Laila

February 15, 2018  by

#MemeML: Language Diversity Has Never Been So Much Fun!

For the second year in a row, International Mother Language Day (Feb 21) is preceded by a week-long meme campaign that challenges commonly held expectations of minority languages.

Led by co-organizers Rising Voices, the Living Tongues Institute, First Peoples’ Cultural Council, Indigenous Tweets, Endangered Languages Project, and the Digital Language Diversity Project, the 2018 Meme Challenge brings together individual language advocates and organizations from around the world to highlight the cause of language diversity online, with a humorous twist. Last year’s edition led to the translation of the Meme Challenge website into 34 languages, including Yorùbá, and the creation of memes in languages like Asturian, Inuktitut and Bengali, to name just three.

As a collective that is deeply committed to supporting diverse language use online, the YorubaName team invites you to add your voice to this meme challenge. The only requirements are an Internet connection and a good sense of humor! You can find user-friendly meme templates on websites such as MemeGen and Memegenerator (need more tips? Head over here.)

This is a unique opportunity to collaborate on a global level and share your love of language with the world. The celebration will culminate on February 21st, with International Mother Language Day, a special day that recognizes the importance of each language and sheds light on speaker communities that are too often forgotten or denigrated in official discourse.

February 21st also marks Speak Yoruba Day! What started as a campaign to pressure Twitter into offering a Yoruba interface, has taken a life of its own and become a yearly social media event during which participants post in Yorùbá, share each other’s posts and generally delight in the Yorùbá language. No matter your language level or confidence in writing it, you are welcome to the party :). This year, we are also inviting people who speak every other Nigerian language to join in with their own language as well. The International Mother Tongue Day is set aside by UNESCO to help call attention to language diversity around the world.

Look out for #MemeML on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook and fill our timelines with all the beautiful languages you speak! See you on the web!

in Featured / General / Language 0 comments
July 8, 2016  by

Yorùbá Name on the road: University of Ibadan

On 1st July, Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún and I were invited by IFRA Nigeria to present the Yorùbá Name project at the University of Ibadan. As I’ve been contributing remotely from Nairobi and other places, I could never have imagined how warm the response from both students and professors would be. It’s one thing to be told that people at UI are taking the project to heart, it’s another to sit in front of a room full of knowledgeable, passionate Yorùbá speakers loudly debating the breakdown of the name Sójìmí. If this is what linguistic research allied to technology can do, I definitely want more of it!

Beyond the heart-warming feeling of speaking to an enthusiastic audience, our trip to Ibadan was a great opportunity to establish links with a dynamic university community, and UI didn’t disappoint in this regard. We left convinced more than ever that the geolocation of names is going to be of crucial importance to establish patterns, due to the dialectal distribution of the Yoruba language. This was illustrated in particular by a couple of names from Ondo State that had previously eluded the Yoruba Name community, yet were well-known to some participants from this area, who could explain their meaning and origin. This observation certainly highlights the need for finer research into local naming practises in the various regions where Yorùbá is spoken.

One underlying current behind all the questions and comments that kept us engaged until time ran out, was how personal the project felt to participants. Some worried about how ‘funkifying’ one’s name could affect the course one’s destiny as inscribed in the name given at birth, while others recalled the long road they had taken to understand the meaning of their names and it seemed that all had a sense of how meaningful a name can be.

After hearing a few personal accounts of how a person’s name came to be, I have become increasingly interested in listening to more such stories, because meaning is never univocal. Instead, it is found in carefully peeling back the layers to gradually expand the perspective: first the combination of words that form the name, then the deeper signification of this utterance in a particular context. And there is more. In there is the back story of a person’s birth which is a family history, ensconced in a vaster community of memory. A website such as this one can never capture all these family histories criss-crossing the bigger canvas of History, but it can probably do a little to help those looking for a clue.

I left Drapers Hall with a renewed desire to continue devoting time to this project, to follow these threads of meaning across language and time and to keep on learning from all the people I meet along the way.

The full report of the Drapers Hall event can be found here on the IFRA website.

in General 1 comments
December 25, 2015  by

Can you help this couple pick the perfect Yorùbá name for their baby?

 “Many Google searches around Yorùbá names emanate from future parents who are looking for a beautiful name for their child, a name that will reflect their values and their personal journey to parenthood. One such couple reached out to us a few days ago, sharing their story of cross-cultural love and their desire to find a unique combination of names representing all of their child’s heritage.

Read on to find out if you can help them on their quest for the perfect Yorùbá name!

Obi and Tọ́lá* spent nearly their whole lives in the UK and moved to Lagos a few years ago to pursue career opportunities. 2015 has brought the couple wonderful news: they’re expecting their first child! Like any parents-to-be, they are faced with many decisions, one of them being the choice of their child’s name. The baby’s gender isn’t known yet but Obi and Tọ́lá have already made up their minds about one thing: his or her names will be a compound of Obi’s Igbo and Tọ́lá’s Yorùbá culture.

After much online searching, Obi and Tọ́lá haven’t quite come across the kind of Yorùbá name they’re seeking…The YorubaName dictionary hasn’t officially launched yet but that doesn’t mean we can’t help them find a great name!

Here are some of the criteria your suggested name(s) should meet:

  • Easy to pronounce. Though both parents speak their respective languages, they weren’t exposed to enough Yorùbá and Igbo to be able to master every single sound and they find longer, more complicated names difficult to pronounce. The name shouldn’t include any ‘gb’ sound, lest aunties spend a great many hours correcting the parents on the pronunciation of their own child’s name!
  • Straighforward spelling
  • Not so long that it would be routinely shortened
  • Ideally an uncommon name. Avoid beginnings such as Olú… Olúwa… Adé… Bàbá etc.
  • Obi and Tọ́lá are not keen on names referring to wealth, or focusing on the parents’ life, feelings and struggles. They would like a name whose theme solely celebrates their baby.

In case some more background might help you find inspiration, you should know that both parents are Christians and that the baby is going to be the first grandchild on the mother’s side and the third on the father’s side. If a girl, the baby will be the first female grandchild in the family.

Crowdsourcing a name is so 2016! Send your name ideas to project@yorubaname.com, message us on our Facebook page or tweet us @yorubanames. You can also drop your comments below. Thanks in advance for all your contributions!

__

* To preserve the couple’s privacy, we didn’t use their real names.

Update 03/06/2016: Obi and Tọ́lá’s little girl was born a few days ago. They chose the name Tiwanìfẹ́ “Ours is love”.

in General 5 comments
December 19, 2015  by

The week in links

The Yorùbá name of the week is…

maja

Májà ‘Do not fight’.

Here is a roundup of links we shared on social media this week:

On the blogs

The Yoruba blog published a complete photostory of the coronation of ọba Adéyẹyè Ẹnìtàn Ogúnwùsì

If you’re in Lagos, check out the Susanne Wenger Adùnní Olórìṣà Trust exhibition currently showing at the Wheatbaker Hotel in Ikoyi: photos, drawings, paintings, and other works of art by Òsogbo and Òsogbo-influenced artists and about the sacred Òsun Òsogbo Grove are on display.

Blogger Alákọ̀wé has a new video series, in which he takes the viewer on a tour of various London neighbourhoods with commentary in Yorùbá.

Language

The Android app Kasahorow has recently added Yorùbá to its supported languages. You can now type Akan (Fanti, Twi, Akuapem), English, Ga-Dangme, Gbe (Ewe, Ewegbe, Fon), Gikuyu, Hausa, Igbo, Wolof and, yes, Yoruba on your device!

For language enthusiasts, the World Atlas of Language Structures is a fantastic resource, including visualisations of various aspects of language. For instance, here is a map representing the distribution of tonal languages in the world, based on research including 527 languages.

Et pour les francophones…

Dans un article de 1969 paru dans la revue ‘Etudes Dahoméennes’, Machioudi Idriss Dissou retrace l’origine de quelques familles yoruba de Porto Novo à travers leurs oríkì.

Have fun reading!

What else happened this week in your corner of the Internet?

in General 1 comments
October 15, 2015  by

Guest post: clan names of the Ṣabẹ́ (Republic of Benin)

Ṣàbẹ́ is a locality of the Collines region in the Republic of Benin, whose inhabitants are linguistically and culturally part of Yorubaland. In most Ṣàbẹ́ clans, personal clan names are assigned to the children and there is a host of such names for both girls and boys.

These clan names are often related to the order of birth but one must bear in mind that they are different from another set of names especially dedicated to the child’s position in the family. Clan names and birth rank names are indeed two different things: the birth rank names used by the Ṣàbẹ́ were borrowed from the Bàátọ̀nú with whom the Ṣàbẹ́ are linked by a kinship-based joking relationship (gonẹ̀cí). In contrast, clan names will in most cases simultaneously identify a person’s clan affiliation, their sex and their birth rank.

Ajàsọ̀ clan

Children of this clan are given names such as:

Order of birth

1st born

2nd

3rd

Male

Mọ̀sìà

Agé

Sọ̀gbà

Female

Agbàkẹ̀n

Tilé

–

Akọ clan

Order of birth

1st born

2nd

3rd

4th

Male

Agbàcí

Olóní

Gbẹ̀dó

Kòcòní

Female

Wẹ̀sẹ̀ú

Òòpó

Àgàá

–

Akútúànbẹ clan

Order of birth

1st born

2nd

Male

Ajéè

Ọlọ́ta

Female

Ọjá

Ijègbé

Amùcù clan

This clan is also known as Ońlẹ̀. It is a princely clan like the Ọ̀tọ́lá clan (see below). Children born to this clan bear names such as:

Order of birth

1st born

2nd

3rd

4th

Male

Yáì

Càfàà

Adìmí

Ajẹn-ẹn

Female

Yẹ́bà Bèjì

–

–

–

Eegú clan

This clan worships a deity called eegú, hence its name. Descendants of this clan are given the same clan names irrespective of sex or order of birth.

  • Eegújọbí  “we are all descendants of eegú”
  • Jẹ̀níhẹn   “Jẹ̀ has a lineage”
  • Eegúlétí  “Eegú has granted my wish”
  • Jẹ̀gbèmí  “Jẹ̀ supported me”

Names bearing the prefixes Eegú- or Jẹ̀- indicate that their bearers are members of this clan.

Ọgá clan

Ọgá clan names do not refer to the order of birth but they do provide a differentiation based on the child’s sex.

Male

  • Ayédìtẹ̀n   “the world has become history”
  • Ayédìlú     “the world has become a village”
  • Ayélàùn     “the world is scary”
  • Ayélòmí     “the world disgusts me”
  • Kúbíyà       “death causes sorrow”
  • Ayédẹgẹ́     “the world is fragile”

Female

  • Ilétíkú         “it is from our surroundings that death arises”
  • Inọ́nihan     “the belly is inscrutable”
  • Kámia         “let’s be cautious”
  • Lèéminọ̀      “who can read someone else’s thoughts?”
  • Kámáhòtẹ́n  “let’s not think about all of life’s sorrows”

Ọ̀tàà clan

Order of birth

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

1st

2nd

3rd

4t

Male

Oluku

Apàdó

Apàkí

Ayédọ̀n

Abúmọ̀

Jọ̀mọ́

Sẹ̀ndà

Dàkpánọ̀

Àjẹ̀nẹ̀

Female

Ejò

Sùú

Dòganí

–

–

–

Nanọ

Cánọ̀

–

It is worth pointing out that in this clan, several personal names are specifically meant for the first born child of a given family, whether they be a boy or a girl.

Ọtọ́lá clan

It is a princely clan whose children bear the following names:

Order of birth

1st born

2nd

Male

Yabi

Afùdá

Female

Yẹ́bà

–

Jàbàtá clan

Order of birth

1st

1st

1st

2nd

3rd

Male

Awéè

Sámọ̀

–

Ajàmọ̀sì

–

Female

Ọlájọ́

Ọgẹ̀dú

Edìíbì

Sùnmọ̀ní

Ẹgbẹ̀á

Jàlúmọ̀ clan

Order of birth

1st

1st

2nd

3rd

Male

Akíyọ̀

Ọ̀fẹn

Ẹtká

–

Female

Obò

–

Àndó

Òlé

Sẹ̀ngà clan

Male

  • First born: Sẹwọ́ “to vomit”, Ògídí, Àsùní “a God-given child”
  • Second born: Dẹ̀nọ̀

Female

  • First born: Idóó “bereavement”
  • Second born: Onẹ̀dọ̀n “man is pleasant”, Onídọ̀n “today is better”
  • Third born: Olúpé  “we are all here”

Sọ̀lọ́ clan

Order of birth

1st

1st

2nd

2nd

Male

Cànbí

Sìnẹ̀bú

Ajàbà

Ogíní

Female

Sọ̀lọ́

–

Bọ́nẹ

–

Contributor’s profile

Dr. Moufoutaou ADJERAN is a sociolinguistics lecturer at Abomey-Calavi University (Republic of Benin). He is also a member of the Sociolinguistics and Yoruba Studies research centre and of the Francophone Sociolinguistics Network.

The original post was published in French on YorubaName.com. Translation into English by Laila Le Guen.

in Featured / Language / Lexicography 2 comments
July 20, 2015  by

From the Community: Names Explained by Their Bearers

What is the story of your name? The answer to this question is always deeply personal, touching on family history.

We asked community members to email or tweet an interesting story about their name, with no format restriction. Though the contest launched about a month ago was titled ‘My Name, My Story’, upon reading the pieces, it becomes clear that it would have been more aptly dubbed ‘My name, Our Story’, so deeply embedded they are in a larger context.

Two of the winners have already received their prizes, a YorubaName.com T-shirt…and sent back photographic evidence !

Below are excerpts from the winning entries.

Stephen Adewale Oluwarotimi Ajayi

my name my story contest - stephen ajayi

My names are Stephen Adewale Oluwarotimi Ajayi.

From the moment I could read and write my mother never missed the opportunity to tell me how special I was to her. She had gotten married at a young age (as they all did back then) but was unable to bear a child for my father in the first 6 years. She was getting pregnant though, just wasn’t able to carry to term.
In the 7th year of her marriage I came. Oh yeah, my father came from a line of Adeyemi’s, which means ‘the crown befits me’ so he instantly named me Stephen, which according to my findings means ‘crown’ and then he added Adewale, which means ‘the crown has come home’.
The 6 years drought my mother had, had taken her through a deep journey in seeking her spiritual self and when she ‘took-in’, carried to term and had me (a bouncing baby boy) she immaculately named me Oluwarotimi, which means ‘the Lord stayed with me’. This is a compound name, so to speak, the second part being ‘Rotimi’ (I find this name so soothing), which means ‘Stay with me’. This I did till she left us to the Lord.

Olanrewaju

my name my story contest - olanrewaju 1

My name is Olanrewaju. Olanrewaju means ‘honour is continuing’ or ‘honour is moving forward’. (…) At birth and naming, it was glaring that honours continued coming to my father and the entire family  as a whole.

My father was a palm wine tapper, he became the head of the tappers (in Agbado/Agidingbi, present Ogun state, Nigeria) in the late 1930s. He left wine tapping/selling to become a stationery and book seller in Jankara market, Lagos state. This business grew from kiosk trade to shop and later departmental store in the late 50s. All this while, only female children were born, with only a male out of the eight.

In the wake of Nigeria’s independence in 1960, my father came home to the village (Iludun-Oro, Kwara State) to give his house a modern architectural facelift. Three years after independence, on August 1st, 1963, I was born, the much awaited male child had come!

Abiodun Temitope Ayotunde Omowon Idowu

Abi’s parents, living in London at the time, had one child before they were advised that, due to medical issues, another pregnancy would pose a severe risk to her mother’s life.

Eight years later, while curled up in the arms of my father in bed at night, my mother had a dream where she saw her father-in-law, dressed as a woman in high fashion and with an ample bosom and he called her name and told her that he was returning to her and that she was three months pregnant and that he would return as a girl, fair of skin and dark of eyes and though men would find her appealing, she would struggle to pick one as a mate.

My mother woke up and while she was struggling with how to tell my startled father who was wondering why she was shaky, the phone rang and my father was informed that his father had passed at midnight. My mother then told my father her dream after he had calmed down and he went and got a pregnancy test kit. It was positive.

As my parents made plans to come for the funeral, my mother convinced my dad to make the move permanent as she was terrified that she would be made to abort her baby. Father agreed and they came home finally and three months and three weeks later I was born in Lagos, premature but strong and healthy and I was immediately named Omowon (a child is rare).

I now have two other siblings. My eyes are dark and a bit fair of skin and though I have been engaged four times, I am yet to pick a mate.

[Abi hasn’t claimed her gift yet, which is why we couldn’t feature her photo on the blog post.]

Although the contest has now ended, we have not stopped receiving emails. Do you have any peculiar story about your name? Send them to us at project@yorubaname.com. We’d love to read (and possibly share) them. We are not definitely promising you a t-shirt for your efforts but you can never know…

in Featured / General 1 comments
July 17, 2015  by

Benin Travel Report #2: Bright Yellow Wave in Cotonou

I always find it very telling to hear about other people’s experiences of space, especially when they are travelling in a place where they can’t rely on the cues they are used to. Someone like me, who was used to maps and street names and generally to written signs indicating the location of things in the city, navigating Bangkok was a huge adjustment because I initially had no clue how to read Thai, nor did I know that most people in Thailand don’t orient themselves using maps.

Since then, I’ve noticed how what we pick out in our visual environment is trained by our interests but also by experiences such as getting lost in Bangkok and working out strategies for that not to happen too often.

Painting behind Fondation Zinsou, Cotonou

Painting behind Fondation Zinsou, Cotonou

More than any landmark, this is what struck me the most on my first few days in Cotonou: the yellow wave of motorcycle taxis, the yellow of MTN-sponsored shops and ads, just yellow everywhere. In Cotonou, you hardly see any buses, minibuses, or any form of public transport other than shared green and yellow taxis. What you see a lot of, on the other hand, are motorcycle taxis donning the yellow sleeveless shirt indicating their registration number with the city council. Each city enforces their own regulations regarding this form of public transport and they have colour codes – blue in Porto Novo, green in Ouidah, purple and yellow in Bohicon – but nowhere is it as massively visible as in Cotonou, where competition for passengers is stiff.

Another observation that took a while longer to register but is no less impressive, is the contrast between the languages you hear on the streets and the signs and various written material present in the city. I can’t tell Fon from Gun or Minna but I definitely hear some French seamlessly woven into speech here and there, a bit of Nago (a dialect of Yorùbá) on a lucky day, and the occasional exchange in Nigerian Pidgin English. In all these daily conversations, French isn’t the most used language, unless a foreigner is involved.

But if you were to block your ears for a while and look only at the signs, you would be forgiven for quoting French, not Fon, as the city’s main lingua franca. I mentioned the wide dominance of French in the publishing sector, but it goes way beyond this aspect. Billboards, electoral campaign posters, shop signs, booklets about how to be a good wife: all these are in French, entirely. Of course, the language of instruction in Benin is French, and international brands probably produce advertising concepts that are only regionally localised, but what of local shopkeepers? Simply put, they learnt to write in French and wouldn’t think of using their own languages in writing, provided they knew how to.

In Porto Novo, I had a nice chat with a lady called Raoulat who owns a kitchenware store. We spoke for a few minutes in French, then in Yorùbá, and she helped me find my way to the Jardin des Plantes (botanical garden). She seemed so concerned about my well-being that I decided to send her a reassuring text once I got to my destination. A few minutes later, she called me back…to say she supposed I got there safely, but she was sorry she couldn’t read her mother tongue, Yorùbá. I was embarrassed not to have thought of that beforehand, and remembered how my own grandparents, who were native Breton speakers, never learnt to read or write it, but were literate in French, a language they had to acquire the hard way at school.

I started looking out for bilingual signs or at least traces of the languages I heard spoken in Benin. Porto Novo was different from Cotonou in this regard: Nigerian movies in Yorùbá are quite popular there, and there are entire shops full of DVDs with covers in Yorùbá or a mix of Yorùbá and English. The botanical garden, though currently in an alarming state of neglect, has multilingual labels indicating the plant species in Latin, Fon, Yoruba and French:

Multilingual board at the botanical garden, Porto Novo.

Multilingual board at the botanical garden, Porto Novo.

Guedevy Hotel in Abomey is famous for its wall decorations depicting the symbols of successive Danxome kings, but something else altogether caught my attention: a bilingual Fon / French reception sign! Granted, the font for ‘Agbaji’ is somewhat smaller than the French but still…

Bilingual reception sign at Guedevy Hotel, Abomey. Agbaji / Reception

Bilingual reception sign at Guedevy Hotel, Abomey. Agbaji / Reception

So the trip continues!

Did you miss part 1? Head over here to read about Benin’s multilingual youth.

in Featured / General 0 comments
July 10, 2015  by

Benin Travel Report #1 : Language Obsession

After a little over three weeks in the country of Benin, I decided it was time to share some of my obsessive thoughts on language, literature and…just generally people I talk to on a daily basis.

JPN

Jardin des Plantes, Porto Novo

Never multilingual enough

Most Beninois I’ve met are fluent in at least 3 languages – usually including Fon and French, but combinations vary – while some are able to communicate in an impressive number of languages spoken in the region. Multilingualism is definitely the norm and younger generations are now going one step further to embrace English and Mandarin Chinese as foreign languages.

And it’s not just talk: parents are ready to spend their hard-earned CFA Francs on sending their children to Ghana during the school holidays for them to improve their English in a conducive learning environment. There are summer language schools popping up on every block, bilingual English/French schools, and kids randomly greeting me in English on the street. From what I’ve been able to observe in Cotonou, learning English is very popular as the language is seen as a key to unlock study and job opportunities around the world.

Another upcoming trend is the study of Mandarin Chinese, both at university and at language centers such as the Confucius Institute. There is a lot of interest in Mandarin from young people who are looking to bag scholarships to China but are also keenly aware of the rise of Chinese businesses on the continent, and investing in the language as a way of keeping ahead in a competitive job market.

My impression is that young people’s attitude towards foreign language learning is positive, since these popular languages are meant to increase their chances of achieving a desirable lifestyle, but also incredibly confident and driven. While practically every single person I’ve told that I am learning Yorùbá has asked me if I found it difficult and seemed a bit incredulous, I don’t hear language learners saying English or Chinese are a big challenge to them. They just go for it!

On the situation of indigenous languages

When I look back at the past 3 weeks I’ve spent here, meeting quite a few professionals and academics involved in language-related fields such as linguistics, language instruction, indigenous language promotion, it is striking to realise that for the most part, they are forced to either create their own learning materials at great expense to themselves and/or their institutions, or rely on books imported from Nigeria. Based on my contacts’ assessment and my own short experience in the country, publishing in indigenous languages in Benin is virtually non-existent.

However, Yorùbá language and literature are taught at undergraduate levels at Université Abomey-Calavi and the numbers are very encouraging: every year, over 400 linguistics major are enrolled in the Yorùbá elective at various levels. Some of them may even be poets in the making for all we know! With enough support from teachers and publishing industry players, literature from Benin could in future become a better reflection of the linguistic landscape of the country. Already, Dr Adjẹran has a poetry collection in Yorùbá coming out very soon and his colleague at Université Abomey-Calavi, Pr Ige Mamoud, is working on a monolingual Yorùbá dictionary as well as Yorùbá learning materials for Benin.

That’s not all there is to Benin…

I’ve been dwelling mostly on Yorùbá language and literature in this first report because this is where my current interests lie but from my wanderings in the streets of Cotonou, Porto Novo and Ouidah, I took away some other peculiar stories and observations.

For instance, did you know that TVs are absolutely everywhere, even the smallest neighbourhood kiosk, but almost nobody here watches Benin TV channels? Or that motorcycle taxis wear different uniform colours depending on the city where they operate?

I will talk about this in my next post, coming up later in the week. But for now, back to work.

in Featured / General 0 comments
May 14, 2015  by

Deciphering Character Names in Literary Fiction

640px-Ibadan

After chatting with a Chinese student who is considering joining my school next semester, I can safely say that I am not the only one who became interested in learning Yoruba following repeated encounters with this language in books by Nigerian authors, either in the form of dialogues, italicized words, or – yes – character names.

Understanding Yoruba names and dialogues in English langage fiction is usually not necessary to enjoy reading but it can sometimes enrich the experience. It’s part of what makes langage learning so engaging to me!

 

The Alao children’s names explained

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives, Lola Shoneyin‘s debut novel, is a brilliantly caustic tale of family drama. The story revolves around Baba Segi’s household, composed of himself, his four wives and seven children :

From the eldest child to the youngest, he called them by their names : Segi and Akin, a daughter before a son, from his first wife ; Tope, Afolake and Motun, three girls born eleven months apart, from the second ; and Femi and Kole, sons smugly birthed by Iya Femi, his third wife. (excerpt from chapter 1)

Have you ever wondered what Baba Segi’s children’s names meant ?

Sẹ̀gi is short for Sẹ̀gilọlá (sẹ̀gi.ni.ọlá). Sẹ̀gi is an expensive type of bead and the name means « Sẹ̀gi is wealth ». Incidentally, this is also the name of the narrator in what is considered to be the first novel in Yorùbá, Itan Igbesi-Aiye Emi Segilola, published as a series of 30 instalments in Akede Eko in 1930. The abbreviated name Sẹ̀gi could also stand for Sẹ̀giladé (sẹ̀gi.ni.adé) « Sẹ̀gi is crown / head ».

Akin means « warrior, brave man »

Tọpe is short for Tèmitọpe (tèmi.tọpe) « Mine / my situation deserves gratefulness »

Afọlákẹ́ (a.fi.ọlá.kẹ́) « the one pampered with wealth »

Motún is a short form of Motúnráyọ̀ (mo.tún.rí.ayọ̀) « I have experienced joy again »

Fẹ́mi is the shortened version of Olúwafẹ́mi (Olúwa.fẹ́.mi) « God loves me »

Kọlé is from Kọlédowó (kọ.ilé.de.owó) «Build a house in anticipation of wealth »

Unfortunately, the fourth and youngest wife Bọlánlé (Bá.ọlá.ní.ilé “the one that met wealth in the house”) has failed to give birth to a child. A new addition to the family, Bọlánlé stands out because of her somewhat more priviledged social background and her university education.

The aptly named retired police officer

In search of a solution to his misfortune, Baba Segi finds himself at a dingy bar where he meets up with a callous retired police sergent, the aptly named Ọláọ̀pá (ọlá.ọ̀pá « the benefit/wealth/glory of the baton »). The name is interesting also because it rhymes with the Yoruba translation of “policeman”: Ọlọ́pàá (the wielder of the baton). This is a name given to them because of how colonial police officers always went about with batons instead of firearms.

Throughout the novel, various characters express their perception of Bọ́lánlé’s social status. In the passage in question, language is put forward as a marker of class by Ọláọ̀pá:

Atanda ! You want to land Baba Segi in jail ? Who would dare to drag a graduate ? When she opens her mouth and English begins to pour from it like heated palm oil, the constable will be so captivated, he will throw our friend behind bars!

Though Ọláọ̀pá is but a secondary character in the novel, I found his boisterous ways endearing. Here is a respected man in the community, husband to four wives, boasting about his manly performance and yet we come to understand just how saddled with insecurities he is when faced with the case of the “graduate wife”.

Can you translate the names of your favourite fictional characters?

Photo credit: “Ibadan” by Dassiebtekreuz on Wikipedia. CC BY 2.5  License.

in General 2 comments