[yoruba_net] Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as official langua ge
kunle adegboye
While it is good to use a language everyone in the area understands,
it is embarrassing for the legislators to postulate that "its use is
capable of
demeaning and reducing the intellectual capacity of the legislators".
This is
a slap on the Yoruba language. It is an insult. The English language they
currently use is an imported language and using it does not mean they
should have no respect for Yoruba.
Kunle Adegboye.
On Fri, 10 Dec 1999 12:14:32 -0600 "Chuks, Samuel"
<SCh...@faulkner.cc.al.us> writes:
> From: "Chuks, Samuel" <SCh...@faulkner.cc.al.us>
>
> Good!!!
>
> Good thing we still have folks who have respect for the cosmopolitan
> status of Lagos, Lagos State. Maybe Mr. Are should continue his
> culture
> and language in his home.
>
> And we fault Zamfara?
>
>
> Mr. koko Are + Gov. Sanni of Zamfara ====>>> Perfect Together
>
>
>
>
> NwaJesus
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Adey Oyenuga [SMTP:ad...@africamail.com]
> > Sent: Friday, December 10, 1999 12:02 PM
> > To: yorub...@onelist.com; naij...@esosoft.com;
> > igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu; RIV...@siue.edu;
> > akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu
> > Subject: [yoruba_net] Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as
> official
> > language
> >
> > From: Adey Oyenuga <ad...@africamail.com>
> >
> > Friday, 10 December 1999
> >
> > Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as official language
> >
> > By David Ogah,
> >
> > Staff Correspondent
> >
> > "YORUBA language is not appropriate for the conduct of
> > business of the House of Assembly since Lagos is a
> > cosmopolitan city. Besides, its use is capable of demeaning
> > and reducing the intellectual capacity of the legislators."
> >
> > This was how legislators at the Lagos State House of
> > Assembly put paid to the motion to adopt Yoruba as the
> > official language of the House, yesterday.
> >
> > A member from Mushin Constituency 1, Mr. Kako Are, had moved
> > the motion on the floor of the house, calling for the
> > adoption of Yoruba as the official language for debates and
> > other business activities in the house, arguing that it
> > would help in promoting the cultural values of the people of
> > Lagos.
> >
> > Besides, the use of Yoruba language on the floor of the
> > House will enhance the quality of debates, he added.
> >
> > He said: "We want to be part of our culture. If we cannot be
> > part of the culture here, where else? We will be improving
> > on what we inherited. There are things we can render more
> > effectively in Yoruba than in English."
> >
> > His motion, which was seconded by Mrs. Remota Oseni from Ojo
> > Constituency 1, was supported by 10 other members who argued
> > that the motion was to the advantage of the Lagosians who
> > might not be able to read and write in English.
> >
> > But the elitist members who felt it was unrealistic, stoutly
> > opposed the motion. They said its unfair to adopt such a
> > procedure. They also argued that interpreters would have to
> > be employed for the listening interest of non-Yoruba
> > speaking residents.
> >
> > One of such opponents of the motion Mr. Jide Omoworane
> > (Ifako/Ijaye Constituency II) said: "Do we have adequate
> > logistic on the ground to adopt Yoruba as alternative
> > language? The facilities to interprete discussions on the
> > floor of the house are not there.
> >
> > Besides, it is demeaning and could reduce the intellectual
> > capacity of this House. English is an official language in
> > Nigeria. Lagos is not homogeneous. It is a cosmopolitan city
> > and whatever we do, have direct effect on all - Hausa, the
> > Igbo etc, and they have the right to know what is going on
> > here."
> >
> > He concluded by saying: "Not until we have a Yoruba nation
> > or have a constitution that permits us to do our business in
> > Yoruba, I don't think it is appropriate."
> >
> > Others, including Mr. Lanre Ope (Island Constituency)
> > upholding Omoworane's argument, pointed out that Yoruba was
> > made up of many dialects. "If the language is to be adopted,
> > the House will run into another problem of the choice of the
> > particular dialect to use."
> >
> > Mr. Oyewo Oyetunde Amuwo Odofin Constituency I) who also
> > opposed the motion, observed that most of the journalists on
> > a daily beat at the House to report its activities were
> > non-Yoruba. He argued that to adopt the language could make
> > their job at the House difficult.
> >
> > However, the Speaker Olorunimbe Mamora, called for a vote by
> > raising of the hands. The motion was defeated by 17 against
> > 10, with five abstentions.
> >
> >
> > -- THE GUARDIAN --
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Chuks, Samuel
And we fault Zamfara?
NwaJesus
Olubunmi Matory
I was surprised to read this "intellectual" argument myself. My suspicion
is that whoever raised that as an argument never had any sound intellect
in the first instance. How does the use of your language reduce your
intellectual capacity for God's sake -- especially a language like Yoruba.
And these are the people elected to shape our destiny? Nigeria depresses
me, God knows.
Bunmi
Babalola Olalekan
I think we need to be a bit more practical as we disagree with our
legislators. Adopting Yoruba as the official language for the House of
Assembly in Lagos State is not as easy as it looks. I stand corrected, but
many of us Yorubas, born and bred in that rich culture, are far more
comfortable with English Language, when it comes to official matters. We
must understand that the usual "yorubawa" that most of us speak cannot pass
the scrutiny of an official language. For instance most of us will find it
extremely difficult to speak only Yoruba language in a conversation, talk
less of being compelled to keep to that language when carrying out official
duties. I know exactly what I am saying, folks. I was born in Abeokuta, Ogun
State, and I lived in Lagos for over 20 years. Till today, I will not find
it easy if I am forced to keep only to Yoruba language when carrying out
official duties. And I am certain I am not alone.
Having said thus, I must still state that the ability to speak the language
by no means demean anyone's intellectual capacity, contrary to the strange
opinion of our leaders in Lagos State. Indeed, Yoruba language is so rich
that it outranges all English vocabularies!
A middle ground is to adopt our beloved language as a SECOND OFFICIAL
LANGUAGE (English being first). This both takes care of many of us third
generation Yoruba speakers, and the more knowledgeable Baba Isales.
Babs
kunle adegboye
The import of my earlier posting, and which Bunmi Matory echoed is the
legislators saying they would be "demeaned" if they spoke Yoruba during
business hours. If those legislators simply come out to state that their
command of the language is not good enough for them to speak it, I would
very much understand. They do not have to trample on the Yoruba language
for their own inadequacies. (For your information, I don't even speak
good
Yoruba myself, but I love and respect the language.)
Now to your own idea of Lagos being a no-man's land. Think again, my
friend. When late Chief Awolowo classified Lagos separately, he did so
because Lagos was the capital of Nigeria, and not for any other reason.
That said, let me tell you that the Ilaje in Ajegunle, the Egun in
Badagry,
the Hausa dotted all over the place as well as Igbo traders and others
speak Yoruba - mainly because they see it as the language of the people.
Just like Yoruba people in Kano would make every effort to speak Hausa
so that they can easily interact with their brothers and sisters out
there.
Your argument that Yoruba should not be used in Lagos just doesn't add
up at this point in time. If you were to say that about Abuja, I would
understand.
Would you say that Imo should not use Igbo language simply because there
are Hausas, Yorubas and others in Imo State? Or that legislators in
Zamfara
should not speak Hausa?
Kunle Adegboye.
On Sun, 12 Dec 1999 16:24:22 EST SAMC...@aol.com writes:
> As we continue this "my father farm dey bigger than ya papa farm,"
> should we
> not pause and think about the various ethnic groups that makes
> Lagos, Lagos?
> Have we paused to reason that Lagosians from Badagry don't speak
> Yoruba
> language? That Ajegunle and most parts of Lagos has a high
> concentration of
> non-yorubas born bred in the city? Will legislators not be
> representing these
> folks?Have we paused to read even Pa Awo in his 1967 speech recently
>
> circulated here? Do you not read Pa Awo refer to the South as East,
> West and
> "Lagos?" Why did Pa Awo not group Lagos with the West?
>
> We should all think sometimes. This world is becoming a small global
> village
> where local champions should be more broad minded and accomodating.
>
>
> And we fault Gov. Sanni of Zamfara?
>
> You see why Naija will continue to be chasing shadows? Even among
> the
> so-called American Educated intelligentsia, we got a long road to
> trek.
>
>
>
>
> NwaJesus.
>
>
>
>
> In a message dated 12/12/99 2:27:52 PM Central Standard Time,
___________________________________________________________________
SAMC...@aol.com
May be all that Niger-Delta petro Naira used to build-up lagos will be
refunded in full to the source, then Lagos can be taken over fully with the
help of OPC. Let me leave this part for now.
You see why we can never develop and move forward in the South in particular
and Nigeria in general? Again, I ask you, why are we non muslims and
southerners freting and sweating Zamfara's and now Sokoto's and Kano's
adoption of Sharia? These folks are saying, albeit, accurately, that as
Muslims, Sharia is a way of life. That Sharia was practised b4 Oyinbo man
came. And they want to revert back to the way things were in 18900's and we
are saying HELL NO?
How is the position of speaking Yoruba in the Lagos Assembly, sinceYoruba is
he predominant and the indigenous language different from the Sharia being
adopted in the North.
You see, whereas, those in the North always look for and pursue commonality
of purpose or things common amongst them, we in the South always looks for
what makes us different. A big problem?
Can you imagine that Alabama of all States lost in Court recently when it
claimed that Alabama is an "English Speaking " State. A Mexican migrant sued
the State because the Test for Drivers licence was given in English and she
don't understand English. She took the Drivers Test 4 times and failed 4
Times. By the Court's ruling, Alabama Department of Motor Vehicles "MUST"
give drivers' written tests in Spanish too. Forget that traffic and other
Road Signs will remain in English.
Do you get my drift? We should be accomodating of those who are not like US.
Don't get me wrong, I am not quarreling with your take on this issue, but I
strongly beg to disagree that Lagos should be compared with Enugu, Ibadan or
any other State Capital.
Were you saying that folks from Badagry (An intergral part of Lagos) should
learn to speak Yoruba? Do you know where Badagry is? Its History? These are
not Okoros, you know?
Why are we even wasting time of this one sef? The motion did not carry. It
ended up in the korodom.
NwaJesus.
In a message dated 12/12/99 7:52:03 PM Central Standard Time,
kunl...@juno.com writes:
Mobolaji E. Aluko
Kunle:
People like SamChuks are making EXACTLY the same mistake in Lagos (that it
is "no man's land") that was made in Port Harcourt, when the indigenous
people of Port Harcourt were pushed aside by "internal migrants" who,
because of their numbers and economic wherewhithal then claimed that the
place was theirs, or that it belonged to nobody.
I am talking about Igbos in Port Harcourt. When the war came, the
indigenous people in Port Harcourt, under the guise of spoils of war, took
over ABANDONED PROPERTIES, claiming past despoilation, albeit wrongly.
Such arguments about who owns Port Harcourt, and why, have occurred right
here on Naijanet in the past, sometimes with "violent" exchanges. I
remember Kasirim Nwuke and Kalu Ndukwe (I believe) duking it out. It
appears that it is creeping again to happen over Lagos, between Yoruba/OPC
and non-Yoruba.
A word is enough for the wise. We must learn from past mistakes.
Bolaji Aluko
Amaelemuwa ****
Mobolaji E. Aluko wrote:
> Kunle:
>
> People like SamChuks are making EXACTLY the same mistake in Lagos (that it
> is "no man's land") that was made in Port Harcourt, when the indigenous
> people of Port Harcourt were pushed aside by "internal migrants" who,
> because of their numbers and economic wherewhithal then claimed that the
> place was theirs, or that it belonged to nobody.
>
> I am talking about Igbos in Port Harcourt. When the war came, the
> indigenous people in Port Harcourt, under the guise of spoils of war, took
> over ABANDONED PROPERTIES, claiming past despoilation, albeit wrongly.
>
Bolaji:
Point of correction, there is nothing like Igbos. We are Ndigbo.
Now, to your obfuscation, until the Biafran-Nigerian war, most ethnographers
categorized Ikwerre, Ogba, Etche etc [many of these groups are indigenes of
the place we call Port Harcourt] as dialects of the Igbo language. Granted
that today some of them have "graduated" into "a distinct" ethnic group, one
wonders how you can describe Ndigbo from other parts of then Igbo land as
"migrants" in their kins' village. Would you describe your family as "internal
migrants" to Ile Ife where your father was an economics teacher some years
ago?
Knowing your hatred of Ndigbo and anything Igbo, I was not at all surprised
that you would make the statements above. Ndigbo never claimed that PH was no
man's land. Just as they (Ndigbo) invested and built homes in PH before the
war, they also invested and built properties in other parts of the country.
They are still doing it today - even in Lagos. If one invests in landed
property in an area that is not the individual's place of origin, that does
not mean that the investor is claiming the area to be "a no man's land". Or
should we then, by your assertion here presume that you think your present
home (near DC) is in no man's land?
I will only advise that it behoves of you to sometimes hide your Igbo hatred
when you write about Ndigbo. It doesn't need a "diviner" to read your motives,
Mr. tribalist or "ethnicist".
Amaelemuwa
==========================================================================
P.S. Abode
these electees represent, not your convenience, not the electees either!
Omo Abode
Steven Kueberuwa wrote:
> Olalekan,
>
> You wrote the following:
> Indeed, Yoruba language is so rich that it outranges all English vocabularies!
>
> Could you, please, furnish the Yoruba translations for any such simple and
> fundamental things as colors other than white, black, and red since "Yoruba
> language is so rich that it outranges all English vocabularies"? Having done
> that, help me identify a few Yoruba words for a few medical terms such as
> embolism, cataract, aneurysm, hemangiosarcoma, and radiation sickness.
>
> Just a reality check.
>
> Peace.
>
> Stevek.
> P.S. I wish you feel about Yoruba religion the same way you feel about the
> Yoruba language, vis-a-vis the European versions.
> --
> ÐÏ à¡±
Chuks, Samuel
You sef dey toooooo muchi. Na wetin?
NwaJesus
> ÐÏ à¡± á
>
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place.
> Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com
P.S. Abode
Babalola Olalekan wrote:
> I stand corrected, but
> many of us Yorubas, born and bred in that rich culture, are far more
> comfortable with English Language, when it comes to official matters. We
> must understand that the usual "yorubawa" that most of us speak cannot pass
> the scrutiny of an official language.
This is not only an insult upon the entire Yoruba Nation, but totally narrow and
naive. Could anyone imagine other victims of colonialism like India and China
talking like this. It seems colonialism has done more damage to the African
psyche than any other group. But this cannot be true! It is the choice that
individual Africans are making and the influence that they have that are
critical. The African elite-by -way-of-western-education appears not have used
their education to acquire the capacity to think critically and independently.
Just because I, personally, have mastered a foreign language should not warrant
subscription to ideas that seek to disenfranchise the majority. How many Yoruba
citizens really understand English? Anglo-Yoruba is a clear microminority,
wonder why they should have so much influence? I guess they are just too lazy
intellectually to think, feel and imagine in their native language that is
accessible to the vast majority of their brethren.
Abode
Babalola Olalekan
It is clear that you are not very knowledgeable about the Yoruba language,
else, you would not have limited the language's descriptive terms of colors
to red, white and black. Indeed, it proves further that what you understood
of the Yoruba language is limited to the well-known, but utterly inadequate
"Eko Yoruba", i.e. the type that most of us speak in our day to day
interactions. I guarantee you, Steve, that if the real, unadulterated Yoruba
is spoken in your presence, you would not be able to comprehend a word of
it, even if, like SamChuks, you lived in Lagos till cows came home.
By the way, did you ever hear Abiola speak the language during his campaign
for the presidency? If you did, then you probably have a faint idea of what
I am trying to say.
As per the Yoruba meanings of the medical terms which you furnished, I must
admit that my understanding of the Yoruba language is not that deep to make
a comparative listing. Quite frankly, I did not practice in Nigeria long
enough to learn the meanings of those terms in my language. However, I am
confident that they do have Yoruba equivalents. For instance, embolism is
close in meaning to "aarun eje didi" [the disease of clotted blood]. If you
truly want to learn the meanings of the others, I'd suggest you contact Dr.
James Fabunmi.
Let me repeat, for the umpteenth time, that Christianity is not a white
man's religion [that is, if it is a religion at all; it is far more
appropriate to describe Christianity as a "Relationship" rather than a
religion]. Jesus Christ, the founder, did not come as a white man; He was a
Jew, and I hope you know that the Jews are not usually classified as
Caucasians [i.e. whites]. Moreover, there is historical proof to show that
Africans embraced Christianity BEFORE the white man did. This can easily be
verified in the book of Acts.
QUOTE:
..behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace
queen of the Ethiopians...had come to Jerusalem for to worship....As they
went on their way, they came to a certain water, and the eunuch said, See,
here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou
believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God....
UNQUOTE
You can read the whole passage in Acts chapter 8 verses 26 to 40. This
passage shows conclusively that an Ethiopian became a Christian in AD 34
[about one year after the death of Christ], long before Mary Slessor's great
great great grandfather was conceived. And it is wise to suppose that the
man would have spread the good news to others in Ethiopia at that time.
So Stevek, this is just a reality check.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steven Kueberuwa" <stev...@yahoo.com>
To: "Babalola Olalekan" <olalek...@worldnet.att.net>
Cc: "Olubunmi Matory" <mat...@fas.harvard.edu>; "kunle adegboye"
<kunl...@juno.com>; <SCh...@faulkner.cc.al.us>; <yorub...@onelist.com>;
<naij...@esosoft.com>; <igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas..edu>;
<RIV...@siue.edu>; <akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu>
Sent: Monday, December 13, 1999 10:30 AM
Subject: Re: [yoruba_net] Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as official language
Olalekan,
You wrote the following:
Indeed, Yoruba language is so rich that it outranges all English
vocabularies!
Could you, please, furnish the Yoruba translations for any such simple and
fundamental things as colors other than white, black, and red since "Yoruba
language is so rich that it outranges all English vocabularies"? Having done
that, help me identify a few Yoruba words for a few medical terms such as
embolism, cataract, aneurysm, hemangiosarcoma, and radiation sickness.
Just a reality check.
Peace.
Stevek.
P.S. I wish you feel about Yoruba religion the same way you feel about the
Yoruba language, vis-a-vis the European versions.
Babalola Olalekan wrote:
--
ÐÏ à¡± á
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place.
Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com
==========================================================================
Nubi Achebo
>Christianity BEFORE the white man did. This can easily be
>verified in the book of Acts.
Babs are you talking about Africans from your home town - Ile-Oluji?
Whether AFTER or BEFORE makes no difference; it sucks to jettison your
own beliefs for that of a foreigner.
Nubi Achebo
===
> ...behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under
=== message truncated ===
=====
Babalola Olalekan
I believe you misfired your verbal [is it cyber?] bullets this time around.
Kindly take some time to digest what I wrote, and you will discover that
your steamy response is not warranted at all.
I believe you are a Yoruba man. Can you, yes, I mean yourself, spend AN
ENTIRE DAY speaking ONLY YORUBA language, even at home [I'm assuming your
hearers do understand the language]? Have you ever done this since you knew
how to speak English? Can you carry on a conversation in Yoruba ALONE?
I am pretty certain that most of us cannot carry on a conversation in Yoruba
WITHOUT mixing it with English words. This is a fact of observation that has
been confirmed again and again over the years. It is this diluted Yoruba
language that I referred to in my previous mail as "yorubawa". Because it
mixes English with Yoruba, it CANNOT pass for an official language. We
either adopt the real, solid Yoruba as the lingua franca [which obviously is
more difficult], or continue with English language [which is easier]. A
middle ground is to adopt both languages, and as I said earlier, this takes
care of everyone.
babs
----- Original Message -----
From: "P.S. Abode" <pxa...@fresno.k12.ca.us>
To: "Babalola Olalekan" <olalek...@worldnet.att.net>
Cc: "Olubunmi Matory" <mat...@fas.harvard.edu>; "kunle adegboye"
<kunl...@juno.com>; <SCh...@faulkner.cc.al.us>; <yorub...@onelist.com>;
<naij...@esosoft.com>; <igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu>;
<RIV...@siue.edu>; <akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu>
Sent: Monday, December 13, 1999 1:00 PM
Subject: Re: [yoruba_net] Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as official language
Babalola Olalekan wrote:
> I stand corrected, but
> many of us Yorubas, born and bred in that rich culture, are far more
> comfortable with English Language, when it comes to official matters. We
> must understand that the usual "yorubawa" that most of us speak cannot
pass
> the scrutiny of an official language.
This is not only an insult upon the entire Yoruba Nation, but totally narrow
and
naive. Could anyone imagine other victims of colonialism like India and
China
talking like this. It seems colonialism has done more damage to the African
psyche than any other group. But this cannot be true! It is the choice
that
individual Africans are making and the influence that they have that are
critical. The African elite-by -way-of-western-education appears not have
used
their education to acquire the capacity to think critically and
independently.
Just because I, personally, have mastered a foreign language should not
warrant
subscription to ideas that seek to disenfranchise the majority. How many
Yoruba
citizens really understand English? Anglo-Yoruba is a clear microminority,
wonder why they should have so much influence? I guess they are just too
lazy
intellectually to think, feel and imagine in their native language that is
accessible to the vast majority of their brethren.
Abode
Babalola Olalekan
Babs are you talking about Africans from your home town - Ile-Oluji?
Whether AFTER or BEFORE makes no difference; it sucks to jettison your
own beliefs for that of a foreigner.
Nubi,
You amaze me. So, you are in a position to tell me what my beliefs are? As
far as I know, any right thinking person is bound to believe if and when
they have enough evidence, provided there are no conflicting interests. No?
Does it matter who first embraced the beliefs or showed you conclusive
proof? Are you saying that you'd still hold on to wrong beliefs even if you
have evidence to the contrary, just because it was a foreigner who first
discovered these 'new beliefs'?
What then are you doing in the tech field, Nubi? Why not continue with our
grandpas' ways of doing things, just because 'it sucks to jettison your own
beliefs for that of a foreigner'?
babs
Nubi Achebo
to that of your forefather hence the change? No? Yes? Of course you
are free to believe whatever you want. Refinement may be, not jettison
- check out your brethren in the Carib/South America who married the
modern faith with the old. Don't get uptight Babs hehehehehehehe.
Nubi Achebo
===
--- Babalola Olalekan <olalek...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
=====
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place.
Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com
Adey Oyenuga
Hehehehehehe..... I don't see you banging on the drums or making smoke
signals to get your message to your homies. So. can we say you too are
guilty of "jettison your own beliefs for that of a foreigner." Hmmm, I
do wonder what is wrong with you, sometime. :-)
Few minutes ago, you wrote that people have the rights to change their
minds and/or priors..... Now, because the wind has shifted on Religion,
you dey dance palongo. Which one is it? Can people change their priors
based upon additional facts, eductaion, knowledge and/or wisdom? If no,
why so?
Prince Adey.
At 11:48 AM 12/13/99 -0800, Nubi Achebo wrote:
>>Moreover, there is historical proof to show that Africans embraced
>>Christianity BEFORE the white man did. This can easily be
>>verified in the book of Acts.
>
>
>Babs are you talking about Africans from your home town - Ile-Oluji?
>Whether AFTER or BEFORE makes no difference; it sucks to jettison your
>own beliefs for that of a foreigner.
>
>
>Nubi Achebo
>===
>
>
>
>
Steven Kueberuwa
You wrote the following:
Indeed, Yoruba language is so rich that it outranges all English vocabularies!
Could you, please, furnish the Yoruba translations for any such simple and
fundamental things as colors other than white, black, and red since "Yoruba
language is so rich that it outranges all English vocabularies"? Having done
that, help me identify a few Yoruba words for a few medical terms such as
embolism, cataract, aneurysm, hemangiosarcoma, and radiation sickness.
Just a reality check.
Peace.
Stevek.
P.S. I wish you feel about Yoruba religion the same way you feel about the
Yoruba language, vis-a-vis the European versions.
Babalola Olalekan wrote:
--
ÐÏ à¡± á
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place.
Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com
==========================================================================
Obi...@aol.com
Your point is well taken. However, the way to develop a language is to use
and develop it and not to abandon it because it is too "static" for
"technical" use. As I am sure you know, "pulsar", "immune system", "alpha
radiation" and the rest of them are not english words. They have been
"appropriated" been the West and the English and today are counted as English
words that are fit for "technical" usage. The Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, and other
languages are capable of being developed in like manner. We must get away
from this notion that our langauges are really inferior, somehow. I am not
saying that that is what you have said here. It is, however, the underlying
tone of those so-called legislators who argue against the use of Yoruba
language in the Lagos assembly. Honestly, one feels terribly ashamed that we
could have people like that as our political leaders. But, the reality is
that most of our political leaders are really like that. Know thyself, they
say, if the first rule of life.
My people have a saying: "the firewood that is found among a people, is
always sufficient to cook the people's food." ( Nku neme na mba, na eghere
mba nri). If we must aspire to be great, we must stop believeing that we
must go to Europe to get the firewood they use to cook their food to cook the
food that grows in Nigeria. In fact, we have even gotten to the point where
we believe that we must not only buy the European firewood to cook the
Nigerian food, but that we must buy both the European firewood and the
European food so that we can feed the Nigerian. What a people.
Chidi Nwachukwu, Ph.D.
Steven Kueberuwa
So what is the color for violet, purple, orange, and indigo in Yoruba, for
example?
Remember, this is not about my (or anyone else's) understanding of Yoruba After
all, it is not my language.
Just provide the names of these colors in Yoruba so we can continue the
discussion as per your assertion:
"...Indeed, Yoruba language is so rich that it outranges all English
vocabularies!"
It really beats me why some of us find it difficult to accept and acknowledge
the most fundamental empirical facts.
Stevek.
Babalola Olalekan wrote:
> ...behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace
Babalola Olalekan
You did not read my last response to you; if you did, this next challenge
you posed will not arise.
Peace.
babs
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steven Kueberuwa" <stev...@yahoo.com>
To: "Babalola Olalekan" <olalek...@worldnet.att.net>
Cc: "Olubunmi Matory" <mat...@fas.harvard.edu>; "kunle adegboye"
<kunl...@juno.com>; <SCh...@faulkner.cc.al.us>; <yorub...@onelist.com>;
<naij...@esosoft.com>; <igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu>;
<RIV...@siue.edu>; <akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu>
Sent: Monday, December 13, 1999 3:48 PM
Subject: Re: [yoruba_net] Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as official language
Olalekan,
So what is the color for violet, purple, orange, and indigo in Yoruba, for
example?
Remember, this is not about my (or anyone else's) understanding of Yoruba.
Steven Kueberuwa
You asked the following question:
"... As far as I know, any right thinking person is bound to believe if and
when they have enough evidence, provided there are no conflicting interests.
No?"
The answer to your question is, 'No'. Religious belief is not by evidence It
is by faith. Otherwise, no one will living today will believe in God since He
has never been seen by any one alive today. Same could be said for Sango,
Sopona, or any of your ancestor's deities. There is no empirical evidence that
God exists. Those of us that believe in God employ a standard higher than
empirical evidence for our belief; faith.
And even at that, some of us can hardly handle empirical evidence when it comes
to the inadequacy of the Yoruba language (and all Nigerian languages) for
technical use.
Peace.
Stevek.
Babalola Olalekan wrote:
> Nubi Achebo wrote:
>
> Babs are you talking about Africans from your home town - Ile-Oluji?
> Whether AFTER or BEFORE makes no difference; it sucks to jettison your
> own beliefs for that of a foreigner.
>
> Nubi,
> You amaze me. So, you are in a position to tell me what my beliefs are? As
> far as I know, any right thinking person is bound to believe if and when
> they have enough evidence, provided there are no conflicting interests. No?
> Does it matter who first embraced the beliefs or showed you conclusive
> proof? Are you saying that you'd still hold on to wrong beliefs even if you
> have evidence to the contrary, just because it was a foreigner who first
> discovered these 'new beliefs'?
> What then are you doing in the tech field, Nubi? Why not continue with our
> grandpas' ways of doing things, just because 'it sucks to jettison your own
> beliefs for that of a foreigner'?
>
> babs
--
ÐÏ à¡± á
Babalola Olalekan
I never knew you could read minds:) We can patent that ability and make a
business out of it. Please contact me privately on this:)
babs
----- Original Message -----
From: "Nubi Achebo" <ki...@rocketmail.com>
To: "Babalola Olalekan" <olalek...@worldnet.att.net>; "Steven Kueberuwa"
<stev...@yahoo.com>
Cc: "Olubunmi Matory" <mat...@fas.harvard.edu>; "kunle adegboye"
<kunl...@juno.com>; <SCh...@faulkner.cc.al.us>; <yorub...@onelist.com>;
<naij...@esosoft.com>; <igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu>;
<RIV...@siue.edu>; <akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu>
Sent: Monday, December 13, 1999 3:29 PM
Subject: Re: [yoruba_net] Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as official language
The underlying belief is that the belief of the foreigner is superior
to that of your forefather hence the change? No? Yes? Of course you
are free to believe whatever you want. Refinement may be, not jettison
- check out your brethren in the Carib/South America who married the
modern faith with the old. Don't get uptight Babs hehehehehehehe.
Nubi Achebo
===
=====
Chuks, Samuel
Oya abeg respond to Stevek's questions. We are all waiting to be
educated. Better still let this question go to any Yoruba person living
or dead. Babs should be cut some slack because he already claimed not to
have a good command of the language he so proudly declared "....is so
rich that it outranges all English vocabularies!"
Where is Dr. Yorubaphobiac when you need him to throw allegations of
Yorubaphobia around?
NwaJesus.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steven Kueberuwa [SMTP:stev...@yahoo.com]
> Sent: Monday, December 13, 1999 2:48 PM
> To: Babalola Olalekan
> Cc: Olubunmi Matory; kunle adegboye; Chuks, Samuel;
> yorub...@onelist.com; naij...@esosoft.com;
> igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu; RIV...@siue.edu;
> akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu
> Subject: Re: [yoruba_net] Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as
> official language
>
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Steven Kueberuwa" <stev...@yahoo.com>
> > To: "Babalola Olalekan" <olalek...@worldnet.att.net>
> > Cc: "Olubunmi Matory" <mat...@fas.harvard.edu>; "kunle adegboye"
> > <kunl...@juno.com>; <SCh...@faulkner.cc.al.us>;
> <yorub...@onelist.com>;
> > <naij...@esosoft.com>; <igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu>;
> > <RIV...@siue.edu>; <akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu>
> > Sent: Monday, December 13, 1999 10:30 AM
> > Subject: Re: [yoruba_net] Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as official
> language
> >
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: "Olubunmi Matory" <mat...@fas.harvard.edu>
> > > To: "kunle adegboye" <kunl...@juno.com>
> > > Cc: <SCh...@faulkner.cc.al.us>; <yorub...@onelist.com>;
> > > <naij...@esosoft.com>; <igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu>;
> > > <RIV...@siue.edu>; <akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu>
> > > Sent: Saturday, December 11, 1999 6:50 PM
> > > Subject: Re: [yoruba_net] Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as
> official
> > language
> > >
> > > > > > To: yorub...@onelist.com; naij...@esosoft.com;
> > > > > > igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu; RIV...@siue.edu;
> > > > > > akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu
> > > > > > Subject: [yoruba_net] Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as
> > > > > official
> > > > > > language
> > > > > >
> > > > > > From: Adey Oyenuga <ad...@africamail.com>
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Friday, 10 December 1999
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as official language
> > > > > >
Leke Adeofe
So, you are still engaged in this "gbonmisi" logic?
Let us suppose that there are no equivalent words
in Yoruba (there are, by the way), how does that
disprove Olalekan? Translate the following into
English: Oruku tindi tindi, oruku tindi tindi,
oruku bi igba omo, gbogbo won le tiro. Now, if there
is no equivalent in English (and there is none),
what, if anything, does that prove vis a vis the
issue under consideration?
Netters, I just peeped in and I saw Steven's email
with the same old smell.
=== message truncated ===
Babalola Olalekan
If you were faced with this question in an examination:
"Any right thinking person is bound to believe if and
when they have enough evidence, provided there are no conflicting interests.
True or False?"
you would go ahead and choose "False"? If so, o tan 'numi!
As per your argument that religious belief is not by evidence, you missed it
again. Evidence is not the same as visibility. Just because you haven't seen
Babalola before does not prove that I do not exist, for example. You wake up
each day and fill your lungs with the free flowing and absolutely necessary
air that the Creator has made to help sustain your existence. You have
neither seen it before, nor can you hold it. All you have is indirect
evidence that it is there. Yet, you can bet your next salary to prove that
air does indeed exist.
Read through the Bible. You will not find anywhere that an attempt was made
to prove God's existence. That is left for the inanimate works of God to do.
God knows that His free moral agents are "bound to believe in the face of
overwhelming evidence, provided there are no other conflicting interests".
QUOTE
The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament showeth His handywork
Psalm 19:1
UNQUOTE
And for those who are not smart enough to see God's existence in His works,
God says they are fools [unfortunately, some of them are professors in some
universities!]
QUOTE
The fool hath said,...There is no God Psalm 14:1
UNQUOTE
I do not believe in God based on some blind faith. I have compelling
evidence that forces my belief on Him. Indeed, to refuse to believe in the
face of such evidence would be contrary to common sense! I have never seen
him. So what? I regularly order books and other materials from Amazon.com
without seeing anyone, and my orders do come as expected. What other
evidence do I need to show that there are intelligent beings behind the
company? In the same vein, I offer specific prayers to God and I get
specific, undeniable, incontrovertible answers, yet, you still think I need
to go to some laboratory to prove that Someone called God exists? I'm sure
you are kiddin'
Steve, if you do not have evidence YOU ARE NOT under obligation to believe.
God has no right to force you to believe WITHOUT evidence. Even Jesus Christ
did not expect His disciples to believe without evidence. This explains His
many miracles.
QUOTE
Without signs and wonders [evidence], ye will not believe. John 4:48
UNQUOTE
His hearers were free to disbelieve UNTIL they saw evidence that He came
from God
QUOTE
Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works,
which were done in you, had been done in tyre and Sidon, they would have
repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, it shall be
more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of Judgment, than for you.
Matthew 11:21,22
Steve, before you believe, you must first seek evidence, or your faith is a
shot in the dark.
Babs
Olalekan,
You asked the following question:
"... As far as I know, any right thinking person is bound to believe if and
when they have enough evidence, provided there are no conflicting interests.
No?"
The answer to your question is, 'No'. Religious belief is not by evidence.
It
is by faith. Otherwise, no one will living today will believe in God since
He
has never been seen by any one alive today. Same could be said for Sango,
Sopona, or any of your ancestor's deities. There is no empirical evidence
that
God exists. Those of us that believe in God employ a standard higher than
empirical evidence for our belief; faith.
And even at that, some of us can hardly handle empirical evidence when it
comes
to the inadequacy of the Yoruba language (and all Nigerian languages) for
technical use.
Peace.
Stevek.
Babalola Olalekan wrote:
> Nubi Achebo wrote:
>
> Babs are you talking about Africans from your home town - Ile-Oluji?
> Whether AFTER or BEFORE makes no difference; it sucks to jettison your
> own beliefs for that of a foreigner.
>
> Nubi,
> You amaze me. So, you are in a position to tell me what my beliefs are? As
> far as I know, any right thinking person is bound to believe if and when
> they have enough evidence, provided there are no conflicting interests.
No?
> Does it matter who first embraced the beliefs or showed you conclusive
> proof? Are you saying that you'd still hold on to wrong beliefs even if
you
> have evidence to the contrary, just because it was a foreigner who first
> discovered these 'new beliefs'?
> What then are you doing in the tech field, Nubi? Why not continue with our
> grandpas' ways of doing things, just because 'it sucks to jettison your
own
> beliefs for that of a foreigner'?
>
> babs
--
ÐÏ à¡± á
__________________________________________________
Adey Oyenuga
By now, you should know what SteveK - Mr. "immunology is not a medical
science" - is all about.
>From WordNet:
Evidence: Your basis for belief or disbelief; knowledge on which to
base belief.
>From The Bible:
Faith: ...Substance of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE of things not
seen.
Prince Adey.
>> Babs are you talking about Africans from your home town - Ile-Oluji?
>> Whether AFTER or BEFORE makes no difference; it sucks to jettison your
>> own beliefs for that of a foreigner.
>>
>> Nubi,
>> You amaze me. So, you are in a position to tell me what my beliefs are? As
>> far as I know, any right thinking person is bound to believe if and when
>> they have enough evidence, provided there are no conflicting interests.
>No?
>> Does it matter who first embraced the beliefs or showed you conclusive
>> proof? Are you saying that you'd still hold on to wrong beliefs even if
>you
>> have evidence to the contrary, just because it was a foreigner who first
>> discovered these 'new beliefs'?
>> What then are you doing in the tech field, Nubi? Why not continue with our
>> grandpas' ways of doing things, just because 'it sucks to jettison your
>own
>> beliefs for that of a foreigner'?
>>
>> babs
>
>--
>ÐÏ à¡± á
>
>
>
Abdul Salau
Hello Bunmi,
Tell them Bunmi I know that we cannot all be insane why impose the
language of minority colonizers on us. I think this language resolution
is more important than the demands made by traitors and enemies of Africa
for sovereign national conference. Why is it important for our people
unlettered or not educated in the language of the oppressor to
express themselves in English. Adopting the Yoruba Language resolution
will allow everyone to understand what is going with the government. There
are more Yoruba speakers in Lagos to interpret what is said than there are
English speakers who interpret into other African languages. You
must remember it was Chaucer who broke away from the colonial legacy of
using latin to use English that may be one of the reasons why there is
country called England today.
This is a good move I hope that this type of resolution is adopted in
other parts of the country our national languages should be the official
languages not English which is spoken elites who constitute less 5% of the
total population. This intiative may have been killed today it is
going to come up again. Elites don't want to break their tentacles from
there colonial it took of African woman to make sense out of our reality.
Thanks Bunmi I believe that you are a woman if not forgive me. It is
refreshing to read your comment.
On Mon, 13 Dec 1999, Olubunmi Matory wrote:
> Stevek,
>
> You and I know that languages grow or die depending on their use. Just
> because our local languages don't have words for galaxy doesn't mean it
> can't be CREATED. One man resurrected HEBREW, a dead language, for Pete's
> sake. Even in English, do you know how many new words have been created in
> the last 5 years because of the computer industry.
>
> It's sheer laziness on our part to think that because something doesn't
> exist, then it's not possible. The words will be created soon as the need
> arises. I support the call for the use of Yoruba in the Lagos State of
> Assembly. Let the Yoruba scholars in Nigeria and in the diaspora help
> them develop the specialized vocabulary needed in governance. We used to
> have kings and a language of the court. Why don't we resurrect that and
> adapt it for modern day use?
>
> Bunmi
>
> On Mon, 13 Dec 1999, Steven Kueberuwa wrote:
>
> > Idia,
> >
> > Please, furnish the Yoruba words for any color other than red, black, and
> > white. While you are at it, furnish the words for solar system, galaxy,
> > pulsar, immune system, and alpha radiation.
> >
> > My point is, our native languages have been treated as static subjects to be
> > studies and have not been further developed by the likes of Fafunwa. Thus,
> > the languages are still too deficient for technical use. Maybe, even
> > deficient for political use because I doubt very much if there are Yoruba
> > words for simply everyday political terms like governor (not gomina),
> > constitution, chief whip, state, or federal.
> >
> > Stevek.
> >
> >
> > Philip Abode wrote:
> >
> > > Isn't this amazing? This kind of thinking permeates every fabric of our
> > > society and we fail to appreciate all we have been endowed with until
> > > the white man turns around and shows us its significance. A case in
> > > point is the agricultural arena, organic products are now valued over
> > > chemically treated products. I could go on and cite examples in
> > > pharmaceutical, education and entertainment arenas. The point is,
> > > somehow we are self-destructive. I was telling my husband the other day,
> > > that all I really needed to know I learned way back in elementary school
> > > at Ibadan when I was taught in Yoruba. I pointed out the importance of
> > > metaphors in getting ones point across, and how since leaving Nigeria
> > > has never experience such imagery except when I listen to Abiola aand
> > > Ross Perot. A language rooted in such imagery and metaphors have so much
> > > to teach us. Those in organization management are cognizant of this I
> > > suggest these fools take some organizational management course.
> > >
> > > Idia
> > >
> > > Adey Oyenuga wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Friday, 10 December 1999
> > > >
> > > > Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as official language
> > > >
> > 邢 唷��> >
Naija...@aol.com
lad...@yahoo.com writes:
<< Steven Kueberuwa,
So, you are still engaged in this "gbonmisi" logic?
Let us suppose that there are no equivalent words
in Yoruba (there are, by the way), how does that
disprove Olalekan? Translate the following into
English: Oruku tindi tindi, oruku tindi tindi,
oruku bi igba omo, gbogbo won le tiro. Now, if there
is no equivalent in English (and there is none),
what, if anything, does that prove vis a vis the
issue under consideration?
Netters, I just peeped in and I saw Steven's email
with the same old smell >>
Leke:
My feelings exactly. I decided to ignore Steve on this one because life is
too short. I had an uncle who would die before he says "yellow" or purple. He
has the exact yoruba word for them. Steve should ask himself what "awo aro"
means. Bottomline, if a word does not exist in yoruba, it is because we have
no intrinsic use for it or because we have substitutes for them.
yinka
Naija...@aol.com
toy...@dircon.co.uk writes:
<< Olubunmi,
God bless Samuel Ajayi Crowther. If someone like him did not translate the
English dictionary into Yoruba i believe the language would have been dead
by now. >>
No, my friend. Ajayi Crowther translated English Bible into Yoruba and even
if he did not, Yoruba language woould never die. Remember we come from a
civilization that is hundreds of years old.
yinka.
Emopin Ayenuro-Lawrence
it is very very shameful of this mentally deraged and sabotaged law
makers to argue that using Yoruba would reduce their intellectual
capacity. In the first place, which intellectual capacity have they got
when they can not even pass a reasonable legislator? How have they used
these capacities in improving the lots of the omo ekos? I cann't think
of any improvement of life at all. The legislator are very well
comparable to the church leaders of the medieval europe who thru the use
of Latin monopolised knowledge and wisdom for themselves. They believe
their thought was A and O in matter knowledge until Latin was abolished
as official language in Europe and replaced by the language of the
people. It resulted in the explosive development of knowledge and
inventions start to increase etc. In the modern time, no one single
countries and nation that have developed or are developing have had
colonial or borrowed languages as their official language, no not one!
In the case of Africa, we have always sold ourselves and we continue to
do so which explains why we are not developing but disintegrating. That
been said, this is an evidence therefore that the legislators thru
english wont be developing but disintegrating. Ki Oluwa bukun ede
Yoruba, amin ase!
As for you SamChukwu, it is a shame that you could come out and compare
Are with the Zamfara state Gov'nor. Nevertheless, I never expected
anything less from an enemy of progress. Nipa ise won li a o fi mo won,
nipa iwa won li a o fi da won lejo. They would be made known thru their
activities and thru their act we shall know them. I am sure you are in
the states, their, their native tongue is english and you must learn to
speak it if you really want to partake in any serious living their. I
have read with how much vigour, the anglo-saxons have been campaigning
against spanish which is a common language in the south west used by the
Latinos. In Lagos, the language of the people is Yoruba, not Ibo, not
Hausa, not Efik, not Fulani etc., if you want to live their, there is
nothing bad learning the language, you gets to know the place, the
people, the culture etc. better. Nigeria is a land which does not
respect her values, should she respect them, english would continue to
be our official language. Nevertheless, I have this to say to you, it is
a question of time, you would learn to respect the language and to speak
even without being force to. Long live Oodua! Long live ede Yoruba!!!
Omo Oodua
kunle adegboye wrote:
>
> SamChuks:
>
> While it is good to use a language everyone in the area understands,
> it is embarrassing for the legislators to postulate that "its use is
> capable of
Emopin Ayenuro-Lawrence
o ya emi naa papa lenu pupo! Ki Oluwa gba wa lowo awon eru ibaje ota
ilosiwaju ati idagbasoke orilede o!
Omo Oodua
Emopin Ayenuro-Lawrence
it is quite hard to read people tell the truth on this net which tells
why I admire your stance. Nevertheles, I wouldn't mind either to reflect
on the causal reason for our not mastering the Yoruba languages.
First of all, I would like to start by pointing out that, in any
progressive state, nation, country etc., no meaningful development has
been reached by the neglecting one own's language for a not only foreign
but also a language of oppression and dehumanizing which is english.
Another thing I wanna point out is that fact that, we Yorubas are not
alone when it comes to mixing some foreign words in our Yoruba tongue
when speaking. I am here in Germany, apart from the fact that english
and German being part of the same family(now you would expect that the
languages being of the same family have common words which as a matter
of fact is true), in modern German, you not only find modern english
words in it, you also find french words adopted by german, not to
mention Latin and Greek etc. So, there is nothing bad in having foreign
words in our language, we need to modernise it, to borrow and adopt
words from other languages, to make our language a language of
intellectual instruction at work at home and in the field of academic
and administrative activities. In other to do this, we must convey thru
experts, study and compilation of a standard Yoruba-Yoruba dictionary
and a list of Yoruba words even to their dialectical root and origin.
Failing to do this would a backlash at our effort of liberating not only
our physical body but also of our mind. Your Legislator in Eko are good
examples.
Now to the causes of our Yorubawa not been able to pass the scrutiny of
an official language; although I do not believe this, yet I understand
what trouble it will make to introduce Yoruba as official language.
First look at our eduaction system, at school, you were told not to
speak vernacular which is Yoruba in the case of SW Naija.
Second, the school system again, you are not asked but forced to learn
not Nigerian Languages but english.
Now tell me, how would you be able to learn good Yoruba if these
conditions persist? Not even good english language is learnable in such
shameful education system and I'm not surprised why the Anglo-saxons and
their allies always rebuke you Africans as speaking "Nigger english". I
know quite well that there are many dialects of Yoruba but have until
now never heard about a "nigger Yoruba". May be that's just one of the
many reasons we got to stick to our language. That's modernising and
perfecting it to suit every activities of society.
Another thing is, you mentioned many being comfortable at english when
it comes to official thing. Perhaps it is true and that's also another
reason to make Yoruba the sole official language so that the people will
become even more comfortable at rendering their official job. Also know
of many disastrous english spoken and written by and for Naijas. Filling
formular ain't a big deal, even you can do that in the most savage
language of the world. Yoruba is our heritage, our culture, our future
and our hope. We must learn in it, teach in it, work and administer with
it. We must stop throwing away our heritage to the dogs. Ki Oluwa bukun
Oodua amin!!!
Omo Oodua
Mukhtar Dan'Iyan
barriers of trade, the spread of international commerce via the internet et.
al.
Nigerian languages be they Yoruba, Ogoni, Tiv, Nupe etc. are all beautiful
and have their uses; however, we need to look objectively at what
ramification their use for official business would bring in the larger
scheme of things.
While English was not my first language; it is the most important language I
have ever learnt; why? Simply due to the fact that as one engaged in
business, it has helped me overcome the communication hurdle imposed by
linguistic differences, for just like I can communicate in English with my
Hebrew clients, so can I communicate in English with my Hindu or Japanese
ones and vice versa, thus helping me integrate with the global economy with
one less hurdle. Furthermore, even if I were to go home tomorrow and set-up
shop, I know it would be much easier for me to lobby a state house of
assembly using the technical terms and terminology used anywhere else in the
world (folk English is the international language of business these days)
than it is for me to go get a lobbyist to translate my proposal into Yoruba,
Efik, Nupe or any of the other languages used in the country. Afterall, how
does one go about translation 'Code Division Multiple Access', 'Cell Cite',
' Carrier' or even something as ordinary as 'warehouse fulfillment in your
state if we get a 10% tax break for 10 years based on employing over 100
state residents' into various local lingoes? By the time one is done with
translating this proposal, a large amount of money that could have been
invested in putting up infrastructure to hire one more person would have
been used on a translation which is to all intents and purposes avoidable.
I think right now Nigeria's problem is economic in nature; and the easier
we make it to revive the economy via investments and empowerment of
Nigerians to be global
players, the better it is for all of us. As we speak today multi-billion
dollar mergers are going on around the globe; and yet, Nigeria, the giant of
Africa does not even have one company that has the capacity to engage in
even a million dollar merger.
M
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-n...@esosoft.com [mailto:owner-n...@esosoft.com]On
Behalf Of Abdul Salau
Sent: Monday, December 13, 1999 7:54 PM
To: Olubunmi Matory
Cc: Steven Kueberuwa; ia...@csufresno.edu; Adey Oyenuga;
yorub...@onelist.com; naij...@esosoft.com;
igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu; RIV...@siue.edu;
akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu
Hello Bunmi,
> > ÐÏ à¡± á
Emopin Ayenuro-Lawrence
Omo Oodua
G.Godwin Oyewole
Are we making a mountain out of a molehill? (Pardon the cliché). You just made
the point for those who proposed that Yoruba should be the language in the Lagos
Assembly. Yes, you "can communicate in English with (your) Hebrew clients, so
can (you) communicate in English with (your) Hindu or Japanese ones and vice
versa, thus helping me integrate with the global economy with one less hurdle."
But guess what? The Parliaments in Tel Aviv, or is it Jerusalem, and Tokyo do
not conduct their business in the English language. The language used in the
Assembly, be it in Paris, Brussels, or Brasil, does not preclude the development
or the use of a different language in International Commerce. Does it?
I am sure even in the era of Einstein, or even Isaac Newton, a words like THE
INTERNET and EMAIL were not household words. But when the need arose for the
use of those words in the cultures in which those giants existed, ergo!
Finally, a contractual clause which states " something as ordinary as 'warehouse
fulfillment in your state if we get a 10% tax break for 10 years based on
employing over 100 state residents'" is an example of poor and unadulterated
poor lawyering. Even then what the clause probably means is so ordinary and
pedestrian that a good draftsman might say "bi e ba fun wa ni aye lati ko eru wa
si ni ilu yin, bi a ko ba ni lati san ida mewa owo ori ti o ye ki a san for odun
mewa ti yio bere lati ojo ti a ba yonda adeun yi, a o gba ogorun awon enia ibile
yin si ise."
Please take my effort in translating the clause as my first draft. I am sure
netters like Dr. Fabunmi and Dr. Olarinde and others more polished in Yoruba
language would improve on my draft. No first draft ever makes it to the
negotiating table.
Sure there are words for which we do not know use but which would be developed
as they are needed. For example, Computer (ero ayarabiasha), the Internet or
worldwide web (awon agbaiye). Radio is now ero gbohungbohun, and even the French
now have "le weekend."
Language evolves as demanded by usage and cultural development. English
dictionaries are updated as needed. If Yoruba is adopted as the language of the
Assembly, we shall rise to the occasion.
Mukhtar Dan'Iyan wrote:
> > > > to teach us. Those in organization management are cognizant of this. I
==========================================================================
Emopin Ayenuro-Lawrence
Omo Oodua
> it is embarrassing for the legislators to postulate that "its use is
> capable of
Emopin Ayenuro-Lawrence
Omo Oodua
Mobolaji E. Aluko
Mr. Oyewole:
May your tribe increase!
The Chinese are probably the best in the world at translating new
previously-unknown concepts into words: they simply DRAW them and then
CONCATENATE the component concepts into the full word - both in
calligraphy and in the spoken word. The Germans also do this, hence they
have very long words.
That same kind of application is available to ALL languages in the world.
The "World-Wide-Web" in Yoruba as "awon aigbaye" - A Net (awon) that
Covers the Whole World (agbaiye) - is for example simple but ingenious.
I do not know what Yoruba for "email" is, but "iwe af'awon(agbaiye)ran"
(literally a note sent via the web) would not be a bad translation. If one
scratches one's head and cannot find an adequate translation, maybe a
language nearby (in Nigeria, in West Africa, or Swahili) might do. Then
if really desperate, just borrow the word directly and intone it in your
own way ("awo buluu" or "awo digo" for blue or indigo in Yoruba), adding
one or two letters or words before, within or after it, just like the
Russians do, when they add "ski" or "sky", or the French, when they add
"Le" or "La."
If Yoruba numerology has been recognized world-wide as one of the most
advanced (being able to count to millions and billions when some cultures
could barely count beyond 100), then it should not be difficult to find a
translation for 'onamatoepia' - eg "ipe bo ti ndun." Just my translation.
Bolaji
A. Adewale
Nigerian history gives a solution to the present day problem.
Ade Adewale
----- Original Message -----
From: <Naija...@aol.com>
To: <toy...@dircon.co.uk>; <mat...@fas.harvard.edu>
Cc: <naij...@esosoft.com>; <yorub...@onelist.com>;
<igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu>; <RIV...@siue.edu>;
<akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 1999 2:32 AM
Subject: Re: Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as official language
> In a message dated 12/13/99 5:56:20 PM Pacific Standard Time,
> toy...@dircon.co.uk writes:
>
> << Olubunmi,
> God bless Samuel Ajayi Crowther. If someone like him did not translate
the
> English dictionary into Yoruba i believe the language would have been
dead
> by now. >>
>
>
> No, my friend. Ajayi Crowther translated English Bible into Yoruba and
even
> if he did not, Yoruba language woould never die. Remember we come from a
> civilization that is hundreds of years old.
> yinka.
==========================================================================
Paul Olatoye (SNC NOW!)
introduce some of the text to this net. I believe financed by UNESCO, who
else will do something like that? The politics gets in when the panelist
wanted implementation. Oga patapata no gree. I believe, as I was told that
similar endeavors exist for Ndigbo language.
Are you aware that Head of State has to sign your appointing paper before
you are made a Professor in Nigeria? Many of you do not know how Nigeria is
run and that is why we spend too much time on this asylum. If half on this
net really know how Nigeria is run we would not hesitate to pick up arms
against many of our past rulers.
Abo mi re o.
-----Original Message-----
From: Naija...@aol.com <Naija...@aol.com>
To: POla...@gibconst.com <POla...@gibconst.com>; ia...@csufresno.edu
<ia...@csufresno.edu>; stev...@yahoo.com <stev...@yahoo.com>
Cc: ad...@africamail.com <ad...@africamail.com>; yorub...@onelist.com
<yorub...@onelist.com>; naij...@esosoft.com <naij...@esosoft.com>;
igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu <igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu>;
RIV...@siue.edu <RIV...@siue.edu>; akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu
<akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu>
Date: Tuesday, December 14, 1999 12:15 PM
Subject: Re: Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as official language
>In a message dated 12/14/99 6:07:35 AM Pacific Standard Time,
>POla...@gibconst.com writes:
>
><<
> Yoruba scholars had developed Yoruba dictionary for technical words.
Infact,
> they had planned the launching before Babangida stopped it becuase the
> North is not ready. Dr Kayode Fanilola had a copy of the dictionary and I
> have seen it.
> Very interesting to see words like "moment of inertia" in Yoruba.
> Abo mi re o. >>
>
>
>Paul:
>This does not sound true. Babangida does not have that kind of power. For
>God's sake, you did not need government permision to publish books. Where
do
>you get all this twisted tales? I want to guess that the authors probably
>wanted government money - a la ministry of education - and were denied.
>
>yinka
Mukhtar Dan'Iyan
Kanu from Abia and Chief Adebayo from Ibadan as long as he benefits.
It is the little guys who are always misled into thinking there is a divide;
those at the top know only one ethnic group; that of money.
M
-----Original Message-----
From: A. Adewale [mailto:toy...@dircon.co.uk]
Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 1999 6:47 PM
To: naij...@esosoft.com
Cc: Mukhtar Dan'Iyan; yorub...@onelist.com;
igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu; RIV...@siue.edu;
akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu
Subject: Re: Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as official language
Netters,
A statement made by Mukhtar:
"I think right now Nigeria's problem is economic in nature; and the easier
we make it to revive the economy via investments and empowerment of
Nigerians to be global
players, the better it is for all of us. As we speak today multi-billion
dollar mergers are going on around the globe; and yet, Nigeria, the giant of
Africa does not even have one company that has the capacity to engage in
even a million dollar merger."
I believe this will apply in a system that works. Nigeria today have a big
problem with it's ethnic divide. A proposal for Hausa as an official
language does not mean English language will not be taught. For a country to
be stable there must be something the people have in common. The Nigerian
situation reminds mean of set theory in mathematics where you have three
interlocking rings with a common region(i.e. Abuja the capital). There is a
write up on Tanzania in this weeks economist, a typical example of a stable
country with a common language swahili. Tanzania still uses English as the
official language.
Multi- million pounds deal can happen when there is trust within a system,
if the igboman does not trust the yoruba man how can deals happen. However,
on removing the ethnic barrier in Nigeria the sky is the limit in terms of
economc development.
A problem that needs to be addressed is the issue of the Nekkie, Dow Jones,
FTSE, what do we have in Africa? African economy/ currency is still tied to
the western economy. Until Africa starts adopting its own form of exchange
rate mechanism it will always have a problem. A recent example is the euro
currency linking the EEC member state economy.
The whole issue at stake is how to design Nigeria's economic system to cater
for the diverse ethnic groups.Everything come down to the people of Nigeria
having a common goal.
Ade Adewale
----- Original Message -----
From: Mukhtar Dan'Iyan <Dan...@prodigy.net>
To: Abdul Salau <asa...@nimbus.ocis.temple.edu>; Olubunmi Matory
<mat...@fas.harvard.edu>
Cc: Steven Kueberuwa <stev...@yahoo.com>; <ia...@csufresno.edu>; Adey
Oyenuga <ad...@africamail.com>; <yorub...@onelist.com>;
<naij...@esosoft.com>; <igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu>;
<RIV...@siue.edu>; <akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu>
> Subject: Re: Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as official language
>
>
>
>
> > > > > Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as official language
> > > > >
> > > ÐÏ à¡± á
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > __________________________________________________
> > > Do You Yahoo!?
> > > Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place.
> > > Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com
> > >
> >
> >
>
>
==========================================================================
fadipe
I was myself flabbergasted at the insinuation that yoruba demean and
reduce intellectual capacity. It is a big shame. Such shooting on the
legs from our own leaders.
Well this confirmed that the present status quo where they use english
to swindle the people suit them real well knowing that people
can't think much about what they don't understand. It was a similar
tactics the portuguese slavers used during the slave trade when they
banned the importation of books and papers to Africa. Why did they think
christianity was able to take root in Africa? Wasn't it because the
missionaries thought it wise to translate the Bible into our different
languages?
What is wrong or strange in using our language for our daily activities?
Wasn't that the reason why we have these languages? Some people think
you can't teach science using yoruba, they even thought it ridiculous to
do so. Well they are wrong as I have and am succesfully translating many
scientific and intellectual writtings into yoruba. Sure it is difficult
to find yoruba equivallent of some words, but we can create them.
Even the very constitution these legislators hold as their guidance, I
have succesfully translated it into yoruba, and soon I will put it on
the net. All these does not mean I desire a Yoruba Nation, but rather to
contribute to the people's intellectual development, which can occur
with their language quicker than using foreign language.
Mr Emopin, do you know that a yoruba market woman, who is uneducated but
still can read and write yoruba, if such woman want to read about
history of the world for example, she can't because there is no book in
her language to help her do this, or on any other topic for that matter,
so such woman keep on believing the world was created in seven days as
she'd read in the book of Genesis. How is such person's intellectual is
supposed to be develop? It really is a big matter, this language
conflict, as I have resolved, maybe wrongly, it's probably the bane of
our problem in Africa.
In article <385667AA...@student.uni-kassel.de>,
> > it is embarrassing for the legislators to postulate that "its use is
> > capable of
>
--
Omo Olodumare
A ti, A te
Pipele Lo n pele
Asamu Ogun.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Emopin Ayenuro-Lawrence
e se pupo fun leta yin si SCN. Idunun pupo li o je fun lati ka leta naa,
nitori okan ti nse irewesi, mo ti ro wipe emi nikan li o gbe igba
ijakadi pataki ede abinibi wa lori.
Now for the benefit of those lacking the capacity to read and understand
Yoruba, here I go again.
fadipe wrote:
>
> Mr Emopin,
> I was myself flabbergasted at the insinuation that yoruba demean and
> reduce intellectual capacity. It is a big shame. Such shooting on the
> legs from our own leaders.
These people are no leaders, they do not deserve to be called leaders.
No leader (genuine) would have had that to say about his language nay
not his language alone but his people. What they are actually saying is
that those doing business in Yoruba are intellectual Lilliputs. Shame,
shame, shame! My brother, we must n愒 let this silly arguement just die
down like that, we must let these silly leaders know that we understand
them and that we intend to fight to make our people intellectual Giants
even in this very Yoruba. It is a question of time. As long as there
exist zealous people like you and me, the effort will be rewarded.
> Well this confirmed that the present status quo where they use english
> to swindle the people suit them real well knowing that people
> can't think much about what they don't understand. It was a similar
> tactics the portuguese slavers used during the slave trade when they
> banned the importation of books and papers to Africa. Why did they think
> christianity was able to take root in Africa? Wasn't it because the
> missionaries thought it wise to translate the Bible into our different
> languages?
Ore, I wonder o. You know, the problem is that the intelligence of these
guys will not be demeaned or reduced but it already demeaned and
reduced. If not, how can a sensible person come up with such an
arguement? Accepted if they are not so good in the language but that
thru it their capacity would be reduced is the biggest folly. Our
problem has been that such people have always ruled us which explain why
we are not going forward but backward while others are developing we
have been degressing. Olorun ma gba ni o!
> What is wrong or strange in using our language for our daily activities?
> Wasn't that the reason why we have these languages? Some people think
> you can't teach science using yoruba, they even thought it ridiculous to
> do so. Well they are wrong as I have and am succesfully translating many
> scientific and intellectual writtings into yoruba. Sure it is difficult
> to find yoruba equivallent of some words, but we can create them.
Ara mi, sure it is difficult but nothing is impossible. As I said
before, all these european language did not become scientific language
overnight. They were modified and modernised. As a matter of fact, there
is not a pure language that I know of. Any progressive language have
borrowed and must borrow heavily from other languages. English happens
to be such language and Yoruba must also do that. That word "amok" for
instance has it origin in Indonesia but you find it used in possibly
every tongue to describe a let-loose killer. There are thousands of not
only negative but also positive adaptation of foreign words. It is a
good job you are doing. Keep it up. By the way, I think there many
Yoruba associations, yet we can still establish one that will oversee
the modernisation and compilation of a standard Yoruba-Yoruba dictionary
which will be not only generally accepted in Yorubaland in Nigeria but
also in Benin Rep. and everywhere where the Yoruba culture is at home. I
have in mind Kuba abd Brasil. These guys are very eager to learn the
language. If this is so, you can imagine how short the Yoruba language
will become an international language if we plan the process of
modernisation and standardisation very well. English and french must be
abolished as official tongue in all Yorubaland. Oodua a gbe wa. I have
also be deliberating on how to make Yoruba easier to write without
needing to accent the words except for personal names and I have also
deliberated on extending the number of our Alphabet to include "c and z"
most especially and if need be even more.
> Even the very constitution these legislators hold as their guidance, I
> have succesfully translated it into yoruba, and soon I will put it on
> the net. All these does not mean I desire a Yoruba Nation, but rather to
> contribute to the people's intellectual development, which can occur
> with their language quicker than using foreign language.
Omo iya, how would one not desire a nation if you are continued to be
subjugated and you are deprived of your heritage, culture and language?
Hey, I would like to have copies too, mind to mail it to me? These guys
know how faster the people will learn with their tongue. You kuku know
that these aristocrats wont really give up so easily. We must cook them
hot. All these yeye bragado for nonsense Grammar to make impression must
stop yeah.
>
> Mr Emopin, do you know that a yoruba market woman, who is uneducated but
> still can read and write yoruba, if such woman want to read about
> history of the world for example, she can't because there is no book in
> her language to help her do this, or on any other topic for that matter,
> so such woman keep on believing the world was created in seven days as
> she'd read in the book of Genesis. How is such person's intellectual is
> supposed to be develop? It really is a big matter, this language
> conflict, as I have resolved, maybe wrongly, it's probably the bane of
> our problem in Africa.
I have said it before, the woman and the man are not getting the books
惡uz these guys just want to maintain status quo. We shall catch up with
them sooner or later. It the same tactics the Church used in medieval
Europe. They used to burn people who translate into the languages of the
people and persecute anyone who agitate for such. Just consider the
policy of "vernarcular prohibited" in schools in Lagos. How foolish our
leaders are.
The Church tried but failed to keep Latin as official language isn愒 it?
This has helped moved the world forward and that愀 why we must fight
until Yoruba gains control of every school, every University, every
administrative bureaucrazy to help move our beloved Oodualand forward.
Omo Oodua
A. Adewale
A statement made by Mukhtar:
we make it to revive the economy via investments and empowerment of
Nigerians to be global
players, the better it is for all of us. As we speak today multi-billion
dollar mergers are going on around the globe; and yet, Nigeria, the giant of
Africa does not even have one company that has the capacity to engage in
even a million dollar merger."
Oyenuga <ad...@africamail.com>; <yorub...@onelist.com>;
<naij...@esosoft.com>; <igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu>;
<RIV...@siue.edu>; <akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 1999 1:12 PM
> > > > to teach us. Those in organization management are cognizant of this.
Paul Olatoye (SNC NOW!)
A wi wi wi, won ni won o gbo, afo fo fo won ni won o gba.All that needs to
be said, somebody had said it. You also add to it.
Abo mi re o.
-----Original Message-----
From: A. Adewale <toy...@dircon.co.uk>
To: naij...@esosoft.com <naij...@esosoft.com>
Cc: Mukhtar Dan'Iyan <Dan...@Prodigy.net>; yorub...@onelist.com
<yorub...@onelist.com>; igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu
<igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu>; RIV...@siue.edu <RIV...@siue.edu>;
akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu <akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu>
A. Adewale
O se pupo fun imo ran.
Ade Adewale
----- Original Message -----
To: A. Adewale <toy...@dircon.co.uk>; <naij...@esosoft.com>
Cc: Mukhtar Dan'Iyan <Dan...@prodigy.net>; <yorub...@onelist.com>;
<igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu>; <RIV...@siue.edu>;
<akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu>
A. Adewale
Thanks for the advise.
Ade Adewale
----- Original Message -----
To: A. Adewale <toy...@dircon.co.uk>; <naij...@esosoft.com>
Cc: Mukhtar Dan'Iyan <Dan...@Prodigy.net>; <yorub...@onelist.com>;
<igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu>; <RIV...@siue.edu>;
<akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu>
OLoosi Ni Yin!
to other people in English since you speak it well. Nobody is asking the
stoppage of english, we're only clamouring that you should remember that
there are other people who can't speak the language, and so we should
make government activities available to them too, in the language they
speak and understand, since they're part of the society.
Beside what is difficult in translating such examples as you gave into
our different languages? Most of us don't remember to speak our
languages anymore simply because we are not encourage to speak them, but
if weare encourage to speak them by making them more intelligent, then
translating and speaking them won't be difficult.
Economy is not our problem, instead lack of knowledge is; that is what
the elites are capitalising on to bastardise our economy. If you educate
the people through the language they speak, then these elites' swindling
days are over. The people will know enough to realise, who to elect, who
is really fit for government and not just some rich person who uses his
money to buy vote so he can loot his people.
Believe it or not it is the language impediment that is causing our
chronic problem, foreign language that few people really understand will
delay its solution, if it ever come.
In article <NDBBJECLGLDKMBDFKO...@prodigy.net>,
"Mukhtar Dan'Iyan" <Dan...@prodigy.net> wrote:
> People talk as if they are unaware of the global economy; the break
down =
> of
> barriers of trade, the spread of international commerce via the
internet =
> et.
> al.
>
> Nigerian languages be they Yoruba, Ogoni, Tiv, Nupe etc. are all
beautifu=
> l
> and have their uses; however, we need to look objectively at what
> ramification their use for official business would bring in the larger
> scheme of things.
>
> While English was not my first language; it is the most important
languag=
> e I
> have ever learnt; why? Simply due to the fact that as one engaged in
> business, it has helped me overcome the communication hurdle imposed
by
> linguistic differences, for just like I can communicate in English
with m=
> y
> Hebrew clients, so can I communicate in English with my Hindu or
Japanese
> ones and vice versa, thus helping me integrate with the global economy
wi=
> th
> one less hurdle. Furthermore, even if I were to go home tomorrow and
set-=
> up
> shop, I know it would be much easier for me to lobby a state house of
> assembly using the technical terms and terminology used anywhere else
in =
> the
> world (folk English is the international language of business these
days)
> than it is for me to go get a lobbyist to translate my proposal into
Yoru=
> ba,
> Efik, Nupe or any of the other languages used in the country.
Afterall, h=
> ow
> does one go about translation 'Code Division Multiple Access', 'Cell
Cite=
> ',
> ' Carrier' or even something as ordinary as 'warehouse fulfillment in
you=
> r
> state if we get a 10% tax break for 10 years based on employing over
100
> state residents' into various local lingoes? By the time one is done
with
> translating this proposal, a large amount of money that could have
been
> invested in putting up infrastructure to hire one more person would
have
> been used on a translation which is to all intents and purposes
avoidable.
>
> I think right now Nigeria's problem is economic in nature; and the
easi=
> er
> we make it to revive the economy via investments and empowerment of
> Nigerians to be global
> players, the better it is for all of us. As we speak today
multi-billion
> dollar mergers are going on around the globe; and yet, Nigeria, the
giant=
Ther=
> e
> are more Yoruba speakers in Lagos to interpret what is said than there
ar=
> e
> English speakers who interpret into other African languages. You
> must remember it was Chaucer who broke away from the colonial legacy
of
> using latin to use English that may be one of the reasons why there is
> country called England today.
>
> This is a good move I hope that this type of resolution is adopted in
> other parts of the country our national languages should be the
official
> languages not English which is spoken elites who constitute less 5% of
th=
> e
> total population. This intiative may have been killed today it is
> going to come up again. Elites don't want to break their tentacles
from
> there colonial it took of African woman to make sense out of our
reality.
>
> Thanks Bunmi I believe that you are a woman if not forgive me. It is
> refreshing to read your comment.
>
> On Mon, 13 Dec 1999, Olubunmi Matory wrote:
>
> > Stevek,
> >
> > You and I know that languages grow or die depending on their use.
Just
> > because our local languages don't have words for galaxy doesn't mean
it
> > can't be CREATED. One man resurrected HEBREW, a dead language, for
Pete=
> 's
> > sake. Even in English, do you know how many new words have been
created=
> in
> > the last 5 years because of the computer industry.
> >
> > It's sheer laziness on our part to think that because something
doesn't
> > exist, then it's not possible. The words will be created soon as the
ne=
> ed
> > arises. I support the call for the use of Yoruba in the Lagos State
of
> > Assembly. Let the Yoruba scholars in Nigeria and in the diaspora
help
> > them develop the specialized vocabulary needed in governance. We
used =
> to
> > have kings and a language of the court. Why don't we resurrect that
and
> > adapt it for modern day use?
> >
> > Bunmi
> >
> > On Mon, 13 Dec 1999, Steven Kueberuwa wrote:
> >
> > > Idia,
> > >
> > > Please, furnish the Yoruba words for any color other than red,
black,
> and
> > > white. While you are at it, furnish the words for solar system,
galax=
> y,
> > > pulsar, immune system, and alpha radiation.
> > >
> > > My point is, our native languages have been treated as static
subject=
> s
> to be
> > > studies and have not been further developed by the likes of
Fafunwa.
> Thus,
> > > the languages are still too deficient for technical use. Maybe,
even
> > > deficient for political use because I doubt very much if there are
> Yoruba
> > > words for simply everyday political terms like governor (not
gomina),
> > > constitution, chief whip, state, or federal.
> > >
> > > Stevek.
> > >
> > >
> > > Philip Abode wrote:
> > >
> > > > Isn't this amazing? This kind of thinking permeates every fabric
of
> our
> > > > society and we fail to appreciate all we have been endowed with
unt=
> il
> > > > the white man turns around and shows us its significance. A case
in
> > > > point is the agricultural arena, organic products are now valued
ov=
> er
> > > > chemically treated products. I could go on and cite examples in
> > > > pharmaceutical, education and entertainment arenas. The point
is,
> > > > somehow we are self-destructive. I was telling my husband the
other
> day,
> > > > that all I really needed to know I learned way back in
elementary
> school
> > > > at Ibadan when I was taught in Yoruba. I pointed out the
importance=
> of
> > > > metaphors in getting ones point across, and how since leaving
Niger=
> ia
> > > > has never experience such imagery except when I listen to Abiola
aa=
> nd
> > > > Ross Perot. A language rooted in such imagery and metaphors have
so
> much
> > > > to teach us. Those in organization management are cognizant of
this=
> > > =D0=CF=11=E0=A1=B1=1A=E1
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > __________________________________________________
> > > Do You Yahoo!?
> > > Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place.
> > > Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com
> > >
> >
> >
>
>
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
=3D=
>
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
=3D=
>
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
> This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
> server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
> message body of "unsubscribe akwa-cross-net" to
majo...@lists.stanford.=
> edu
fadipe
In article <002e01bf4690$05bbec60$1ac8a8c0@paul---nathan-s>,
"Paul Olatoye \(SNC NOW!\)" <POla...@gibconst.com> wrote:
> The book was published and I will ask Dr Kayode Fanilola to oblige me
to
> introduce some of the text to this net. I believe financed by UNESCO,
who
> else will do something like that? The politics gets in when the
panelist
> wanted implementation. Oga patapata no gree. I believe, as I was told
that
> similar endeavors exist for Ndigbo language.
> Are you aware that Head of State has to sign your appointing paper
before
> you are made a Professor in Nigeria? Many of you do not know how
Nigeria is
> run and that is why we spend too much time on this asylum. If half on
this
> net really know how Nigeria is run we would not hesitate to pick up
arms
> against many of our past rulers.
>
> Abo mi re o.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Naija...@aol.com <Naija...@aol.com>
> To: POla...@gibconst.com <POla...@gibconst.com>; ia...@csufresno.edu
> <ia...@csufresno.edu>; stev...@yahoo.com <stev...@yahoo.com>
> Cc: ad...@africamail.com <ad...@africamail.com>; yorub...@onelist.com
> <yorub...@onelist.com>; naij...@esosoft.com <naij...@esosoft.com>;
> igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu <igbo...@mcfeeley.cc.utexas.edu>;
> RIV...@siue.edu <RIV...@siue.edu>; akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu
> <akwa-cr...@lists.stanford.edu>
> Date: Tuesday, December 14, 1999 12:15 PM
> Subject: Re: Lagos Assembly rejects Yoruba as official language
>
> >In a message dated 12/14/99 6:07:35 AM Pacific Standard Time,
> >POla...@gibconst.com writes:
> >
> ><<
> > Yoruba scholars had developed Yoruba dictionary for technical words.
> Infact,
> > they had planned the launching before Babangida stopped it becuase
the
> > North is not ready. Dr Kayode Fanilola had a copy of the dictionary
and I
> > have seen it.
> > Very interesting to see words like "moment of inertia" in Yoruba.
> > Abo mi re o. >>
> >
> >
> >Paul:
> >This does not sound true. Babangida does not have that kind of power.
For
> >God's sake, you did not need government permision to publish books.
Where
> do
> >you get all this twisted tales? I want to guess that the authors
probably
> >wanted government money - a la ministry of education - and were
denied.
> >
> >yinka
> >
>
>
========================================================================
==
> This message was posted through the Stanford campus mailing list
> server. If you wish to unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the
> message body of "unsubscribe akwa-cross-net" to
Emopin Ayenuro-Lawrence, Student FB 07
thanks for the clarification. I would at this time myself make a small
clarification and at the same time would love to know what are included in your
basket of "major problems".
When I propose adopting our language as official language for all Yorubas, I am
not saying we should do it a la Nigeria. I suppose you know how nigeria policies
are rushed and killed? I have the feeling that the Yorubas in Nigeria (mean most
especially the elites) are too deeply concentrated on the Yorubas living in
Nigeria forgetting to also include in their agenda a simultaneous solution to
the Yoruba question. That means an ultimate unification of all Yoruba people
within and outside Nigeria a s a strong indivisible Nation and descendants of
Oodua. We must consider also the inclusion of those in Diaspora, evolve a medium
of bringing us together thru education and tourism which MUST be carried out in
the language of the People. If we have this all in mind, it wouldn't be nice to
just proclaim Yoruba to official language overnight. We must do many research
and modernisation on the language. This takes a lot of time. I suggest the
programm from onset to completion should at least take a period of five years of
deliberation, research, compilation, modernisation and standardisation.
Nevertheless, it would be bad if we establish a body that would monitor all it
composing of Yoruba language scholars, scholars in other academic fields and
also honourable members. It's wont be farfetched if we do that. We have many
organisations but we still lack such bodies that are not political but cultural,
academical and scientifical in nature. Our problems is not only political or
economical but also cultural and social. We must not wait first until the big
problem is resolved but must also make plans for the smaller problems so that
when the bigger problems are resolved, we wont be surprised by the smaller ones.
For me, the bigger problem is funding, we must therefore make sure that all
partake of this 'cuz it's our land. The financial administration should be
administered by worthy and responsible people, their activities must be
transparent etc etc.
To the question of Yorubawa again, think what we need to is to adapt the foreign
words to suit the grammatical build-up of the Yoruba language. It must also be
written on the basis of the Yoruba pronouciation. Yorubawa can also be made fit
for official conversation. It's possible, we only need to refine it.
Hey, what about the translation? Would I still get a copy and if then how much
would you like to have for your pain? I must warn you, I ain't rich in monies at
all! Ki Oodua bukun o!! Yoruba a gbe wa. O se pupo o dabo!
Omo Oodua
Babalola Olalekan schrieb:
> Alagba Omo Oodua,
> Thanks for your advice. Although I agree with your line of reasoning, I
> still feel I must clarify something about my definition of "Yorubawa". By
> that, I meant a diluted Yoruba---so diluted you don't know if it's Yoruba
> mixed with English, or it's English mixed with Yoruba. That, I believe
> cannot pass for an official language. As I suggested, we could use both
> languages, and it would be fine. But adopting only Yoruba at this time will
> be a waste of time and resources. At least at this point in time.
> If you asked me, I am all for my mother tongue. But, personally, I don't
> think that is the most important thing right now. Let's solve the big
> problems first before we get stickly with the little ones.
>
> Abo mire o.