The Three Marks That Change a Word

Before now, what I always thought about is that knowing how to speak Yorùbá already meant I already knew the language. I could easily flow in conversation in school, community, online, at home and it does not get difficult to know when someone calls me from the next toom and also greet people around. Then sometimes when I tried reading it or putting some marks on the words, then I discovered that it's another thing for me to speak it, it is another thing for me to write it. Both are not the same.

What I do believe is that is easier to begin learning Yorùbá. Most of its expressions are something we are familiar with, and once anyone is able to understand the greetings and some regular patterns, then to start a conversation is easier. And there is no need to spend a lot of time trying to understand rules before you can say something meaningful. From just an ordinary interaction, someone who is learning can pick up some useful and basic words especially through greeting, songs sometimes.

Where the extra effort comes in is trying to read and write accurately. In Yorùbá, there are some words are are alike with the same spelling when their underdots and marks are removed, yet with those marks, they can have different meanings. Those marks we see are not for fashion or esthetics. They help us to interpret what exactly the words means. When the tone of a word is changed, it can bring another meaning to the whole word, and the letters ẹ, ọ and ṣ are not simply different ways of writing e, o and s. There is a difference when it comes to Yorùbá language.

And if I were learning from the beginning, I will have to take things easy at that point. Sometimes, when I am in a conversation, I grab the words easily, but when it is written, I sometimes hesitate to grab it. Sometimes, I take my time to read it carefully before giving a response or I should tell the person that I do not understand what they mean. I have made some mistakes by giving some words the wrong interpretation in the past, so I learn not to do that again.

To me, I have seen Yoruba to be very interesting because the difficulty that comes with it is not always glaring to some of us who grew up speaking and hearing it. I have spoken the language for years without taking note of much information my ears are carrying. And when it comes to writing it, those Information becomes visible.

So yes, I believe it is easier to learn Yorùbá if you want to, but it is not effortless to master. And if I had to begin learning again, it is something I will still enjoy learning. What wgse I will do this time is to be very patient with the written aspect. I would want to write what I have always known how to say.

Thank you for reading.

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