Speaking Yoruba Is Easy, Writing It Is Another Story

A language is a mean of communication between a group of people which involves the use of sounds, words and signs and these can be used by a tribe, group of people such professionals,for example army and the likes. When I first saw this prompt the first thoughts that comes to mine are the indigenous languages most people of different tribes speaks, such as English, french, Yoruba, Ibo, Hausa and the likes. When we talk about all these languages they're actually good as it helps us to easy communicate and feel among wherever we find ourselves. Take for instance my peoples language is called Yoruba and it originated from the western part of Nigeria, situated in west Africa. Many said it's one of the most easiest language to learn, but is that really the case?

To be honest, Yoruba might seem easier to learn, and speak, but what many don't know is that beyond the words and the speaking, each or it words has a deeper meanings than what meet the eyes, take for instance, the word for room in Yoruba is called Iyara, while room is just room in English, in Yoruba Iyara is a combination of two words, iya means to branch, while ra means to disappear, meaning the combination of both worlds that means Iyara, tells us that a room is a place someone enters to disappear, and that's the truth, when you are indoor, you becomes invisible to those outside. There are several other Yoruba words like that, that carries a deeper meanings and that's why it's commonly said that yes you can speak in Yoruba, but can you think in Yoruba?

Talking about how easy or difficult it's to learn the language to the point where you'll be able to speak and as well write it down, to be honest if I were to be asked this particular question during my childhood days, I'll say it's very difficult and that's because of how I usually fail the subject during each assessment in school, be it test, or examination despite being a Yoruba child by blood and as well raised in a Yoruba language. But then now that I'm grown, one thing I can say is that Yoruba isn't entire difficult, I'm just the one who wasn't intelligent then, although still in not good at writing it, but then I've come to understand where my mistake comes from and the reason why i usually fail the subject.

Yoruba vowel sounds usually carries a mark either on above or underneath the letter and you've to use the correct mark to get the actual words you're trying to write, because many Yoruba words have the same spelling and it's those marks that differentiate them, take for instance, all these words like ògùn means medicine, Ogun means war, Ògún means god of iron, ogún means inheritance, looking at all four words above, you'll notice they all have the same spelling Ogun, but the tone mark called àmì ohùn is what distinguish them apart from each other. So there are many other words like that, even those who don't share same spelling, but you need to understand àmì ohùn to be able to write Yoruba well enough.

And with that being understood, I'll like to say that while it's quite easy to learn Yoruba, it's not so easy to write it, even I myself find it difficult, but I won't say it'll be difficult for me now if I decide to learn it because I'm obviously more intelligent than I use to be during my younger days, and I've also come to understand the concept behind writing and using each words.

Overall, I think it's very difficult to learn a language because each language has their origin and deeper meanings, especially their words, so learning to speak just the language doesn't mean you understand it in-depth, so with that understanding and using my own language Yoruba, I believe it's not something someone can learn ones, instead it's a continuous process of learning, unlearning and relearning till you get a grasp of it entity.

All photos are generated using ChatGpt.