Ask and Answer Simple Questions about One’s Self

Adeola Agoke

Ask and Answer Simple Questions about One’s Self

The student can ask and answer simple questions about date and place of birth, nationality, marital status, and occupation.

Talking about one’s self: name, address, place of birth, age, marital status, etc
Using question markers to elicit information. E.g: Kí ni, tani, kílódé, ṣé etc
Asking about people’s nationality or age
Asking for telephone numbers, number of children, etc
Using colors for basic descriptions

Vocabulary List

Click the audio icon below to play the recorded pronunciation for each word. You can also open the list below in a new tab, which can be downloaded or printed.

Practice: Interpretive Communication

Presentational Communication

Context: Tolu is representing her class at a cultural fair. She is asked to tell the audience about herself.

Transcript:

Orúkọ mi ni Tolú. Mo jẹ́ ọmọ ìpínlẹ́ Oǹdó ní orílè-èdè Nàijíríà. Nísisìyìí mo ń gbé ni Madison, Wisconsin. Nọ́ḿbà Tẹlifóònù ọfíìsì mi ni ẹ́fà, ódo, ẹ́jọ, òdo, éjì, óókan, àti ẹ́ta. Mo fẹ́ràn láti wọ aṣọ àdìrẹ, mo sì fẹ́ràn àwọ̀ ewé gan an ni. Ṣùgbọ́n n kò fẹ́ràn àwọ̀ búlúù rárá. Inú mi dùn púpọ̀ láti wà ní ìpàdé yìí lónìí. Ẹ ṣẹ́ gan an ni.

Practice: Presentational Communication

Read the transcript and listen to the presentation video

Practice saying out loud some of the key words you see in the transcript
Tell an audience (e.g., your classmates) a few things about yourself.

Interpersonal Communication

Context: Tóyìn is at the Union South. She meets a friend, introduces herself, and asks some information about the friend.

Transcript:

Tóyìn: Ẹ pẹ̀lẹ́ o.

Kíkẹ: Hà, ẹ káàsán, ṣálàáfíà ni?

Tóyìn: Àlàáfíà ni. Orúkọ mi ni Tóyìn. Mo jẹ́ akẹ́kọ̀ọ́ Yunifásítì Wisconsin. Ìwọ ńkọ́?

Kíkẹ́: Orúkọ mi ni kíkẹ. N kìí ṣe akẹ́kọ̀ọ́ ní Yunifásítì Wisconsin, Madison. Mo wá láti ìpínlẹ̀ Minnesotà

Tóyìn: Hmm. Ṣé ọmo ìpínlẹ̀ Minnesota ni ẹ́?

Kíkẹ́: Ótì, n kì í ṣe ọmo ìpínlẹ̀ Minnesota, ọmọ ìpínlẹ̀ South Dakota ni mí. Ṣùgbọ́n gbogbo ẹbí mi ń gbé ní ìlú Minneapolis.

Tóyìn: Ó yé mi. Mo wá láti orílẹ̀ èdè Naijiriyà. Inú mi dùn láti pàdẹ́ ẹ.

Kíkẹ́: Èmi náà.

Practice: Interpersonal Communication

Watch the dialogue again. How would you initiate a conversation with a person you just met? It may be in a restaurant, school, public library, etc.
Use the appropriate vocabulary to practice out loud.
Switch role to respond to the person initiating the conversation.

Grammar Notes

Formulating questions in Yorùbá.

To accurately form a question sentence in Yorùbá, you should familiarize yourself with question formation words like: ṣé “do,” ǹjẹ́ “do.”

Examples:

Ṣé o fẹ́ràn ìrẹsì? “Do you like rice?”
Ṣé o ti rí Títí? “Have you seen Títí?”
Ǹjẹ́ Tolú béèrè ìbéèrè ni Kíláàsì Yorùbá? “Did Tolú ask a question in Yorùbá class?”

Some question markers, such as kí, “what”; ta, “who”; èwo, “which;” èló, “how much”; báwo, “how”; and ibo, “where,” function as nouns in Yorùbá. In such sentence formation, the question markers are are followed with the copular verb ni, “is.”

Examples:

4. Kí ni o fẹràn láti ṣe? “What do you like to do?”

5. Èwo ni o fẹ́? “Which do you want?”

6. Ta ni olùkọ́ ẹ? “Who is your teacher?”

7. Èló ni abọ́ ìrẹsì kan? “How much is a bowl of rice?”

Other question marker in Yoruba include báwo, “how”; nítorí kí ni “why” kí ni ó dé (kílódé) “why”, nígbà wo “when.”

9. Nítorí kí ni Tádé ṣe wá sí ìpàdé ” Why did Tádé come to the meeting?”

10. Kí ni ó dé (kílódé) tí o pẹ́ dé? “Why did you arrive late?”

11. Nígbà wo ni a máa lọ sí ilé ìtajà? “When will we go to the ore?”

12. Báwo ni a ṣe ń se iṣu? “How do we cook yam?”

* Note: “ni” as used in examples 4 to 7, is a copula verb “is,” and “o” in examples 4 and 5 is second-person singular pronoun.

However, in a different question sentence type, the copular verb “ni” is followed by an expletive pronoun “o.” Such expletive pronouns usually do not have a specifier in the sentence.

Example:

13. Ta ni ó lọ sí ìlú Minnesota? “Who went to Minnesota?”

*Note: The “ó,” an expletive pronoun in example 5, is different from “o,” a singular second person subject pronoun in example 2, 4, and 5 above.
In example 13, “ta ni “who,” is the question marker but is followed by a copula “ni” and an expletive pronoun “o,” respectively. The expletive pronoun refers to the yet-unknown person who went to Minnesota. Therefore, when referring to an unknown third person in a question sentence, remember to add not only the copular verb ni “is” but also an expletive (empty) pronoun “ó”, which references the intended person.

Ask and Answer Simple Questions about One’s Self

Vocabulary List

Practice: Interpretive Communication

Presentational Communication

Transcript:

Practice: Presentational Communication

Interpersonal Communication

Transcript:

Practice: Interpersonal Communication

Grammar Notes

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