YORÙBÁ extract from: www.learnyoruba.com write to a friend CLICK http://www.microbazar.com/langue/contact/ visit also: http://www.spip.net > yoruba alphabet > accents > phrases > vocabulaire Yorùbá is one of the four official languages of Nigeria and is a member of the Niger-Congo family of languages. It is spoken by about 22 million people in southwest Nigeria, Benin, Togo, the UK and the USA. Yorùbá first appeared in writing during the 19th century. The first Yorùbá publications were a number of teaching booklets produced by John Raban in 1830-2. The person who made the biggest contribution to Yorùbá literacy was Bishop Ajayi (Samual) Crowther (1806-1891), who studied many of the languages of Nigeria, including Yorùbá, and wrote and translated in some of them. Crowther was also the first Christian bishop of West African origin. A Yorùbá orthography appeared in about 1850, though it has undergone a number of changes since then. The Yorùbá Alphabet (Álífáb´?`?tì Yorùbá) Yorùbá is a tonal language with three tones: high, mid and low. The high tone is indicated by an acute accent (á, é, ?´, í, ó, ?´ and ú). The mid tone is not marked and the low tone is marked with a grave acute (à, è, ?`, ì, ò, ?` and ù). YORUBA ALPHABET & LANGUAGE * The primary aim of a "heritage learner" of the Yoruba language is to acquire enough proficiency in understanding and speaking the language for practical purposes and not to master the intricacies of the grammar in a formal academic setting. It is however necessary to become familiar with certain fundamentals of the structure of the language from the outset to facilitate achieving this objective. It is also vital to recognize the cultural norms and nuances relevant to discourse in the language. Here is an introduction into the Yoruba language. The Yoruba alphabet consists of 25 letters, as shown below: LETTER SOUNDS LIKE (IN ENGLISH) LETTER SOUNDS LIKE (IN ENGLISH) LETTER SOUNDS LIKE (IN ENGLISH) a English word 'ahh' h English word 'he' English sound 'au' as in word 'fault' b English word 'bee' i English letter 'e' p Very hard-sounding 'p' d English word 'dee' j English letter 'g' r 're' e English letter 'a' k English word 'key' s English word 'see' English sound of 'e' in 'let' l English word 'lee' English word 'she' f English word 'fee' m English word 'me' t English word 'tea' g English sound of 'g' in 'get' n 'nee' u English sound of 'oo' in word 'loose' gb Very 'hard sounding' 'b' o English letter 'o' w English word 'we' y English word 'ye' back to top Within the Yoruba language, there are also accents that define how a syllable is pronounced. In the written language, these consist of the following options, and are placed on top of the letters, usually on top of the vowels. ACCENT SYMBOL VOCAL SOUND Intonation: Fall of voice (nothing) Normal Intonation: Rise of voice Circumflex: long syllable As an example, take a simple three letter word like 'igba' (remember, gb is ONE letter). It can have the following meanings depending on the accents (these sounds are my aunt too): WORD MEANING Time, period Two hundred Calabash cut in half Locust tree System of pawning back to top Also, like in other languages, the exact same word can have different meanings. As another example, take the state my parents are from originally (Ogun). In this case, the accents make a difference, plus there are different meanings with the same accents (these sounds are my aunt too). WORD MEANING Basket used to catch shrimps & lobsters god of iron, god of war An inheritance Medicine Sweat War Twenty back to top Here are some common phrases in the language, written and spoken. (When speaking the Yoruba language, the exact wording you use usually depends on how the person you are referring to compares to you in age, and that is why there are two different forms below.) The written phrases are minus the accents. ENGLISH PHRASE NOTE AGE MATE OR YOUNGER SOMEONE OLDER Good Morning spelled out more common Good Afternoon spelled out more common Good Evening spelled out more common Good Night (Until Morning) spelled out more common GoodBye Long time no see Please Thank You Yes No Yoruba Vocabulary for a perfect comprehension, learning, speaking and writing yoruba is necessary. A Aba: manifestation Aborisha: devin, prêtre/Priest Adie: Poule/hen Adimu: Avoir, nous avons / To have, we have Adura : Prière / Prayer Agbon: noix de coco / Coconut Ago: Gong Aïku: longue vie / Long life Ayé: Vie, monde / Life, world Ajagun: combattant Ajogun: Héritage Ojubona: Enseignant/Teacher Akpetebi: Prêtresse/woman babalawo Alaashe: Régean/Priest Alafia: Bonne santé, bon souhait / Good Health, best wishes Ara: Corps / body Arun: Maladie, maux / sickness, Illness, Problems Asaro: Méditation Ashe: Ainsi soit-il, /Amen Ate: Plateau/Tay Awe: Carême /fasting Awo: secret du divin / Priesthood secret Ayanmo: le Sort / Fate B Baba: le Père / Father Baba mi: mon Père / My father Babalawo: Prêtre, divin / Priest Babalorisha: le Gardien des divinités / Orisha securityman Babarugbo: Grand-père / grand father Bata: Chaussure, musique préféré de Ogun / Shoes, best Ogun’s music Bembe: Grand tambour / big drum Beni : Oui, d’accord / yes C Candomble : combinaison religion Orisha – Chrétien D Dida obi: lancer les noix de cola Dide: lève-toi / Get-up Die-die: petit à petit / Slowly Difa fun: Consulte Ifa E Ebo: Sacrifice Efun: craire, argile blanche / White chalk Egun: Interdit, le mal / disallowed Egungun: revenant / reincarnated spirit Elegun: Elehan:Femme du purdha Emi: l’esprit humain / Human spirit Epo: Huile / Oil Epo pupa: Huile rouge / red oil Eran: Viande, l’animal / flesh, animal Ere (Orisha): statut des divinités / Ese: jambe, patte, péché/leg, sin Etutu: Rituel / ritual Ewe: Feuilles, plantes / Leaves, plants, roots Ewo: Taboo Ewure: mouton, Chèvre / goat Eyele: Pigeon F Fun fun: Blanc / white Fun: donner / to give Fun mi: donne-moi / give me G Gbogbo: Tout, tout le monde / Every body, All Gelede: Une danse des divinités / Divinities danse I Ibeji: Jumeaux / Twins Ibi: le mal, le malheur / bad, ill luck Ifa: Fa / Ifa Ifunpa: Amulette Igbodu: la Hutte des divinités /divinities hut Ijuba: Révérance Ikin: Noix de palmiste utilisées pour consultation / Palm kernel nuts used for consultation Iku: la mort / Def Ile: maison, le temple, la terre / House, temple, land Ilekes Perles spirituelles Ile-Ife: le territoire de la religion Yoruba Imo: Connaissance / Knowledge Imule: pacte, serment/oath Ire: la chance / luck Irosun: tissu pardessus/top wrapper Ita: Dehors, dans la cour / out side, in the compound Itan: Histoire Itefa: cérémonie rituel de consultation Ifa Iwa pele: Patient, calme Iya: Mère / Mother Iyalorisha: Prêtresse Orisha / Orisha priest Woman Iyawo: Epouse / wife J Jinle : ce qui est original K Kekere : Petit / Small Kiki : salutation spirituelle L Lucumi : Religion yoruba – Catholique – Espagnol M Mariwo : Rameaux/palm front Meji : deux, deux-fois / Two, twice Merindilogun : soixante / Sixty Modupe : Remerciement / Thanks Mojubar : je m’incline, je me prosterne O O’lorisha : Adeptes Orisha Oba: Roi / King Obe: sauce, couteau / Soup, Knife Obi Abata: Noix de cola à quatre tranches Odabo: Au revoir Odu: les seize bases de Ifa Ofo: le malheur Oju odu: l’œil, le premier des seize Odu Olori Ebi: Chef de la collectivité Olodulare/Olorun: Dieu Tout Puissant Omi: de l’eau / water Omiero: eau spirituele Omo: Enfant / Child Omo Aye: Humains / Human beings Omo odu: les 240 combinaisons du Odu Ona: le Chemin, la voix / road, Way Onifa: Prêtre Ifa Onile: Propriétaire / land lord Onje: Accepter Opele: Chapelet Ifa du Babalawo Opon, Ifa: plateau de consultation Ifa Oriki: Chants et louanges de Ifa Orin: Chanson Orisha: Divinité Orita: carrefour / Crossroad Orun: l’au-delà, le ciel / World beyond, heaven Orumila: le Prophète de la religion Yoruba Ota: Ennemis, symbole équilibré Oti: Boisson alcoolisée Oti o: Pas vrai / Not correct Owo: monnaie, argent / Money S Santeria: religion Yoruba – Catholique – Espagnol Siju: Ouvrir / Open Suuru: la Patience T Tutari: enscent Tutu: Froid, frais V Vodun: Vodoo – Religion d’Haïti Y Yoruba : Race culturelle, spirituelle du monde noir Africain download vocabulaire
YORÙBÁ
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> yoruba alphabet > accents > phrases > vocabulaire
Yorùbá is one of the four official languages of Nigeria and is a member of the Niger-Congo family of languages. It is spoken by about 22 million people in southwest Nigeria, Benin, Togo, the UK and the USA.
Yorùbá first appeared in writing during the 19th century. The first Yorùbá publications were a number of teaching booklets produced by John Raban in 1830-2. The person who made the biggest contribution to Yorùbá literacy was Bishop Ajayi (Samual) Crowther (1806-1891), who studied many of the languages of Nigeria, including Yorùbá, and wrote and translated in some of them. Crowther was also the first Christian bishop of West African origin. A Yorùbá orthography appeared in about 1850, though it has undergone a number of changes since then.
The Yorùbá Alphabet (Álífáb´?`?tì Yorùbá)
Yorùbá is a tonal language with three tones: high, mid and low. The high tone is indicated by an acute accent (á, é, ?´, í, ó, ?´ and ú). The mid tone is not marked and the low tone is marked with a grave acute (à, è, ?`, ì, ò, ?` and ù).
YORUBA ALPHABET & LANGUAGE
* The primary aim of a "heritage learner" of the Yoruba language is to acquire enough proficiency in understanding and speaking the language for practical purposes and not to master the intricacies of the grammar in a formal academic setting. It is however necessary to become familiar with certain fundamentals of the structure of the language from the outset to facilitate achieving this objective.
It is also vital to recognize the cultural norms and nuances relevant to discourse in the language. Here is an introduction into the Yoruba language.
The Yoruba alphabet consists of 25 letters, as shown below:
LETTER
English word 'ahh'
English word 'bee'
English word 'dee'
English letter 'a'
back to top
Within the Yoruba language, there are also accents that define how a syllable is pronounced. In the written language, these consist of the following options, and are placed on top of the letters, usually on top of the vowels.
As an example, take a simple three letter word like 'igba' (remember, gb is ONE letter). It can have the following meanings depending on the accents (these sounds are my aunt too):
Also, like in other languages, the exact same word can have different meanings. As another example, take the state my parents are from originally (Ogun). In this case, the accents make a difference, plus there are different meanings with the same accents (these sounds are my aunt too).
Here are some common phrases in the language, written and spoken. (When speaking the Yoruba language, the exact wording you use usually depends on how the person you are referring to compares to you in age, and that is why there are two different forms below.) The written phrases are minus the accents.
Yoruba Vocabulary
for a perfect comprehension, learning, speaking and writing yoruba is necessary.
A
Aba: manifestation Aborisha: devin, prêtre/Priest Adie: Poule/hen Adimu: Avoir, nous avons / To have, we have Adura : Prière / Prayer Agbon: noix de coco / Coconut Ago: Gong Aïku: longue vie / Long life Ayé: Vie, monde / Life, world Ajagun: combattant Ajogun: Héritage Ojubona: Enseignant/Teacher Akpetebi: Prêtresse/woman babalawo Alaashe: Régean/Priest Alafia: Bonne santé, bon souhait / Good Health, best wishes Ara: Corps / body Arun: Maladie, maux / sickness, Illness, Problems Asaro: Méditation Ashe: Ainsi soit-il, /Amen Ate: Plateau/Tay Awe: Carême /fasting Awo: secret du divin / Priesthood secret Ayanmo: le Sort / Fate
B
Baba: le Père / Father Baba mi: mon Père / My father Babalawo: Prêtre, divin / Priest Babalorisha: le Gardien des divinités / Orisha securityman Babarugbo: Grand-père / grand father Bata: Chaussure, musique préféré de Ogun / Shoes, best Ogun’s music Bembe: Grand tambour / big drum Beni : Oui, d’accord / yes
C
Candomble : combinaison religion Orisha – Chrétien
D
Dida obi: lancer les noix de cola Dide: lève-toi / Get-up Die-die: petit à petit / Slowly Difa fun: Consulte Ifa
E
Ebo: Sacrifice Efun: craire, argile blanche / White chalk Egun: Interdit, le mal / disallowed Egungun: revenant / reincarnated spirit Elegun: Elehan:Femme du purdha Emi: l’esprit humain / Human spirit Epo: Huile / Oil Epo pupa: Huile rouge / red oil Eran: Viande, l’animal / flesh, animal Ere (Orisha): statut des divinités / Ese: jambe, patte, péché/leg, sin Etutu: Rituel / ritual Ewe: Feuilles, plantes / Leaves, plants, roots Ewo: Taboo Ewure: mouton, Chèvre / goat Eyele: Pigeon
F
Fun fun: Blanc / white Fun: donner / to give Fun mi: donne-moi / give me
G
Gbogbo: Tout, tout le monde / Every body, All Gelede: Une danse des divinités / Divinities danse
I
Ibeji: Jumeaux / Twins Ibi: le mal, le malheur / bad, ill luck Ifa: Fa / Ifa Ifunpa: Amulette Igbodu: la Hutte des divinités /divinities hut Ijuba: Révérance Ikin: Noix de palmiste utilisées pour consultation / Palm kernel nuts used for consultation Iku: la mort / Def Ile: maison, le temple, la terre / House, temple, land Ilekes Perles spirituelles Ile-Ife: le territoire de la religion Yoruba Imo: Connaissance / Knowledge Imule: pacte, serment/oath Ire: la chance / luck Irosun: tissu pardessus/top wrapper Ita: Dehors, dans la cour / out side, in the compound Itan: Histoire Itefa: cérémonie rituel de consultation Ifa Iwa pele: Patient, calme Iya: Mère / Mother Iyalorisha: Prêtresse Orisha / Orisha priest Woman Iyawo: Epouse / wife
J
Jinle : ce qui est original
K
Kekere : Petit / Small Kiki : salutation spirituelle
L
Lucumi : Religion yoruba – Catholique – Espagnol
M
Mariwo : Rameaux/palm front Meji : deux, deux-fois / Two, twice Merindilogun : soixante / Sixty Modupe : Remerciement / Thanks Mojubar : je m’incline, je me prosterne
O
O’lorisha : Adeptes Orisha Oba: Roi / King Obe: sauce, couteau / Soup, Knife Obi Abata: Noix de cola à quatre tranches Odabo: Au revoir Odu: les seize bases de Ifa Ofo: le malheur Oju odu: l’œil, le premier des seize Odu Olori Ebi: Chef de la collectivité Olodulare/Olorun: Dieu Tout Puissant Omi: de l’eau / water Omiero: eau spirituele Omo: Enfant / Child Omo Aye: Humains / Human beings Omo odu: les 240 combinaisons du Odu Ona: le Chemin, la voix / road, Way Onifa: Prêtre Ifa Onile: Propriétaire / land lord Onje: Accepter Opele: Chapelet Ifa du Babalawo Opon, Ifa: plateau de consultation Ifa Oriki: Chants et louanges de Ifa Orin: Chanson Orisha: Divinité Orita: carrefour / Crossroad Orun: l’au-delà, le ciel / World beyond, heaven Orumila: le Prophète de la religion Yoruba Ota: Ennemis, symbole équilibré Oti: Boisson alcoolisée Oti o: Pas vrai / Not correct Owo: monnaie, argent / Money
S
Santeria: religion Yoruba – Catholique – Espagnol Siju: Ouvrir / Open Suuru: la Patience
T
Tutari: enscent Tutu: Froid, frais
V
Vodun: Vodoo – Religion d’Haïti
Y
Yoruba : Race culturelle, spirituelle du monde noir Africain
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