Mnemonic technique is one of the ways by which language could be learnt and transmitted orally. Even in literate cultures, school children memorise many facts by using mnemonic rhymes. (1) is an example of these rhymes.
(1) Thirty days hath September,
April, June, and November
All the rest have thirty-one
Excepting February alone,
And that has twenty-eight days clear
Such mnemonics, couched in poetic language, are easier to recall than mere dry words.
In this paper, we shall discuss some Yorùbá poetry in music which could be used as follow-up material and activities for teaching Yorùbá to non-speakers of the language.
2. Consonants and Vowels
It has been stated by many authors that the consonants represented as p and gb in the Yorùbá orthography are difficult for European learners of Yorùbá to pronounce because the sounds do not occur in any European languages. According to Rowlands (1970: 4), ‘Among the consonants only two, gb and p, present any difficulty’. Delanọ (1970: 3) also states that
With the exception of gb and p, consonants in Yorùbá are roughly similar in sound to the following English consonants::
b as in bead
d as in dig
f as in fit
g as in give
h as in hip
j as in jeans
k as in kill
l as in limp
m as in mean
n as in neat
r as in read
s as in seek
ṣ as in she
t as in tip
w as in weep
y as in yield.
The claim made by these two authors is true because, as for gb, it has long been recognized in the language that àpèforísòpó là á pẹgbẹ̀ẹ́dọ́gbọ̀n (ẹgbẹ̀ẹ́dọ́gbọ̀n (one shilling and three pence) is said as if one is going to knock one’s head against a post). The reason for this is the gb sound that occurs in the word more than once. Also, the number of p’s in ọ̀pọ̀lọpòọ ọ̀pọ̀lọ́ ló wà tí ò lọ́pọlọ (there are many frogs that have got no brains) makes it a useful tongue twister for children. But the question is, if these sounds are difficult to pronounce, how do we teach non-speakers of the language to pronounce them? According to Delanọ (1970: 3-4), students can learn how to pronounce gb by performing these exercises:
Form your lips in the position for saying p or b in English; at the same time raising the back of the tongue so as to touch the roof of the mouth, as in k or g position in English; then release both at the same time… A more practical method of producing the sound for gb is to say the word big boy without any break between them while holding the tongue ready for k (sic) in English and the lips together as in p (sic) in English, then try to separate the syllables; repeat several times bi-gboy.
Rowlands (1970: 5) also explains that in pronouncing p and gb,
… the back of the tongue is raised to the position which it takes in pronouncing ‘k’ and ‘g’ while the lips are closed as in pronouncing ‘p’ and ‘b’. The tongue is moved away from the position at the same time that the lips are opened, producing sounds in which the quality of ‘k’ and ‘g’ combined with those of ‘p’ and ‘b’. The important point to note is that the qualities are head simultaneously, (Rowlands’ emphasis) not in succession. Learners practicing these sounds are apt to tense the muscles of the mouth, but actually the sounds are produced with these muscles quite relaxed. A useful way of acquiring these sounds is to take English words like ‘Blackpool’ and ‘rag-bag’ and try to pronounce them as ‘Bla-ckpool’ ‘ra-gbag’… There is no puff of breath after p, and gb is fully voiced.
The descriptions of these two sounds in Ajuwọn and Olowookere (1989: 1-3), Stevick and Arẹmu (1963: xiii), Barber (1984: 6) and Schleicher (1993: 81-82) follow the same pattern. The problem here is that most non-Yorùbá speakers learning Yorùbá have no linguistic background, thus it will be very difficult for them to perform these exercises. Apart from this, students do not find it easy to pronounce Blackpool , ragbag and big boy as Bla-ckpool, ra-gbag and bi-gboy respectively, and, when they do, they are unable to equate the sounds produced immediately after the hyphen with p and gb.
Delanọ and Rowlands go further, however, to averring that ‘the best and easiest way to learn the correct pronunciation of p and gb is to say them after a teacher or a native’ (Delanọ (1970: 3) and that “To acquire a good pronunciation it is advisable to hear the sounds from the lips of a Yorùbá (Rowlands 1970: 5). It is not enough to hear the sounds these ways. Poetry in music[6] could be used to reinforce the learning of the sounds by students. One could use (2) below to teach the orthography and (3) to teach the pronunciation of gb.
(2) Kí ni mo kọ sókè yí o? What have I written up here?
A ló ń jẹ́ It is called A
Ẹ tún wo òmíràn Look at another one
B ló ń jẹ́ It is called B
(3) Tíṣà ló kọ́ mi lédè kan
Ó ní A, ajá He says A, ajá (dog)
Ó ní B, bàtà He says B, bàtà (shoe)
Ó ní D, dòjé He says D, dòjé (scythe)
Ó ní E, ejò He says E, ejò (snake)
Ó ní Ẹ, ẹyẹ He says Ẹ, ẹyẹ (bird)
Ó ní F, fìlà He says F, fìlà (cap)
Ó ní G, gèlè He says G, gèlè (women’s head kerchief)
Ó ní GB, GB, gbáàgúdá He says GB, GB, gbáàgúdá (cassava)
Here, the emphasis is on gb. A student coming late to the class one day may serve as an opportunity to reinforce the teaching of p with the following song:
Kìí tètè wá sílé ìwé She doesn’t come to school early
Ojoojúmọ́ ló ń pẹ́ lẹ́yìn She comes late everyday
Pẹ́ lẹ́yìn Comes late
Títíladé o kú ọ̀lẹ Títíladé greetings for your laziness.
Pẹ́ lẹ́yìn is repeated because we want the students to pay attention to the p that the words contain.
3. Numerals
Some poetry in music is also available in the language to make the learning of numerals more interesting. For the teaching of zero, either (5) or (6) could be used.
(5) Ọmọdé yìí, kí lo gbà? Young one, what did you score?
Òdo, olójú ẹja Zero, that has the fish eye (in the middle)
(6) N kò níi gbòfo I won’t score a zero
N kò níi gbòfo I won’t score a zero
Ẹni tí kò bá fojú sí ẹ̀kọ́ rẹ̀ Anyone who fails to face his/her studies
Yóò gbòfo lọ́jọ́ ìdánwò Will score zero on the examination day
One to ten could be taught with (7) whereas (8) could be used to teach one to one hundred or more.
(7) Ení bí ení one is like one
Èjì bí èjì Two is like two
Ẹ̀ta ǹ tagbá Three is stinging a calabash
Ẹ̀rin wọ̀rọ̀kọ̀ Four is crooked
Àrún ń gbódó Five is carrying a mortal
Ẹ̀fà tièlè Six is puffed up
Eje bí èje Seven is like seven
Ẹ̀jọ ò jọ mí Eight does not resemble me
Ẹ̀sán bí ẹ̀sán Nine is like nine
(8) 1, oókan 1 is one
2, eéjì 2 is two
3, ẹẹ́ta 3 is three
4, ẹẹ́rin 4 is four
5, aárùn-ún 5 is five
6, ẹẹ́fà 6 is six
7, eéje 7 is seven
8, ẹẹ́jọ 8 is eight
9, ẹẹ́sàn-án 9 is nine
10, ẹ̀wá 10 is ten
11, oókànlá 11 is eleven
12, eéjìlá 12 is twelve
13, ẹẹ́tàlà 13 is thirteen
14, ẹẹ́rìnlá 14 is fourteen
15, aárùndínlóógún 15 is fifteen
16, ẹẹ́rìndínlóógún 16 is sixteen
17, ẹẹ́tàdínlóógún 17 is seventeen
18, eéjìdínlóógún 18 is eighteen
19, oókàndínlóógún 19 is nineteen
20, oogún, abbl. 20 is twenty, etc.
4. Months and Days
There are some songs which could be used to teach Yorùbá months and days. (9) could be used to teach the days of the week whereas (10) could be used to teach Yorùbá months.
(9) Àìkú, Ajé, Ìṣẹ́gun Sunday, Monday, Tuesday
Ọjọ́rú, Ọjọ́bọ, Ẹtì Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
Àbámẹ́ta Saturday.
(10) Ṣẹ́ẹ́rẹ́, Èrélé, Ẹrẹ́nà January, February, March
Igbe, Èbìbì, Òkúdú April, May, June
Agẹmọ, Ògún, Òwéwé July, August, September
Ọ̀wàrà, Bélú, Ọ̀pẹ. October, November, December
5. Conclusion
The basic patterns of the design of lessons in some of the Beginners’ Courses in Yorùbá are as follows:
Lasebikan (1958)
Ear-training
Voice Production
Conversation
Exercise
Vocabulary
Stevick & Aremu 91963)
Dialogue
Notes
Exercise
Supplementary Material
Rowland (1970)
Extra Vocabulary for Practice
Exercises
Barber 91984)
Presentation
Explanation
Exercises
Pronunciation Drill
A game or Extra Dramatic Sketch
Schleicher (19930
Classroom Expression
Dialogue
Monologue
Play and Game
Pronunciation and Tone
However, development of the kind of competence in Yorùbá expected of the student, according to Stevick and Arẹmu (1963: v),
will require of teacher and student much that is not contained in this series of lessons. Omission of such material is justified on the assumption that what has been provided will serve as a solid foundation for further development, and because it is believed that the contents of the published course will relieve the teacher of the most delicate and most tedious parts of lesson preparation.
We are of the opinion that part of such material that is omitted is music in poetry. Therefore, while not saying that a Yorùbá class should be turned into a music class, where appropriate, songs should be used to reinforce the students’ knowledge of the language and there are many songs, not discussed here, that could be used as aide-memoir in learning specific topics.
Bibliography
Abimbola, W. (1975). Yoruba Oral Tradition. Ifẹ: Department of African Languages and Literatures, University of Ifẹ̀, Ilé-Ifẹ̀, Nigeria
Ajuwon, B. and Tunde Olowookere (1989). Yorùbá for Beginners I. Ibadan
Barber, K. (1984). Yorùbá Dùn ún Sọ. Ibadan
Delanọ, I.O. (1970). Oral Yoruba for Foreign Learners. Ife : Institute of African Studies, University of Ifẹ̀, Ilé-Ifẹ̀, Nigeria
Jarvie, Gordon (1995), Bloomsbury Grammar Guide: The Way the English Language Works. London
Laṣebikan, E.C. (1958). Learning Yorùbá. London : Oxford University
Oyètádé, A. (1994). How Much Is Your Pot? My Child is Well. (Èló nìkòkò? Ara Ọmọ Le). London
Rowlands, E.C. (1970). Teach Yourself Yorùbá. London
Schleicher, A Y F (1993). Jẹ́ k’á sọ Yorùbá. New Haven : Yale University
Stevick, Earl W. and O. Arẹmu (1963). Yorùbá Basic Course. Washington D.C.: Foreign Service Institute.
[1] This paper was written during my stay as a temporary lecturer in Yorùbá at the Department of Africa, SOAS, University of London between September and December, 1995. I should like to express my gratitude to all the members of staff of the Department especially my colleague, Dr. Akin Oyètádé and the head of Department, Dr. Louis Brenner who were always on hand to help. I am also grateful to Ọbáfẹ́mi Awólọ́wọ̀ University, Ilé-Ifẹ̀, Nigeria
[2] The term ‘poetry in music’ is taken from Abimbola (1975: 2). He states that oral tradition comprises of poetry in music, dance and drama.
[3] An earlier version of this paper was published as L.O. Adewole (1996), ‘Yoruba poetry in Music as a Follow-up Material for Teaching Yoruba to Non-Speakers of the Language’, Research in Yoruba Language and Literature 5: 25-32.
[4] Anonymous. Source Stevens MS (c 1555).
[5] Another old children’s rhyme for remembering the parts of speech goes thus:
Every name is called a NOUN
As field and fountain, street and town;
In place of noun the PRONOUN stands,
As he and she can clap their hands;
The ADJECTIVE describes a thing,
As magic wand or bridal ring;
The VERB means action, something done-
To read and write, to jump and run;
How things are done the ADVERBS tell,
As quickly, slowly, badly, well;
The PREPOSITION shows relation,
As in the street or at the station;
CONJUNCTIONS join, in many ways,
Sentences, words, or phrase and phrase;
The INTERJECTION cries out, ‘Hark!
I need an exclamation mark!”
(Jarvie 1995: 1)
[6] Any simple Yorùbá poetry would also be useful. For instance, a Yorùbá saying,
Èló nìkòkò? How much is your pot?
Ara ọmọ le My child is well
which Oyètádé (1994) adopts as the titlee of his book, would be suitable for introducing a lesson on shopping.
[7] Another version of this which could be used to teach the small and capital letters is:
A ńlá Capital letter A
a kékeré small letter a
B ńlá Capital letter B
b kékeré, abbl. Small letter b, etc.
[8] Another version of this too is:
A B D F D GB A B D F D GB
Ó gúnyán kò rọ́bẹ̀ fi jẹ ẹ́ It pounded yam but has no soup with which to eat it
Ó tàkìtì lórí ìrókò It somersaulted from the top of ìrókò tree
Ó fẹnu gbégbá ẹbọ It dips its mouth inside a sacrifice (make for the òrìṣà).
The emphasis here too is on the pronunciation of gb.
[9] Any name could be used here.
[10] A more complex version of (7) is:
Eni bí ení, lọmọdé ń kawó One is like one is the way a child counts money
Èjì bí èjì, làgbàlagbà ń tayò Two is like two is the way the elders play the game ayò
Ẹ̀ta bí ẹ̀ta, ẹ jẹ́ ká tara wa lọ́rẹ Three is like tree, let us give one another a gift
Ẹ̀rin bí ẹ̀rin, ẹni rín ni là á rín Four is like four, we laugh at the one who laughs at us
Àrún bí àrún, Ọba má ṣe wá lárungún Five is like five, may the King (God) not make us prodigal
Ẹ̀fà bí ẹ̀fà, ẹ jẹ́ ká fara wa mọ́ra Six is like six, let us embrace one another
Èje bí èje, Olúgbọ́n ṣorò ó kìje Seven is like seven, Olúgbọ́n (a chieftaincy title) observed his festival
and it lasted seven days
Ẹ̀jọ bí ẹ̀jọ, e.ni bí ni là á jọ Eight is like eight, we resemble those who give birth to us
Ẹ̀sán bí ẹ̀sán, Olúwa jálẹ́ ó san wá Nine is like nine, Lord let our end be good
Ẹ̀wá bí ẹ̀wá, Ọba má wàhálàa wa Ten is like ten, the King (God) do not beset us with
problem.
This one could be taught later. Both songs are used under poetry in Schleicher (1993: 66 & 113) but they were not utilized in teaching 1-10 which had been taught earlier (page 14).
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