It’s odd that I found myself volunteering with Yoruba Names and at the same time it’s the most natural thing in the world.
Like Vanessa in the novel In Dependance by Sarah Ladipo-Manyika, there was a time I used to ask myself “Do your names really mean what you say they do?” (…) “Or is this how you like to charm the girls?”. Now that I’ve started learning Yorùbá, I may not be quite as clueless but that sense of wonder has not abated, for I’ve been fortunate enough to come across the most inspiring teachers both at school and online.
My involvement in this project stems from a growing conviction that the diversity of languages existing in the world needs to be better represented online and that we can all take a part in making this happen. On a more personal level, it’s a source of great enjoyment both to learn more about Yorùbá names along the way, and to do so in the company of other passionate volunteers from various backgrounds.
I am going to be the Bénin connection in the team, working in collaboration with Yorùbá speakers as well as local scholars to document the names found in the country. Apart from preparing for this upcoming field work, I am active on the social media and copy-editing fronts, making sure that the world knows what’s happening with the Yoruba Names Dictionary!
Of course, I’m not so naive as to expect everyone to instantly start caring about the accurate pronunciation of names, and even less so about their meaning and history, but it will be quite an achievement if one day soon, the information is available for anyone to look up on their laptops, phones, tablets, or whichever device will have been invented in the years to come.