Elder Adébóyè Adégbénró the Yoruba instructor and student
The beginning Yoruba language course offered through the School of Continuing Education and Workforce Development of Wayne County Community College District held the first class on Saturday, July 29, 2017 from 10 a.m. To noon at the Northwest campus located at 8200 Outer Dr West, Detroit, MI 48219.
The 18 weeks class originated due to the collaborative efforts of the District Vice Chancellor of International Program and Global Partnerships of WCCCD Dr. Omobonike Odegbami and the leadership of Odu’a Organization of Michigan the Asiwaju Mr. Shola Salako and the Igbakeji Aare Mr. David Adetokunbo Williams. The Odu’a Organization of Michigan is a cultural non profit organization whose central mission is to share the Yoruba language and culture with the community.
Elder Adébóyè Adégbénró is a musician, illustrationist/cartoonist and well versed Yoruba language instructor.
The Professor for this beginning class is Elder, Adébóyè Adégbénró who was born in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Elder Adégbénró is a musician, illustrationist/cartoonist and well versed Yoruba language instructor.
The language class is a great opportunity for any one who has wanted to study an African language, particularly the Yoruba language.
Week 1: Summary of materials covered
Welcome ! Ẹ kú abọ̀ !
Topic: Introduction = Mọ̀ mí n mòẹ́
Greeting:
Ẹ kú Àárọ = Good Morning
Ẹ kú Àsán = Good Afternoon
Ẹ kú Alẹ́ = Good Night
Ẹ kú Irọlẹ́ = Good Evening
Alphabets:
A B D E Ẹ F G GB H I J K
L M N O Ọ P R S Ṣ T U W Y
Tones are as important as letters in Yoruba. The Yoruba language is consider a Niger Congo language family and is tonal with three contrastive level tones. It is very important to pronounce each word with the correct tones to avoid any misunderstanding or changing the meaning of the word.
These three levels of tone are:
High Tone, Low Tone, and Mid Tone
Replacing one tone with another can result in a change of meaning. For Example:
bí – high tone – to deliver a baby
bì – low tone – to throw up
bi – mid tone – to ask
The three levels of tone are best learnt by using the musical notes (do, re, mi).
DÒ RE MÍ
DÒ MI ṢỌ́ (Recommend)
Accent go right – High tone
Accent go left – Low tone
Neutral – middle or neural tone
ÒRÚ
KÚ
KÚN
AKÚ
IBADAN
ẹ̀bá ọ̀dàn
ORÚKỌ MI NI __________________
MY NAME IS ___________________
IleOduduwa.com the Source is ennobling this great culture and language of the Yoruba people is a worthy endeavor to undertake and continue to share with the world it’s rich history, heritage, traditions, culture, and language that is spoken by sixty million people around the world.