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. Its homeland is in southwestern nigeria and the adjoining parts of benin and togo, a region that has come to be known as yorubaland. Of course its great that were hearing more and more african voices and. This dictionary includes over 6,500 entries and a clear pronunciation guide detailing and providing examples for the many different sounds of yoruba. The largest book publishers are educational publishers, notably university press plc formerly oxford university press nigeria, founded 1949, longman nigeria plc, macmillan nigeria publishers ltd and evans brothers nigeria publishers ltd, all of which are affiliated with international groups. It is spoken by the people from the western part of the country. Youll receive credits toward complimentary access to ethnologue for every contribution that. Founder of the nigerian publishers association, his long association was with heinemann in nigeria. The yoruba religion comprises the traditional religious and spiritual concepts and practices of the yoruba people. The study of yoruba religious tradition in historical. The grammatical structure of the language is thus presented in a new way. In important respects, this book represents an independent approach to yoruba grammar. The study of yoruba 241 nigeria, togo, and benin, are one of the three major ethnic groups of nigeria, africas most populous nation.
Yoruba language course, audio cd, learn, speak, instruction. Fakinlede besides the technical aspects of script, our language, yoruba, have two major setbacks that have been identified in our efforts to use it in communication of science, technology, and for that matter, in general usage. Finally, the modern yoruba writing manual published by the yoruba crossborder language commission in 2017. Problems of the book publishing industry in nigeria. The concept of a tonal language, essential to this major nigerian tongue, is thoroughly defined and illustrated. A wave of new fiction from nigeria, as young writers.
Published by the national language centre, edited by ayo bamgbose, federal ministry of education, lagos, 1983. With alan hill and henry chakava, he was one of the. Many electronic art exhibitions and online course materials include images of art and related texts on the artistic expressions of igbo, yoruba, and other nigerian cultural groups. If so, we invite you to join our contributor program. And gradually, it became okun,which is due to stretch of the word and modification of yoruba language in oyo yoruba dialect.
Handheld, indigenous language, mobile, nigeria, tutor and yoruba. The colloquial yoruba book with cds is overall a better choice, though a bit more pricey. Every person has multiple souls, including the souls of ancestors that reincarnate through us. This study argues that although the english language is still the major. However, these presses had a limited subject range and their major focus was on. This is by far our most comprehensive course to learn and speak the yoruba language, and will take up through the intermediate level to the beginning advanced level.
A new political philosophy for nigeria and other african countries, 1967. Literamed has in its stable over 400 titles of books all widely accepted in nigerian schools. We are nigerias foremost educational books publishers. Yoruba religion project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks.
Yoruba language is another major language spoken in nigeria today especially among the south western geopolitical zone of the country. So many african languages are dying because they have never been. The others are the igbo to the east, and the hausa and fulani to the north. Publishers should embrace yoruba writing the guardian. Celebrated publisher bibi bakareyusuf discusses african. He defined spanish as a native language spoken by over 500 million people globally and been used by 60 million people in the u. The large number of languages is also a difficulty. The dundun gangan family, is the class of hourglass shaped talking drums, which imitate the sound of yoruba speech. Publishing, indigenous books, educational development.
This study argues that although the english language is still the major global language. Ifayoruba fundamentals of the yoruba religion orisa worship chief fama. Dec 23, 2011 this is a big drain on our resources until we can recover our investments. The major language of western africa, yoruba is spoken principally in nigeria. Yoruba language publishers of nigeria, hausa language publishers of nigeria, french language publishers of nigeria, and english language publishers of nigeria by city. Yoruba language as a tool for academic advancement the. The companys head office is located at lantern house, no 1, morrison crescent, off kudirat abiola way, ikeja, lagos. The yoruba people iv page ife and thus became the first oba meaning king or ruler in the yoruba language of who today are known as the yoruba people. I have lived in northern, southsouthern, and southeastern nigeria. Nigeria also has several asyet unclassified languages, such as centuum, which may represent a relic of an even. A dictionary of the yoruba language english and yoruba edition. Childrens yorubaenglish audio, books kids dual language.
In bookstores in nigeria, are books in local languages like. Indeed, the prominence of yoruba studies in scholarly work is underscored by the prominence of their. Most books in nigerian bookstores are written in english language. Beginners yoruba somewhat lacks explanations here and there, and doesnt seem to follow the same steady and wellmade learning pattern that colloquial yoruba uses. It is a plu ricentric language spoken principally in nigeria and benin, with communities in sierra leone, liberia, other parts of africa, the americas, and. A dictionary of the yoruba language english and yoruba edition university press, nigeria on. They are also the most studied ethnic group in africa.
Explaining why the book is written in yoruba, the author says he wanted to give the grassroots followers of. Yoruba iran yoruba regions with significant populations nigeria 41. What is the trend in the publishing of books in indigenous languages in. Culture of nigeria history, people, clothing, traditions. There are over 100 book publishers in nigeria, with ibadan and lagos as major publishing centres. Fiction, languages, life and songs falola, toyin, genova, ann on. It will create a basic grounding in yoruba, with pronunciation and grammar taught in extensive sets of drill material, both printed and recorded. Book publishers have been urged to embrace yoruba writing in order to encourage writers in the language.
It is spoken in the southwestern part of the country, in the region whose principal city is ibadan. Oct 22, 2019 this is a list of yoruba language books i have collected over the years. Nigeria has become a major exporter of literary talent, and now one publisher, cassava republic, is expanding to the united states. The book is authored by doyin abegunde and published by arisilejoye publishers in the yoruba language. Fagunwa yoruba magical realism novels, the first of which was released in 1948. Kanuri, spoken in the northeast, primarily in borno and yobe state, is part of the nilosaharan family, and hausa is an afroasiatic language. This was the submission of the special guest at the second anniversary of yoruba. I would like our company to translate some of the books we are publishing into local languages, especially hausa. The number of speakers of yoruba was estimated at around 20 million in the 1990s. The major languages spoken in nigeria represent three major families of languages of africa. Yoruba language publishers of nigeria list of yoruba.
Awardwinning yorubaenglish bilingual children s books, audio books and dual language picture books are a great resource for teaching and learning yoruba and english as a second language. Ede yoruba is a language spoken in west africa and most prominently south western nigeria. Explaining why the book is written in yoruba, the author says he wanted to give the grassroots followers of the cleric an opportunity to know more about him. The largest book publishers are educational publishers, notably university press plc. It attempts to present the yoruba language as it really is, rather than as seen largely from the perspective of other languages. Books can be published in english and most other languages, and will be. Yoruba language publishers list of yoruba langauge publishing. Yoruba drums typically belong to four major families, which are used depending on the context or genre where they are played. The paper examines the yourba people, their history, their language and the geography of their location, essentially, too, the paper attempts a study of the newspapers published in the language of. Spain to sustain publishing of spanish books in nigerian. Streetlib nigeria is a publishing portal for authors and publishers in nigeria to digitally.
Abiaras biography comes in yoruba language punch newspapers. Yorubaenglishenglishyoruba concise dictionary olabiyi. A major language of west africa, yoruba is spoken principally in nigeria and like the twi language, it is a tone language. Youll receive credits toward complimentary access to ethnologue for every contribution that is vetted and accepted by our editors. Evans achieving excellence in english language test of orals. 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 english yoruba, yoruba english dictionary, this new edition has been revised and enlarged considerably. Writers and publishers in nigeria still face significant. Initially the publisher under the british, he oversaw the periods of indigenisation of editorial policy and transition to majority local ownership. In africa every human has a spark of divine nature, and sin does not separate us from it. Mar 22, 2018 promoters of yoruba as a language of instruction in schools in lagos have argued that it serves as a catalyst for the promotion of the culture, custom and tradition that the language embodies.
The native tongue of the yoruba people is spoken, among other languages, in nigeria, benin, and togo and in communities in other parts of africa, europe and the americas. The number of speake rs of y oruba is estimated between 30 and 40 million, primarily by the ethnic yoruba people. Collection includes yoruba folktales, fables, multicultural stories, myths, legends, board books, and a beautifully illustrated yoruba picture dictionary. Beginners yoruba hippocrene beginners series yoruba. A dictionary of the yoruba language english and yoruba. Yoruba, with the stress on the first syllable, is one of the major languages of nigeria. Nelson will add a focus on literature and nonfiction to its core area of educational publishing. Irohin fun awon ara egba ati yoruba, few newspapers are published in indigenous languages. Yoruba religion is formed of diverse traditions and has no single founder. Doc fiction book imports and the indigenous publisher in nigeria. Yoruba language project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Nigerias linguistic diversity is a microcosm of much of africa as a whole, and the country contains languages from the three major african language families. Its imprint, lantern books, is a household name in nigeria and west africa. It was established in 1969 and currently is nigerias leading childrens book publisher.
We have been able to publish spanish books in yoruba and hausa so far. The onibonje publishers experience after 50 years iwu juliana james iwu juliana james is a librarian at covenant university, in canaanland, ota, ogun state, nigeria. Jul 04, 2018 most books in nigerian bookstores are written in english language. Booksellers and publishers in the main cities of lagos, ibadan and port. Ede yoruba is a languag e spoken in west africa and most prominently south west ern nige ria. Oduduwa between 1100 ad and 1700 ad, the yoruba kingdom of ife experienced a golden age, the oba or ruler of ife is referred to as the ooni of ife. This is possible because the yoruba language is tonal in nature. The population of nigeria where the majority of yoruba live has grown by 44% between 1995 and 2010, so that the metzler estimate for 2010 appears plausible. Published by the national language centre, edited by ayo bamgbose, federal ministry of education, lagos. We sat down with bibi bakareyusuf, cofounder and publishing director. Lagos some of the other prominent cities in nigeria for which we have publishers in our database include.
Its imprint lantern books is has become a household name from nigeria to all across west africa. The yoruba language is a nigercongo language spoken in west africa. Topics yoruba language collection opensource language english. Promoters of yoruba as a language of instruction in schools in lagos have argued that it serves as a catalyst for the promotion of the culture, custom and tradition that the language embodies. The major native languages, in terms of population, are hausa, yoruba, igbo fulfulde, ibibio cluster, kanuri, tiv, and approx.
The number of speakers of yoruba is estimated between 30 and 40 million, primarily by the ethnic yoruba people. The vast majority of books published in nigeria are textbooks for primary and secondary education. Its still a decent book and a must if you wish to learn yoruba. Aigboje higo enjoys a reputation as nigerias most eminent and highly respected publisher. This is a big drain on our resources until we can recover our investments. Literamed publications nigeria ltd, a leading childrens book publisher in nigeria was incorporated in 1969. Yoruba is one of the kwa languages, which form a subgroup of the nigercongo family. Yoruba people and culture from sierra leone and the gambia. This book provides detailed instruction of practical usage of ifa by practitioners and nonpractitioners and answers many questions with respect to how to pray the ifa way. Yoruba familiesthe 22 million yoruba who live in southwestern nigeria are one of the four major sociolinguistic groups of contemporary nigeria. The first course in this list was published by myself and is free to download. Literamed publications nigeria limited lagos, nigeria. Compare this to the orthographies of nigerian languages.