This course is based on a series of brief monologues, recorded impromptu by John O. Oyewale, a western-educated native speaker of Yoruba. It is intended for students who have already had an introduction to the language. The central part of the course is the recordings; these printed materials are meant to be used in supplementary and auxiliary function.
The distinctive characteristic of this series of monologues is the degree to which they overlap one another. Overlapping is of two kinds. First, there are several monologues on each general topic. Second, each monologue (with one exception) is presented two or three times, with minor variations in each version. Thus, recurrence of grammar and vocabulary is built into the materials without destroying their spontaneity and authenticity.
The topics themselves were chosen for their relevance to the interests of a person -- especially a Peace Corps Volunteer --who expects to use Yoruba in Nigeria. The information given is intended to be factual. Some topics involve comparison of former times with the present. For others (notably 11, 12, 14, 17, 19 -26, 29 - 30, 32 - 33) the speaker was asked to talk within the framework of traditional times and customs. In general, the material is slanted for those who are working in less westernized settings.
Each tape recorded monologue is followed by questions relating to it. In the book, each version of each monologue is presented in a number of different ways. On the fourth tape (32 - Supplement),there are two kinds of supplementary materials which are not represented in the textbook. The first consists of two conversations. The second consists of additional monologues.
The Yoruba language is a NigerCongo language spoken in West Africa. The number of speakers of Yoruba was estimated at around 20 million in the 1990s. 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. A variety of the language, Lucumi, from olukunmi is used as the liturgical language of the Santeria religion of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and the United States. It is most closely related to the Owo and Itsekiri language (spoken in the Niger-Delta) and Igala spoken in central Nigeria. Yoruba is classified within the Edekiri languages, which together with Itsekiri and the isolate Igala form the Yoruboid group of languages within the Volta-Niger branch of the Niger-Congo phylum. The linguistic unity of the Niger-Congo phylum dates to deep prehistory, estimates ranging around 15 kya (the end of the Upper Paleolithic). The AtlanticCongo core of this group would have formed roughly 8,000 years ago. The Benue-Congo branch (which also includes the Bantoid branch) separated from Atlantic-Congo around the 5th millennium BC, ultimately spreading out in the Bantu expansion, while Volta-Niger is one of the branches formed by the peoples who remained in the Atlantic-Congo core territory.
Yoruba is spoken in: Niger
Yoruba is also called: Ede-Yoruba, Yariba, Yooba
