Yoruba
Yoruba: An Introduction and Annotated List of Learning Resources (Ajara Jagne)
Introduction
Yoruba is a language spoken widely throughout the world. Yoruba is spoken across West Africa, predominantly in Nigeria and Benin. Yoruba and Yoruba influence is also found across the diaspora in the Caribbean (in Brazil, Cuba, and Jamaica) and America. The Yoruba language and culture have a central impact on religion across the diaspora, resulting in various religions such as Voodoo in Haiti, Santeria across Latin America, and Ifa in Black American culture. There are approximately 50 million speakers of Yoruba today across the world. Despite being spoken and valued in many places across the world for various reasons (migration, religion, education, etc.), Nigeria is the place where the Yoruba language is most prominent. The Yoruba language is a tonal language which results in words with the same letters that denote various things according to the tonal marks. The word is not defined until tonal marks are applied. Essentially, the tonal marks define the words and not the letters themselves on their own. “Owo” in Yoruba only becomes a meaningful, well-defined word when tonal marks are applied. According to the tonal marks, the combination of these letters can mean “hand,” “broom,” or “money” all dependent on the tonal mark. The same applies to other words as well. The Yoruba language, in addition to this, is heavily encoded with proverbs that carry the Yoruba people’s beliefs and worldviews.
Sources
“Details about the Yoruba Language – Origin – History – Translation.” TranslateSwift, 31 Mar. 2024, translateswift.com/languages/yoruba/#:~:text=The%20Reach%20of%20Yoruba,Tonal%20System.
“Yorùbá.” African and African-American Studies, afs.ku.edu/yoruba. Accessed 18 Sept. 2025.
“Yoruba Traditions and Religions in South America: Oriire: African Mythology, History & Stories.” RSS, www.oriire.com/article/yoruba-traditions-and-religions-in-south-america. Accessed 18 Sept. 2025.
Annotated List of Learning Resources
Bamgboṣe, Ayọ. A Short Yoruba Grammar. Ibadan; London: Heinemann, 19671968.
A shortened text on Yoruba grammar that reviews consonants, vowels, tones, the nominal group, verb tenses, adverbs and adverbials, clauses, sentences, assimilation and contraction, and grammar exercises.
Bamgboṣe, Ayọ. Grammar of Yoruba. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, in association with the West African Language Survey and the Institute of African Studies, Ibadan, 1966.
An extensive and detailed book about the linguistic aspects of Yoruba grammar, composed of sections A-H.
Delano, Isaac O. Modern Yoruba Grammar. London; Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., 1965.
A short but detailed and informative text, with a general overview of the Yoruba language, that reviews Yoruba grammar and its peculiarities.
Falola, Toyin, and Adebayo Oyebade, editors. Yoruba Fiction, Orature, and Culture: Oyekan Owomoyela and African Literature & the Yoruba Experience. Africa World Press, 2011.
A fairly recent text compared to other books, that has compiled various essays from many scholars looking at Yoruba orature as literature, texts, and translations, as well as perspectives on culture in Yoruba.
Seminar on the Yoruba Verb Phrase (1971 : Ibadan). The Yoruba Verb Phrase; Papers. [Ibadan]: Ibadan University Press, 1972.
A text edited by Ayo Bamgbose that particularly focuses on the use of the verb/verbs in Yoruba with essays from various scholars.
