, Ministries of Education (Federal and State) and in
WASC/GCE and Grade Two Yorùbá examinations.

The Standard Yorùbá Orthography

The standardized writing system of a language is known as its orthography. Orthography consists of the symbols
and conventions used in writing a language. The principles of a good orthography are well expressed by
Williamson (1944: 7-8). Some of these include (a) it must have different ways to write all different significant
sounds of the language ; (b) the same sound or word must be written same way whenever it appears; (c) it
should be convenient to use and (d) it should be familiar as possible in appearance.

A standard orthography is therefore, a convention which is learned, consistent, stable and accepted as correct
across a community. It is a set of conventions which are observed by all writers and it is used in formal education.

The desire to have a standard writing system for Yorùbá and other African languages by the C.M.S in the
nineteenth century emphasized the need for a fixed system for those languages. Yorùbá orthography consists of
a set of letters (alphabet) and their variant forms i.e. capital, small letter, spelling system and a set of punctuation
marks. The 1974 JCC approved Yorùbá orthography has remained the standard orthography for the language
until today. The following are some of its highlights.

Old Orthography Standard Gloss Remark

Orthography
Aiya Àyà Chest The retention of i in the spellings of
aiye ayé world these words may lead to some
yio yóò will confusion and the new spellings
ẹiyẹ ẹyẹ bird should be adhered to.
lailai laelae old,ever
fún u fún un give him The third pronoun singular pronoun
nà á nà án beat him/it after a verb having a nasalized vowel
dín i dín in fry it must be nasalized.
pọ̀n ọ́ pọ̀n ọ́n put it (child) on the back
On Òun 3rd person Singular The only spelling that can be
onjẹ Oúnjẹ pronoun Food substituted for n is un.
ọkọrin Okùnrin man To be written as pronounced.
obirin obìnrin woman
enia ènìyàn people
adiẹ adìyẹ fowl
ìtọn ìtàn story
iṣọn iṣàn muscle
ẹtọn ẹ̀tàn deceit
iban ìbọn gun
ahan ahọ́n tongue

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Nã náà the The use of the phonetic symbol

yĩ yìí this called a tilde (~) in the old spelling
dada dáádáa well convention as an indicator of double
õgun òógùn sweat, perspiration vowels implies two tones, the tilde
oògùn medicine, charm was abolished and its place taken by
õtọ òótọ́ truth as many vowels as there are
ãnu àánú mercy plausible successive tone features.
eleyĩ eléyìí this
mĩran mìíràn another
olõgbe olóògbé late, deceased
alãfia alàáfíà peace, health, bliss
ẽri èérí filth, dirt
pãpã pàápàá especially
ọlọ́pã ọlọ́pàá police
gãn gan an exact, specifically
õrun òórún smell
òòrùn sun
oorun sleep
ní íṣe ní í ṣe has to do with The habitual formative í should be
ki í ṣe kì í ṣe it is not written separately independently of
kò ní íwá kò ní í wá he won’t come the verb.
lati ọwọọ láti ọwọ by The writing of a mid tone vowel to
ọmọọ mi ọmọ mi my son indicate what some people regard as
babaa rẹ bàbá rẹ your father possessor marker/genitive
morpheme in the language is
rejected.
Ọ̀tta Ọ̀ta The spellings in this column were
Ọ̀ffa Ọ̀fà introduced either by, or under the
Oshogbo Òṣogbo influence of Europeans who could
Shittu Ṣítù not be bothered to use the accepted
Shọla Ṣolá Names of Cities/ town/ Yorùbá (Bámgbó ṣe 1965). The
Shina Ṣínà people double consonants is replaced by
Shaki Sakí single ones and sh is replaced by ṣ
Ilesha Iléṣà
Jebba Jẹ́bà
Shogamu Ságámù
Tani ta ni who is it The words here were written as
kini kí ni what is it single words in the old orthography.
ewoni ewo ni which is it The standard writing convention
jẹki jẹ́ ki let that rejects writing them as single words.
wipe wí pé say that
gẹgẹbi gẹ́gẹ́ bí just as
ẹniti ẹni ti person who
ibiti ibi ti place where
nitoripẹ nítorí pé because that
bakana bákan náà even though
nitorina nítorí náà because of
nigbagbo nígbà gbogbo in all times
bẹgẹgẹ bẹ́ẹ̀ gẹ́gẹ́ just like that
bẹ̃kọ bẹ́ẹ̀ kọ́
biotilejẹ̀pè bí ó tilẹ̀ jẹ́ pé even if/ though

nlọ ń lọ he is going ń should be allowed to stand by itself

ngbọ ń gbọ́ he is hearing and not be written with the verb.
mbọ ń bọ̀ he is coming

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njẹun ń jẹun he is eating

nwọn wọn they There was no good case retaining the
ẹnyin ẹyin you (pl.) spellings of nw and ny which are
nyin yín you/your supposed to indicate nasality of
sounds represented by the letters w
and y.
Nkan nǹkan something Tone mark should be indicated on
oronbo òrom̀ bó orange the syllabic nasal having a high tone
dundu dùndú fried yam or a low tone and not for a syllabic
kọnkọ kọ̀ǹkọ frog nasal having a mid-tone. Mid tone is
not marked in the language
Tones: The old writing convention indicated that tone marks are unnecessary in writing, since there is usually
little or no ambiguity as to what a particular word means in its context. Because tones are significant in a way
that consonants and vowels are, the standard writing convention indicates that tone should be indicated on
words. High tone to be indicated by acute accent [´] as in bá ‘met’, a low tone by the grave accent [`] as in bà ‘hit’
and mid tone should be left unmarked as in ba ‘hide’.

Punctuation: The standard writing convention in Yorùbá recommends that this should be used as appropriate.

The Trends in the Yorùbá Writing

Despite all the reforms suggested and accepted in the JCC 1974 Yorùbá orthography, that orthography remains
unsatisfactory to some linguists. The reasons for this are not hard to see. As earlier noted in Bámgbóṣe (1965:2),
the situation in Yorùbá is such that the spelling conventions still allow for some measure of individual variations.
Besides, Yorùbá is a developing language, unlike English; it does not have a definite set of conventions. No
wonder therefore that some linguists have come up with further suggestions for its reform.

Some of these suggestions are contained in Aróhunmọ̀làṣe (1987). Even if these suggestions are implemented I
doubt if the divergences in Yorùbá writing standards are amendable. For now, the standard Yorùbá orthography
of 1974 remains valid regardless of its known inadequacies. Any attempt to jettison it will cause chaos within the
Yorùbá writing system. Bearing this in mind, almost everyone writing the language today tries to make use of the
1974 spelling conventions. However, his/her knowledge of the conventions determines how each person writes.
For the purpose of illustrations, we shall look at how people write the language in the following domains:
Journalism (print), Religion, Education, and advertising (Handbills/Billboards).

Yorùbá Writing in Religion

On January 9, 1844, Rev Ajayi Crowther preached in Yorùbá for the first time in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He
preached from the gospel according to Luke, Chapter one, verse thirty-five. This was how he wrote the verse
down.
‘… ohun ohworh ti aobih ni inoh reh li aomakpe li omoh olorun’ Lk 1:35
… ‘that holy one who is to be born will be called the son of God.’

This was the beginning of writing in Yorùbá for religious purposes. Thereafter, Henry Townsend and Gollmer
played active roles in the translation of Bible passages into Yoruba. In 1851, Crowther re-wrote Lk 1:35 as follows:
ohun mimọ ti aoti inọ rẹ bi, ọmọ Ọlọ́run li aoma pe e’ . This was an improvement on his first attempt. Between
1850 and 1856, Rev Ajayi Crowther translated the New Testament of the Bible into Yorùbá. From the 1850s to
the 1870s, work continued on the translation of the Gospels and the Old Testament. It was not until 1900 that
the complete Yorùbá Bible: Bibeli Mimọ tabi Majẹmu lailai àti Titun came into being. It was published by
International Bible Association, Dallas, Texas. Extracts from that Bible are given in appendix (1). The Bible made
use of the 1875 orthography. The right to publish the Bible was later transferred to the Bible Society of Nigeria
which has been printing it for decades now.

In 1993, a new version of the Yorùbá Bible: Bibeli Yorùbá Atọ́ka ( Majẹmu Ti Laelae ati Majẹmu Titun ) was
published by Kaybal Bible Mission Nig. INC. The Bible made use of the 1974 Standard orthography with a curious
mixture of old spellings. See appendix (2) for an extract form that Bible. In 2002, another version of Yorùbá Bible:

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Bíbélì Mímọ̀ Atọ́ka ati Ìwé Deutero -Kànóníkà (Àpókrífà) was published by St Pauls Nigeria (Catholics). The Bible
faithfully followed the standard writing convention. See appendix (3) for an extract.

These new versions of the Yorùbá Bible, it would appear, adversely affected the sales of Bibeli Mimọ (1900
edition) by Bible Society of Nigeria, for in 2003, that Society published a revised edition of with few modifications
to its spellings (see appendix 4). In 2004, the CSS Bookshop, Lagos, published a new version of the Yorùbá Bible:
Bíbélì Yorùbá Alásoyé (Majẹmu láéláé ati Titun). The translation for the most part followed the Yorùbá Standard
Spelling Convention, with a light mixture of old spellings as shown in appendix (5). Realizing that its Bible was
becoming rather old fashioned, the Bible Society of Nigeria, in 2006, revised it house rules and came up with
Bibeli Mimọ which conforms to the 1974 Yorùbá spelling convention. The Society later came up with Bíbélì Mímọ́
Atọ́ka. An extract from it is shown in appendix (6). Finally, in 2007, Beulahland Bible publishers, Ibadan, published
Beulah’s Bilingual and Parallel bible (Yorùbá/English). The publication contains a mixture of old and new
spellings.

While most Yorùbá Bible publishers take care to see that their publications follow the approved spelling
conventions for the language, those who publish hymn books, books of liturgy and pamphlets for weddings,
funerals, and harvests continue with rare exceptions to follow otherwise discarded old writing conventions. This
is illustrated in appendix (7). One of the rare exceptions to such publishers can be seen in DIGI Awọn Obinrin
Kristiẹni (Christian Women Mirror and Jí (Awake) See Appendix (8) for illustration.

From our discussion so far, it is clear that most bible publishers and Christian denominations have tried to make
reading and comprehension easy for their readers by making use of the approved spelling conventions in their
publications. One major defect in such publications, however, is that they take tone marks to be optional, when
they ought to use such marks fully and appropriately.

Yorùbá Writing in Print Journalism

The first Yorùbá newspaper appeared in October, 1859( Ògúnsínà 1980). It was named Ìwé Ìròyìn fún Àwọn Ará
Ẹ̀gbá Àti Yorùbá, edited and printed by Henry Townsend. The 1875 Yorùbá orthography tentatively solved for the
Yorùbá, the practical problem of a workable orthography for writing their thoughts down in pamphlets, booklets
and newspapers their own language. Therefore, between 1888 and1929 many Yorùbá newspapers came out.
They include Ìwé-Ìroyìn Eko (1888) by I.B Thomas, In Leisure Hours/Nígbà tí ọwọ́ bá dilẹ̀ (1910) by the C.M.S, Èkó
Akéte (1922), edited by Adéoyè Dénígà, Eleti Ọfẹ (1923) edited by Awóbọ̀ Akítan, The Yorùba News (1924) edited
by D.A Ọbasa, Èkó Ìgbẹ̀hìn (1926) and Akéde Èkó (1928) edited by I.B Thomas. The establishment and publication
of these Yorùbá newspapers had a tremendous effect on evolving and stabilizing Yorùbá orthography during the
period.

Between 1930 and now, several other newspapers have been produced to satisfy the socio-political needs of the
people. They include, Òsùmàrè Ẹ̀gbá , Ẹ̀gbáland Echo , Ìròyìn Yorùbá , Gbòungboùn, Ìṣọ̀kan, Ọ̀kín Ọlọ́jà , Akédé
Àgbáye, Akéde Oòdùà, Aláróyè, Magasíínì Aláròyé , Àlàyé, Àjọrò, Olóótó, Alálàyé, Ìípayá, ó ṣẹlẹ̀ , Àsọyé, Káyẹ́gbọ́
and Ìtànsán. The years of establishment, editors and addresses of some these Yorùbá newspapers are contained
in Ògúnṣínà (1992:34-35) and Olúmúyìwá (2002:9-11). Some of these newspapers however, have since gone into
extinction. The few that are currently on the news-stand are Ìtànsán, Aláròyé, Akéde, Àgbáyé, Akédé Oòduà and
Aláríyà. All, of them, except Ìtànsán observe standard Yorùbá spelling conventions in their publications to a great
extent. But even then, they feature curious departures from those conventions, as in the following examples:

Aláròyé/Akéde Àgbáye/Aláríyà/Akede Oòdua Standard Gloss

Orthography
i. fẹẹ fẹ́ want
ii. too tó enough
iii. waa wá come
iv. lọọ lọ go
v. gẹgẹ bii gẹ́gẹ́ bí just as
vi. lóni-in lónìí today
vii. ni-in ni (an introducer)
viii. nni ni ´´

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These newspapers indicate vowel length by doubling the vowel concerned. Because this type of spelling can
easily confuse readers, it has been rejected in the approved orthography. Appendix (10) shows some of these
words as they occur in the newspapers in question.

Ìtànsán, a news-magazine observes the old spelling conventions mixed with a few current conventions in its
publications. Examples of such old spellings found in the news magazine are:

Ìtànsán Standard Orthography Gloss

ñlá ńlá big
wipe wí pé say that
lóni lónìí today
nígbàtí nígbà tí by the time
ẹnipé ẹni pé person who
gan gan an exact, specifically
bíótilẹ̀jẹ́pé bí ó tilẹ̀ jẹ́ pé it isn’t so
nkan nǹkan something
báyì báyìí now
yí yìí this
mélò mélòó how many?
jẹ́kí jẹ́ kí let that
gẹ́gẹ́bí gẹ́gẹ́ bi just as

Nevertheless, despite using old spellings in its publications, Ìtànsán is the only existing Yorùbá news magazine
that fully marks tones. Other Yorùbá newspapers/magazines rarely mark them.

Yorùbá Writing in Education

Yorùbá language was included as one of the subjects for the School Certificate examination in 1931. The Yoruba
syllabus is for the School Certificate and the General Certificate of Education examinations were broadened in
the early 1970s to include Yoruba Literature. In 1966, Yorùbá was approved as an honours degree course at the
University of Ibadan. In June 1974, the West African Examinations Council added Yorùbá to its list of Advanced
Level subjects. Today, nearly all the government universities (Federal and State) in southwestern Nigeria offer
Yorùbá as undergraduate and postgraduate degree courses.

To pass in any of the Yorùbá examinations at any level, students must learn and be fully conversant with
Standard Yorùbá spelling conventions. Anything short of this is disastrous. Likewise, Yorùbá creative writers who
want their works to be accepted by colleges, universities and examination bodies must make use of the approved
spellings. Because of this, Yorùbá creative writers observe the approved spelling conventions in their work.
Nevertheless, some spellings errors can be found in some writers’ works.

For lack of space, we shall exemplify with only the novel: Èkó Wèǹjèlè (2006). The following spelling errors are
discovered there.
Èkó Wèǹjèlè Standard Orthography Gloss
wipe (p5,6) wí pé say that
st
iyáálé (p13) ìyálé 1 wife
fẹ̀ẹ́ (p16) fẹ́ want
fẹ́ẹ́ (p17,19) fẹ́ want
jẹ́ẹ́ kí (p 21) jẹ́ kí let that
abájọọ̀ re! (p24) abájọ rẹ no wonder
bíi (p25) bí as in
yú-ù-yéèh (p35) yúù-yè! exclamations
kínni (p47) kí ni what is it?
Ah (p71) ha! exclamations
bẹẹni (p79) bẹ́ẹ̀ ni it is so
máṣe (p88) má ṣe don’t

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The problem of spelling errors in writers’ works may persist because some publishers are not keen on accepting
Yorùbá manuscripts for publication due to their low marketability. What most creative writers do these days is
either to publish their works by themselves or pay publishers to publish their manuscripts for them. There is
really no serious assessment of manuscripts by publishers.

Yorùbá Writing on Notice Boards/Bill Boards/Web

There is the ill-founded assumption that any educated person who can speak Yorùbá can also write the language
without errors. For this reason, most speakers do not see any need for studying it or allowing their children to
study it in school. This complacent attitude reflects in what the people write on notice boards, bill boards, hand
bills and posters. For instance, most warnings written on notice boards at entrances to estates/streets by
landlords are always written in the old orthography.
Consider the example below:
‘ENIKENI KO GBODO WO ADUGBO OLUWALOSE QUARTERS LEHIN
AGOGO MEWA ALE (10 P.M) TITI DI AGOGO MARUN OWURO (5
AM). ENITI O BA TAPA SI ASE YI, YIO DA ARA RE ’LEBI’
‘Nobody is allowed to enter Oluwalose Quarters between 10.00 PM
and 5.00 AM. Any person who violates this order, should be ready to
bear the consequences of his action.

Likewise, the Yorùbá presented for teaching on most website is usually in a mixture of new and old
orthographies. Consider the examples below from Abẹ́òkúta web page:

Web Orthography gloss

E kaaro-ro ẹ káàárọ̀ good morning
Okuurin ọkùnrin male
Obirin obìnrin female
Bee ni bẹ́ẹ̀ ni yes
Odaa ó dáa it is good
Ejo ẹ jọ̀ọ́ please
Se e ni? ṣé ẹ ni? do you have?
E se Ẹ ṣé thank you
Ta-ni? Ta ni? Who is it
Kí-ni? Kí ni what is it

The author of this web page noted that for simplicity…the programme is typed without accent (tones). Looking
critically at these words, the problems with them are not limited just to tones, as familiarity Standard Yorùbá
orthography will show.

In the same vein, most Yorùbá film and musical producers/marketers write the titles of their films/music on
posters and jackets in old Yorùbá orthography. At times, however, they mix it with the new. Consider the
following examples.

Film Titles Standard Orthography Gloss

Ile aiye nkanju Ilé ayé ń kanjú ‘The world is in a hurry’
Aiye sokunkun Ayé ṣókùnkùn ‘The world is darkened’
Egun orukọ Ẹ̀gún orúkọ ‘Curses put on names’
Ohun ojumi ri laye Ohun ojú mi rí láyé ‘My experiences on earth’
Oro ebeko Ọ̀rọ̀ ẹ̀bẹ̀ kọ́ ‘No use begging on this matter’
Arin ota Àárín ọ̀tá ‘In the midst of enemies’

However, some film producers/marketers who are conversant with the Standard Yorùbá orthography use it in
the titles of their films and musical VCDs as shown in the examples below.

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 Journal of Arts and Humanities (JAH), Volume -2, No.-1, February, 2013

Ṣawo-Ṣẹ̀gbẹ̀rì ‘The Charlatan’

Ìròyìn Ayọ̀ ‘The good news’
Baba Modupẹ ‘Father, I thank you’
Odídẹrẹ́ ‘The parrot’

Today, some advertising agencies used the standard Yorùbá orthography to advertise on their bill boards as
shown in the examples below.
(a) ‘Bournvita okun-ara tí kò ní ìdádúró’
‘Bournvita non-stop vitality’
(b) ‘Ní Ìpínlẹ̀ Ọ̀ṣun, Ènìyàn Iyì ni wá…’
‘In Ọ̀ṣun State, We are honorable’
Unlike the above, which are very well written, the Yorùbá advertisement below are only fairly well written.
(c) ‘F’orúkọ SIM MTN re sile nibi’
‘Register your MTN SIM here’
(d) ‘ỌDÉKÙ’ (Guinness)

The problem with (c) above is tone marking, while a crucial diacritic is missing in (d): ‘ỌDÉKÙ’ there should be
‘ỌDẸ́KÙ.’
The advert in (e) below is badly written by advertisers
(e) ‘0809ja Gbile osi teju kale si bi’

It is so badly written that it is totally incomprehensible.

Also, politicians soliciting for votes are fond of making their messages on posters, handbills and billboards very
concise by using standard spelling conventions.
For example
‘Fun ife ti e ni si awon Afenifere ati asiwaju ana
E dìbo fun… si Ile Igbimo Asoju Sofin Gusu
Ila oorun ati Gusu Iwo oorun Akoko, Ekun Ijoba Apapo’
‘For your love for these trusted and great national
leaders…vote…for House of Representatives
Akoko South East/South West, Federal Constituency.’

Despite the fact that there may be some errors in some of the political messages on posters and bill boards, the
general trend among politicians or their publicists was that they observed Standard Yorùbá spelling conventions.
A close look at the examples in this sub-section shows that most of the writers mentioned here seldom mark
tones in their writings. This is the general trend among contemporary Yorùbá writers. Finally, in Government
releases, signboards and Nigerian newspapers, the following Yorùbá towns continue against approved
conventions to be spelt as Ilesha, Shagamu, Offa, Otta, Oshogbo e.t.c.

Conclusion

Our focus has been on Yorùbá orthography. We traced its history and development. Our findings show that the
development has been on for over a century now. The complexities we encounter today are the results of major
linguistic and social events that have taken place over a period of time. In the light of the preceding sections, we
were able to show that decades after orthography was presented for Yorùbá, the writing system remains in a
highly inconsistent state. Although there were clear signs of standardization, as the convention adopted by the
1974 committee became increasingly influential. However the situation in Yorùbá writing system shows that
there is still a considerable lack of uniformity in spellings and punctuation. This can be seen in printed and
handwritten texts within the work of an individual, printers, authors, sign posts and newspapers. Since there is
no perfect orthography anywhere in the world. Whatever the inadequacies noted in the standard spelling
conventions, we are of the opinion that it must be followed, at least to avoid chaotic writing convention. That is
why we greatly commend the Central Bank of Nigeria (C.B.N) for faithfully implementing Yorùbá orthography in
its special area of operation. The C.B.N knows that Nigerian languages are highly important in giving the people
an identity and a sense of belonging. It therefore wisely writes the denominations of its five, ten, twenty and
fifty naira banks notes in the three major Nigerian languages, i.e. Hausa, Igbo and Yorùbá. For Yorùbá, the

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denominations of the affected bank notes are all written in perfect Yorùbá orthography complete with tone
marking as follows:
Náírà Márùn-ún (Five Naira)
Náírà Mẹ́wàá (Ten Naira)
Ogún Náírà (Twenty Naira)
Àádọ́ta Náírà (Fifty Naira)

References

Adétùgbọ́, A. (1967). ‘The Yorùbá Language in Western Nigeria: Its Major DialectsAreas’ Ph.D Dissertation,
Columbia University, New York.

Adétugbọ́ A. (1973) ‘The Yorùbá language in Yorùbá History in Sources of Yorùbá History. Biobaku (ed.) Ibadan:
University Press Limited.

Akínkúgbé, O.O. (1976). ‘An Internal Classification of the Yoruboid Group: Yorùbá, Isẹkiri, Igala’ Journal of West
African Languages, xi:1-18

Awóbùlúyì, O. (1998). ‘Àwọn Ẹka-èdè Yorùbá’ paper read at YSAN Conference, Pastoral Institute, Bodija, Ìbàdan.

Ajayi, J.F (1960). ‘How Yorùbá Was Reduced To Writing’ Odu, No.8,pp249-58

Aróhunmọ́làṣe, O. (1987). Àgbéyẹ̀wò Ìdàgbàsókè: Èdè Àti Àkọ́tọ́ Yorùbá:Láti Ọdún 1800 sí 1985. Ìbàdàn:
Onibọnoje Press and Book Industries.

Balógun, B.K. (1993). Bíbélì Yorùbá Atọ́ka. Ibadan: Kaybal Bible Mission.

Bamgboṣe, A. (1965). Yorùbá Orthography: A Linguistic Appraisal With Suggestions for Reform. Ibadan: Ibadan
University Press.

Beulah’s Bilingual & Parallel Bible Yorùbá/English (2007). Ibadan: Beulahland Bible publishers.

Bíbélì Mímọ́ Atọ́ka (2006). Lagos: Bible Society Of Nigeria.

Bíbélì Mímọ́ (2003). Lagos: Bible Society of Nigeria.

Bíbélì Mímọ́ Tàbí Májẹ̀mú Láíláí ati Titun (1900). Dallas: International Bible Association

Bowdich, W (1819). Mission To Ashantee.

Crystal, D. (2003). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.

Díígí Àwọn Obinrin Kristiẹni (2011).Vol 18. p5. Lagos: Life Press Limited.

Fágùn, M.O. (2002). Bíbélì Mímọ́ Atọ́ka àti Ìwé Deutero-Kànóníkà(Àpókrífà) Ibadan: St Paul.

Federal Ministry of Education, (1974) Joint Consultative Committee Report On Education.

Igue, J. (1973). ‘The Yorùbá-speaking peoples of Dahomey and Togo’ in Yorùbá : Journal of Yorùbá Association of
Nigeria Vol. 1:1

Johnson, S. (1921). The History of the Yorùbás. Lagos: CSS Bookshops.

Learn Yorùbá Here at Abẹ́òkúta Web Pages (2003). www.abeokuta.org /yorubahtm

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Ogúnṣínà, B. (1980). ‘ Ipa tí Awọn Ìwé Iròyìn Yorùbá Àtijọ́ Kó nínú Ìdàgbàsókè Lítíréṣọ̀ Apilẹ̀kọ Yorùbá.’ Yorubá
Gbode

Ogúnṣínà, B. (1992). The Development of The Yorùbá Nevel:1930-1975. Ibadan: Gospel Faith Mission Press

Ọláyíwọlá, A. (2006). Èkó Wèǹjèlè Ibadan: Rasmed Publications Ltd.

Olúmúyìwá, T. (2002). Yorùbá Nínú Iṣẹ́ Iròyìn Akúrẹ́: Montem Paperbacks.

Oyèdèjì, D.A (2004). Bíbélì Yorùbá Alásọyé. Lagos: CSS Bookshops.

Oyèláràn, O. (1973). ‘On Yorùbá Orthography’ in Yorùbá: Journal of the Yorùbá Studies Association of Nigeria.
No.1. pp30-59.

Oyèláràn, O. (1976). ‘Linguistics Speculations on Yorùbá History’, Department of African Languages and
Literatures, University of Ifẹ̀ Seminar Series No 1 part II pp624-651.

Williamson, K. (1984). Practical Orthography in Nigeria Ibadan: Heinemann Educational Books.

Williamson, K and Blench, R. (2000). ‘Niger-Congo’ in Heine B. and Nurse, D. (Eds.) African Languages: An
Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wolff, H. (1954). Nigerian Orthography. Northern Region Adult Education office Zaria.

APPENDIX

1. ‘ Li atetekọse Ọlọrun da ọrun on aiye. Aiye si wa ni juju…Ọlọrun si wipe…Gen1:1-3.Oluwa Ọlọrun si fi erupe ilẹ
mọ enia…enia si di alãye okan Gen.2:7 … iwọ tani..on si wipe..Gen27:32 …nwọn si mu ẹwu Josefu, nwọn si pa
ọmọ ewurẹ kan, nwọn si ri ewu na sinu ẹjẹ na. Gen37:31. Kili a o wi fun oluwa mi? Gen 44 : 16. ọkọnrin
na…1kgs:11:28. Bẽli o mu awọn enia na..Judg.7:5. (Bibeli Mimọ tabi Majẹmu Lailai ati Titun ) ‘In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form..Then God said…And the LORD God formed
man of the dust of the ground…man became a living being…Who are you? So he said…So they took Joseph’s tunic,
killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood..What shall we say to my lord?..The man…So he
brought the people…’

2. ‘Ni àtètèkọ́se Ọlọ́run dá ọ̀run ati ayé…Ayé si wà ni júujùju…Ọlọrun si wi pe…Gen 1:1-3.Oluwa Ọlọrun si fi erùpẹ̀
ilẹ da eniyan…eniyan si di alààyè ọkan .Gen 2:7 …iwọ tani?..Oun si wi pe…Gen 27:32…Wọn si mu ẹ̀wù Josefu, wọn
si pa ọmọ ewure kan, wọn si ri ẹwu naa sinu ẹjẹ naa. Gen37:31 Kinni a o wi fun oluwa mi? Gen44:16.Ọkunrin
naa..2kgs11:28. Bẹẹ ni o mu awọn naa’.Judg 7:5 (Bibeli Yoruba Atọ́ka)

3. ‘Ni àtètèkọ́ṣe, Ọlọrun dá ọ̀run òun ayé. Kò sí nǹ kankan lori ilẹ ayé…Ọlọ́run si wi pé…Yahwe Ọlọrun si fi amọ̀ ilẹ̀
mọ ara ènìyàn..ènìyàn sì di ẹ̀mí alààyè . Gen2:7 …Ta ni iwọ? …ó sì wí pé… Gen27:32…Wọn mu aṣọ Josẹfu, wọn pa
ewurẹ́ kan, wọń rẹ aṣọ náà sínú ẹjẹ rẹ̀ .Gen 37:31…Kí ni kí a wí fún oluwa mi?’ Gen 44:16….(Bíbélì Mímọ́ Atọ́ka àti
Ìwé Deutero-Kànóníkà(Apókrífà)

4. ‘Ní atetekọṣe Ọlọrun da ọrun on aiye. Aiye si wa ni jũju. Ọlọrun si wipe..Gen1:1-3 OluwaỌlọrun si fi erupẹ ilẹ
mọ enia…

5. ‘Ni atetekọṣe Ọlọrun da awọn ọ̀run ati ayé. Ayé sì wà ni júujùu…Ọlọrun sì wí pé…Gen.1:1-3. Oluwa Ọlọrun si fi
eruku ilẹ̀ mọ eniyan ..eniyan si di alaayeọkan. Gen2:7…I wọ tani ? Oun sì wi pe…Gen .27:32..Wọn si mu ẹ̀wù
Josẹfu, wọn si pa ọmọ ewurẹ kan, wọn si ri ẹ̀wù naa sinu ẹ̀jẹ̀ naa ..Gen.37:31..Kin ni a o wi fun
oluwa..Gen.44:16..Bẹẹ ni o ko awọn eniyan naa..’ Judg7:5.(Bíbélì Yorùbá Alásọyé : Májẹ̀mú Láéláé àti Titun)

6. ‘Ní atetekọṣe Ọlọrun dá ọrun ati ayé. Ayé si wa ni júujùu.Oluwa Ọlọrun si wi pe ..Gen.1:1-3. Oluwa Ọlọrun si fi
erupe ilẹ mo eniyan…eniyan si di alààyè ọkan Gen 2:7…Iwọ ni nnì ? Gen27:32..Wọn si mu ẹ̀wu Josefu , wọn si pa

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ọmọ ewurẹ kan, wọn sì ri ẹ̀wù naa sinu ẹ̀j naa.Gen37:31…Kí ni a o wi fun Oluwa mi? Gen 44:16..Bẹ́ẹ̀ ni o mú àwọn
eniyan náà..’Judg.7:5. (Bíbélì Mímọ Atọ́ka)

7. ‘Nigbati a o gbe oku si isa, Alufa yio wipe: Enia ti a bi ninu obinrin, ojo kukuru sa li o gbe li aiye o si ku fun o si
ndagba soke, a si gee lule…Li arin iye awa mbe ninu iku; lodo tani awa o ha wa iranwo bikose lodo Re….(Man that
is born of a woman is of few days,and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down…In life we
are death(sic) to whom we seek our help’…)

8. ‘Filipi 4:6 ka bayii pe. ‘Ẹ ma ṣe aniyan ohunkohun; ṣugbọn ninu ohun gbogbo, nipa adura ati ẹbẹ pẹlu idupẹ, ẹ
maa fi ibeere yin han funỌlọrun.’ …Iwe mimọ fun wa ni ọpọlọpọ apẹẹrẹ awọn ọkunrin ati obinrin ti wọn yi
ayidayida aye wọn pada si r ere …(Philippians 4:6 reads, ‘Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God’…The scripture actally gives us
numerous examples of men and women who turned their situations around’..Digi Awon Obinrin Kristieni Chrstian
Women Mirror. March 2011)

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