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'
NIGERIAN NAMES
A Daystar Series
\~
l~
,YORlJBA
NAMES.
Their Structure
MODUPJ;<: ODUYQYE
Ibadan
Daystar Press
1972
OHiO UNIVt~h:S1r(
I ...~ RA 0,1,
1:., '.1
L lOr.
~.
\':7
&"
'.
PREFACE
First Published
1972
r{) ModuN Oduyr,>ye 1972
To
MAMA
5.15.11.15
7~
'$8
';,~ii01i:'''-''C~''';O
"
(j>
.,1
Modupy OduY9ye
Ibadan, 1971
...i.e
.,:~c'1&,
c"".'
'1,
')
CONTENTS
Page
Preface
..
1.
II.
11
13
HI.
Emphasis
19
Ii
:1
IV.
22
V.
24
VI.
26
VII.
(
II
Subject and
28
VIII.
Stative Verbs ..
32
IX.
35
X.
37
XL
XII.
I,
II
Ii:
II
39
II
43
XUl.
46
XIV.
XV.
XVI.
54
XVH.
Oriki ..
57
49
ti
50
i:
Ii,
7
II
Iii
I:'
II
..
"
.f"
II
61
What's in a name? .
Olu, Ohiwa,
~)IQnm -
68
God ..
69
69
lUi - Augury ..
Awo- Secret Cult
71
71
72
72
\)d~ -- H linters ..
73
73
Ot;;o-Seer
74
Ogun- War
Om\ - Artis tic Gen ius ..
76
Qm9 -. Children ..
Qj, Eegiilll --- The Dead Come back to Life ..
77
78
78
XIII.
75
75
75
Oy~, {)$lUJ.,
II.
65
'Tunde -Reincarnation
7S
79
80
II,
Ii
I
ii
Ii'
ii'
Iii
II
82
83
I'
I'
81
II
Ilil'l
i,ll,
!I!!
I
!III
Amiiil)funwa -
85
"
PART THREE
89
Exercises
'I
I'ii
i!
Iii
,Iii
I:I
01
=~;;;:O-::"""'-~;;;m"lP"~"<W",_,,_{ijf'"_~
."'_ _""
;!.{,U!:=';'
...
I:
AM
Ohi
Olll
i
,
II:
~ I
1.
Ola
Ola
OP
ik~
lf~
Iyi
Odll
AY9
0];1
AM
.f;m i
Oyin
Akin
<)k~
Ad6
Ifa
Olu
0]([
01([
Qla
Ohi
AdeQhi
Qlaohl
Olaifa
~ Qp~ohl
~ lk~oh'i
-- lf~olu
-- IyiQhi
~ OdiiQla
QJ~i
Oye
Oye
Qlci
Qhi
OyinQla
01<i
Ow6
AkinQhi
lye
Adeiye
Aanuohi
Aantl Olu
F,:ni
!tan
AYQQla
Qlaoye
Adeoye
~ ~miQla
<)k~ow6
~niitlm
honour"
"Spirit of honour"
estate"
'The valour of high status"
"Bag of money"
"Crown of salvation"
"The mercy of God"
"A person (about whose birth there is)
a story
11
_...... 7
ifi
'Iii:
11'1
Iii,
iii
II
i,!
111
'1,1
11\
I1I
!d
!Ii
iii:
III
l!
!"
.. .,lc..L .._,
Ill:
:,ii
1.
I1~
1- "t
i
Qdllll
Agbo
Ad6
Ad6
Qla
Qla
han
Qduntan
Qla
- AgboQhl
Agbo- Adcagbo
O~Lm
Opa
Iya
-Popo Qhi
Ad6
Ayt)
lbllkltn Qla
.eblll1 QIQrunQr y
OIClwa Wura Qbi
QdLIll Ewu
OgLm Ad6
-Aeirin Qhi
Okltn Qlei
Ok lJl1 Ade--
AdcQ$un
QhiQpa
Qlaiya
PopoQhi
AYQade
Ibuk(mQhi
tbim
Qr y
WiidH,IIa
Odlmcwu
Og(made
AarinQhi
OkllnQla
Okimade
"Gift of God"
"Gift of Goel"
"Gold of honour"
"A year of danger"
"The Ogun of royalty"
"The centre of honour"
"Beads of honour" (Corel of honour)
"Beaded cord of a crown"
Nmm Phrases
l____
Qla
I ori
Qhi _I
--
I,
II
THE SIMPLE SENTENCE (a)
(i)
101
OILI
oye
Baba
Oyin
Jf<i
Jfci
OgLlIl
cf. Ogun
Ad6
cf. Ade
Ifet
QmQ
QmQ
l'
I'
I'
l'
I'
Qla
Qla
Qlct
uyi
adc
ade
I' oye
oye
l' QP~
l' ani
I' YY
BabalQhi
OyinlQhi
FalQhi
Faluyi
Ogunlade
Adeloye
FaIQP~
QmQlani
QmQIyy
QmQ n'iyi
1'i 'wa l' ad6
1" OILII' QP~
Titi )' Qlet
- OmQJl1iyi
- Tiwaladc
- ToliilQP~
-- THilQhl
----I
(ii)
QmQlolu
I
I
I,
Ii
III
(The)
(The)
(The)
(The)
(The)
I Ade
d' eji d'iran d'iran -d' oyin d' okul1d' Qja el' tUI1 --
I;:
il
II
il
II'
I'
I'
II'
il
il
I'
)!
II
I
)1
ji
I;
I'
II
!,
ii
12
13
IIi
II
I
I'
I
I
l 1
IV)
OIu bim mi
Ohlbimmi
Qd~bimmi
'Fabimmi
BaMbimmi
III
(v) There are a few doubly transitive verbs in Y oruba - verbs which
take two objects: a direct object and an indirect object. The verb is
immediately followed by the indirect object as above. Next comes the
direct object preceded by the particle la/mil:
Olll flm n
Odiulfulln
A- k 'm<;>
IIfll aye)
09 ade
IIliJ af~
EMPHASIS
~i
pishness"
'1
Doubly
Sub-\Tran111ject sitive
direct
verbs
object
--'-~~~
1
____ I
FUll
Je)w(oJ,
k0
-.--
~;---J
_J.~lm
YU_
wa
f(1ll
Direct
object II
mi
a drum
a cap
books
children
peace
money
his shoes
Father gave me
Mother gave me
Teacher gave us
1)1 case, give liS
God, give us
Give me
Give him
I'
Ow6 r a bi
Ow6 nn.
Akin I' a bi
Akin ni.
OJ I' a bi
OJ nL
X
~
Owolabi
-- Akinlabi
- OWabi
-- Qti)lOdn
.__
a n k~* - ~olillikf
[Ii.
Ad6 l' r\. wa':' -- Adellulw:i
AM t~i
Aye r a i gb6 -- AyeHigbe
O~6 l'
O~6
11.1
Olll1jy
nil t' em i a
Aye IIi.
"It is a seer"
normally live"
18
19
3'
n,.
,.
f m c , " ..
on
YeL]!,;.,,\', ,
'"
I'
Yi ... kli
"to turn"
Q1<i yi n ka
Ade yi n ka
Qlliyinkli
Adeyinkli
1\
IV
,I
mQ ...
ka
'I
're d6
ayi) de
91<\ de
9la W9 '16
~hin
de
Tq ... wi.
Tci aye wo
Mii ~bun de
W,t
Mu iSyi wa
padit l
"to convert"
'Fapohiinda
Makinde
M~biIdC
M:ikinwa
Muyiwli
<
Ifa p'ohun da -
Gbe ... de
GM 9Ia de
Gb6 ... h~lI1
GbH 91<:i han
Gte ... bi)
GbiJ ade bi)
Mu ... wa
Miil Akin
Each of the compound verbs is a root verb in its own right. They
are used together with the object in between, thus expressing ideas which
are too complex for each of them to express alone.
pa ...dit
Mil ... de
Mill Akin de
"to arrive"
"Bring homc the valiant man"
"Bring a gift home"
"to cOlne"
"Bring the valiant man"
"Brought this one"
22
da ... ro
Qdyllda .yi r6 -
Od~dairo
<
dapQ 3
'DqlapQ
OladapQ
Adedapv
dit ...PQ
<
"mixed together"
Ola~uPQ
1
2
3
4
5
23
/'
'\\9
~,-;~
Tile
/'>/
~r\-
(1.
r.; ?~ ,:
i (- .
c~j
c;;:
~~(.
,>
v
INiTJ!AL
!i"UTliAL
li-/
lu,l
,)
:'
\l_.
'L/"''-,,,
mALECTS
DiALECTS
\,'
".
'\
Ii-!
,,,0!
/ 1m gb' lllll
(If:] gba ri'Jilll)
J{aghi~jia
"The crown is the
Acl6
l'
llgb~
(Ade
mJ!
19bb.)
jMh.'h:~!;l,"~
"The
crown is knowledge"
<
Ad6
l'
t:m0
(Ade
ni!l1l11)
DcllJiifHQ
"The
crown
has a palace"
<
Ad6
I1fJ
tlgu.
(A.de
niiJ
19a)
Adenliiga
"Titles
have
palaces"
.<
Oyi;cn~1
ttg:l
(Oycrimt21
iga)
OY~1iloJga
"One
born
into
a palace"
A-hi
~;{~
l!g2l
(A-hi
srh
igu)
Itisi'F""Ha
does
not
ruin
a city"
<.::
W
:t':c
b
'i.iJ.ll
.i'~
(I
fa
0
lIa
~lllj)
F{ib\fiiu.i~
"The
crown
adds
todignity"
/
Ad6
bll
S(,
uyi
(Ade
btl
sil
iyi)
Arlcb'~sliyi
"Valour is dignity"
Akin l' uyi
(Akin n' iyi)
Aki!JllliJijd
"The
chief has a city"
~
();Jli'\mtJ
1:11{1
((hlttm~
lI(l)
01;llm'ilii
"Leaves are as important
<Ewe tilli llg2l.
(Ewe to 'gil)
Ewchlg;)j
as a palace"
'\ ' , < Ol',Ull
'."
,'"
')
,,'
,.
..
1
OglJltulga
t~! uga (Ogun to 'ga
Ggun
IS as big as a pa ace"
The syllable [nlt] betrays the names in which they occur to be Ij9 bu
names. All other dialects have II only before Iii, substituting III before
other vowels. In the same way, thc syllable [li] betrays the name Aw6liyi
as ~gb,l: all other dialects have 11 before /i/.
Can you tell from what parts of Yoruba land the following namcs
come ?
O~lmim~
Sonui!i:e $onMki or,dinQr~n1 Odumliya $o[lQhi
I,ijl\dil
Odunh~
Adei1~I{ln[l
U'!tiin
Up~de
I.ir:;ilihi
(cL Adei~y~, Ohil~y~)
"yallls"
isu
u~u
"work"
js~
u~~
24
25
r"
J
(:
\:)}'7"
'~;
'\
c.)'
L!l
f~<i
~j
',-;,
I>]
["J
. ,,:.,'. ,~t/
k,;\ "1i'1(~'.i,;"
~J,~i.
~~ ~l "~ If!"C ,~
f'
./
II
II
I),.,
, it
....... ..
rttm'!
T"""',''
..
il
III
l1'1
I
Iii
(i)
Lord
VII
Valour appeals to me
(I like bravery)
Crown
The crown fits me
ii
ffi'~ [f~
& []
rim
!:t] !:ffJ
E0il [i]
[] r{ij [it]
il1Jh'i
OiiJ;w'I'lc
tf)m<i~{iy(;
Adc
()1'lIq,ltimdc
(1lli:l(iwilJl!1lmi.
[Ay~cJt(tnde] - Ay~ti~m;c
[Ayc)()d6]{;] - AY\ldleRc
Divination
Divination befits me
([}h',~
.'
[Oyi:;!Ssfnil] -
Awo
(N,lwimmi
Q)iIiJt(p!{,mb0
Mother
rvrother comes again
Mother has cOl11e to look for me
Seer
A seer enters the house
A seer appeals to me
(I 'like a visioner)
r:l~
()m.,
AllcY9mn
OJa
Father
Father comes again
Father saw me and ran away
Oye:;;i",,)
Awal~,f~l
()~~lt
Awbf:i1i:;\
[Odlujyoye] -- O,hiyqyc
O~{i
Akiil
'~}6\~v ([?~C
}>l.k nl~sd}E~ya
()ml.
'r:;l6wimJl1i
AldJQv,'[mml
]jf{j
l~~ba
'K<',ly,\,mi
Habintimllic
naMdnsll.
(iii)
(ii)
(;
'~
II
"tl
,~,
The
The
The
The
A title
cult
'Ycw:imic
Q
Oracular utterance
Art
lye
'YclillmIc
Joy
Children
A child is enough for joy
A child comes again
A child appeals to me
(I like children)
iIII
29
28
'i
~:'EJ1i~i~1;1~;,
---:~~:~,-=-2:1."Jil"~
,If"
d- . -.;.
IV
VI
vii
1111
II.
1111
II.
Ogunyymi
O~un
O~11llt6kun
Qj~
Oj~dele
Oluwa
Oluwmisanmi
Oluwasanmi
1M
Okun
lbiyymi
lbikunle
OkundQsa
Qt~
Ot~sanya
1111
1111
Ogun
IbijQk~
..
(iv)
The sea
The sea becomes a lagoon
Oke
(vi)
The dead come back to life
ON arrives home
~ki
Civil strife
Civil strife repays a wrong
The deceased
The dead settle a quarrel
The hill
(The divinity of) the hill opens the
way
bke~ina
J::ki
t:ki~Qla
Oku
Plenty
Plentiful supply fills the house
Okulaja
Opa
(vii)
OpaklLl1le
(V)
O~un
The O~un River is (as big) as the sea
The Lord
The Lord is good - has done
well- with me.
30
31
".,"5
. ,~", ,,",_,
,_~"'
~.l '
'i
I' ,
I,
016
0169 kan
01<i 16 kan
OmQ rlwQn
Ad6 P9 jil
-- It is plenty ( plenty)
-AdCpQju
a
a
a
dim
-Ibidim
Ibi dun
dimju
ju aye
6 dim j' aye
Ola dim j' aye -~ Qhidimjoyc
yllll
-l~poyim
6 jin
Omi i.J jin
- Omijin
tutll-
Ad6 tutu
It is sweet (a sweet)
Childbirth is sweet
It is too sweet
titles
-- It is sweet (Ij'tbll)
-- Oil is sweet
It is far (afar)
-- AdetllltiI
a taro
Ad6 taro
-AdetOro
It is expensive
Children are dear (not easy to come
by)
It is enough, sufficient
It is as (big) as the sea'
(The) O~un (River) is as big as the sea!
Oracular utterance (divination) is
sufficient to confer status
Valour is enough for honour
Fathers are enough to hoast about
Ogun is enough to match the
(strength of) white men!
A crown is enough to boast about
Mine (my affairs) is sufficient (cause)
for joy
Mine (my affairs) is sufticient (cause)
[or thanks/gratitude
a t6 oklln
Stative verbs describe the state of a thing', not an action, not "what
stative verbs immediately after the subject where English would use
6 P9 ju
-QrnQwQn
a t6
STATIVE VERBS
a jil
It rises up
It rises up (in number) by one
Status goes up by one rung
a wQn
VIII
a P9
- Qhilekan -
- AdetQhi
- TemitaYQ
T' emiilt6 9P
- TernitQP~
Adetowun
Olutoyin
OIMosin
Flitoki
O~untoki
Fli~esin
QIa~eni
Owo~eni
Qllidt'mni
QmQdimbi
Owodimni
1 Hence they are called "descriptive verbs" in E.C. Rowlands, Tel/ch Yourself YO
I Contrast OIl! t6 'yc "God is as valuable as a title"
RUBA (English Universities Press, 1969) Note how the verb jtl is used to express
OIl! t6 i sin" God is enough to worship"
the ideas of" ... than" and of the superlative degree.
',' "It is impossible" - It cannot be done -- is Ka ,~e i -,I'e (ko
:z Hence they are also called "predicative adjectives."
32
III
33
I!I
,~ee ,~e).
II
Ko t6 i
y~(;J
KOt6y~
IX
Lord ofOwu
Lord of Ake
"palace"
Lord of the palace (at 9n?)"
Lagos
Lord of Ek6
Lord of
,-
Lord of ltdja
harbour
Harbour master
heaven
Lord of heaven: God
OWQ
QIQwQ
Ikija
Akija
Alakija
ebftte
Elebute
Qrun
QIQrun
Edumare
*Odumare
OIOditmare ade
Alade
9wp
To form a noun meaning "the owner of. .. ", use as a prefix to the
noun the initial vowel of the noun plus 11/, the initial vowel of the noun
being raised to a high tone. When the initial vowel of the noun
is / i-I, the consonant III is realised as n. In this case, the prefix vowel is
10/. For nouns which begin with a consonant, use as prefiX on-.
Icf. Old/in < rJin, with the same meaning as Alddjin < ddlin
35
34
;~.",
~\
'1\
Ii:
1\ :
'I '\
ii,
oro
0161'0
Olorode
Ayan
Ahiyan
Alayande
<;ma
QIQnil
OI~ll1ade
Wi
Onif<l
Onifade
iP9
onip9
Onip~dc
ibi
onibl
On1Myl)
QI{l
QI(>1<i
01 {lllidC
iyi
oniyi
Oniyide
Il
VERBS OF MOTION:
"Go home"
Meyungh~
MalQm{l
J;:nilQ
Obinrewaju
AkinlQhin
AdCwale
Ollidele
Olawale
Om{ldCJe
AYQdelc
AdebQ
AdebQw:ile
Adebajo
AdebQgun
-lya:6 b<)
- Baba:6 tiIll de
- lye:6 tCm de
- Qla ttm de
- Ql<i yi de
- QIa bQ de
- Qla b<) sl 'po
- QmQl:d~hin b<)
D~hinbl)
- Ql,i d~hin de
Dhillde
Qhi s~hin de
- Khin de
Khillde
- M' ~blm d6
MbUde
- M' akin de
M::ikinde
- M' akin wa
Makinwa
- K6 're de
Korede
- K' QIa WQ '16
K{llawQle
Akin:6 t9 mi de
Akintl)mide
iyabi)
llabMiinde
Yctunde
QIMunde
OIayide
QI:ihl)dc
Ollihi)Qpo
Ad6 11 re '16
I-re-ile
Akil1llre '16
Odll-ee ytIll 'gb6
- ee yun 'gbi;
- M,1 1<;> 1119
- Bni IQ I' 6 b<)
- Qla 11 re 'WajCl
- AkinmlQ tan
- Ad6 wa ']6
- Q1<1 d6 '16
- Qla wa '16
- QmQ:6 de 'Ie
- Ay<):6 de '16
-- Ade b<)
- Ade b<) wa '16
- Ad6 b' ajo
-- Ade b<;> ogun
--
37
36
to the house';
wa "COllie"
be) "come, n,'turn"
t9 "~o after"
IQ "go"
re "go"
yCm "go" (1j~btl & Ekiti)
Adenrele
Irele
Akinrelc
Odiiyungb6
I "Go
"com(~/return"
"go"
",,-f.Il:'ii;w
I
i
il
i[Iil
,il
ill
II!I
(y)
It is
6
6
6
wei
wa
de
de
'Ie
'bi
'Ie
'bi
"Come home"
Mcla
de
Wa
b
si
ill
ill
'bi
'bi
'bi
A- bi s. ogun .- Abisogun
A- bi SD llga
- Bisiiga
Ab~k~
AjQ kf
A b~ k
Arik~
A ri k
Abik~
Ajik~
Aduk~
A bik
Ajik
A du k
A ,ya bi
A:ja k
A y hi
A gbe k
A ri y
A dun ni
A kan ni
A kin bi
Aja ni
Aja ka aye
Al':labi
A~ak~
But
AYQkli
A- bi QdLIll
A- bi s~
A- bi Iir Qlci
A- bi. oye
A- bi Iir na
Abi~diin
Abi~s~
Abi~la
AMoye
Abi~1Il1
Aghek~
AriYQ
Adimni
Akanni
Akanbi
Ajani
Ajilkaye
petted
Someone born to be petted
Someone whom one pets daily on waking up
Someone whom people scramble to pet
Someone chosen to be born
Someone chosen for petting
Someone surrounded with joy
Someone to be carried and petted
Someone whom men rejoice to see
Something sweet to have
A child conceived with a touch(?)
A child born with a touch(?)
Someone possessed through struggle
(A war) fought all round the world
(ii) The mid-tone prefix lal means "the person who ... ". The full
form is eni ti 6.
bal ... verb
I;:ni ti 6 ba Qd Lm rin
- AbQdiinrin - One who walks in with a
festival
A b. Qd y rin
- AbQd~rin
- One who walks with a
hunter
" "to pet", Le., to spoil (of a child) with affection.
38
(i) The low-tone prefix (A-I forms abstract nouns from verbs or
verb phrases. In the names below, it means "A thing which .... ",
"A person whom .... ".
AjQk~
But
XI
39
I
',I
l
1,1
II'
if
II
(/:,j'j
'.~
..
i"
A bM 6rl 7a de
AbOdi;mde
A biiilQya de
Ab"yade
-. Ab"s~de
Abegunde
Abiflirin
Adaramqla
A biW
<)s~
de
A bll eeglm de
A delra m,l ja
-- Adaramajil
AribisaIil
AkqmQI:if~
Aji 7e af
J,<:ni ti a bi si 'nll <;JdCm
A bi si 'nCI oyc'
A bi si
~ni
~)nil
ti 6 dll bi If,i
A glill bl ade
Ajii;iaf
Abi"dCm
~-
Abioyc
-- AbiQDll
-- Adubiifa
-- AgCmbiadc
Akeredolu
A kere Ie
AkerClc
A ri ogUI1 de ade
Arogundade -
Agbaje
Anifahije
A ji M ik
Ajibik~
Aji M OWCl
JibOwu
A jf d' agbit
Ajidagba
Aji~af~
AnI
ml ni aje
A ji 7'
af~
'B"diinrin
'B"s~de
'Bisiiga
'Biqla
'Bi(idiin
'Bioyc
'J ib(illi
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
Ajib6ye
AjiMwll
'FQhik~
<
<
<
<
<
'Foluk
-<
Afolllk~
'JibOye
'JibOwlj
Abdunrin
Abs~de
'Jibik~
Abfsuga
Abi(Jlci
AbidClll
Abi6ye
Ajfh(Jl<i
'FQlabi
"I
"t
Ajibik~
AfQlelbi
Af<;Jhik
'BQs~
verb
M
----,----1
b.
1-----1
ifa
Qd y
Qdlll1
rin
<)s~
eegun
- ..--._.
[' I ~~~a
de
_._-------~I-
41
40
__
rmt ,
rl
---
ii
II'
i.
IIII
l'
'BQla
~-i----'IJ
ject
ba 91<i ni 1 ile
- - - _ --1--
Qm 9 >
Akin>
Ade
Qm I b. 9 lci I nIill 'Ie
I Akinl
the house
home
school
the way
(this place)
-- --- ------ -
-----
J __,__
XII
GRAMMATICAL PARTICLES
(i)
II,
f' 91a mi
f' ade k~
FQhimi
AfQhiyan
Fijabi
$6fQhihan
AdHarasin
MofQIQrun~Q
f'QIrun ~
f' ade re 'ra
f' 9Ia ~' ade
fi mi han
42
AfQllibi
AdefQhik~
Aderoluk~
OIUfadek~
FQhigbade
AdefQhirin
Folu~Q
O~ifowora
Fafowora
KOfoworQla
Faderera
FQla~ade
Olafimihan
II:I
43
I
..
I
I
(iii)
Fiwa~ayc
"make a report"
"plInish hi m"
'$adc
-r~~~l-l-~I
mental
particle
noun
or
pronoun
verb
and
noun
Pi
qhi
5e-!-ad;
~~---r---Qhl
~'
lade
gb'
sQ
ba ... 1verb \
ba n ji
banM
bj qla ji
bj oye jq
ba n de 'Ie
ba n t 'fa
ba n kQ 'Ie
ba m gbj o~c --
Subj,ct
oye
'---------~--!---------'----'---i
(ij)
l' ...
I~~erb-I
l' okun b0
l' lIgb6 b()
t' ilc w,i
t' inll k
-- Adetokunbr)
-- TugbObr)
Motihlwa
Atimlk
'~
----1
I----------1--___
kiti
I
Preposition
"from"
Name
I
of
Verb ,I
place
.
_J
1----1----'
Ade
QI,i
. Mo
,---L
l'
t'
t'
I ~klln I bQ
I Qy(J
I wa
1---1--
ile
intI
MobQlaji
AdebOyej/)
Bandele
Bant~fa
BankQle
BamgbO~e
Predicate
Banj/)
raJ m~ ~"b'
Bank~
Ade
Olu >
Qla>
Olu
Qla
I b'l
>
'~6
Qhiblinji
Adeblink~
Ade>
0~6
Oku I
,II
II
I
'1,
Banji
jq
k
n
:1
ji
de
I'e
I'
Predicate
Subject
i,*'
'Toknnbr)
'TinuM
Mo 11 t' qja b0
I---.--I
44
45
11
In
I
I)
1/'1
I,
OIUwasanmi Ilcsanmi
OIUf~mi
Adey~mi
Fagbemi
XII
Oluf6nmihiYQ
OIubimmi
Fabimmi
Bababunmi
Subject Mo:
Modup~
---
Mo
Mo
Mo
Mo
Mo
dLlp~J
1 give thanks
I woke up into high state
I have a part in honour
- I move near high achievement
- I saw a valiant man and
rejoiced
Mor~nik~
-- Mo ri yni k
- I (have) found a person to pet
Moradeun
- Mo ri ade hun 2
- 1 found a crown to boast
about
MorohunfQhi -- Mo ri ohun fun QI,i
I found something to give to
honour
Morohundiya - Mo ri ohun di iya
ji si Qla
ni 1Ii1 Qli
sun mQ Qlci
rI akin Y9
If,i san mi
I.
Diu fun mi
aY9
Diu bim mil
Wi bUn mi
Baba" bun mi
Qd~bimmi
Qdy iii bun 111i
J;:bUn
Olurfmil~kun -- DIu r~ mi I.. ykun
My Lord arrives
Here comes my kith and kin
My eyes saw (trouble)
in
my
--
Oluwa Ii san m!
He san mi
Olu f~ mi
Ade yy mi
Ifi gbe mi
1 The verb bim "give" takes mid tone mi after it, although it is a low tone word. This
is an exception, a result perhaps of the fact that bim is an alternative reflex of fun,
which has a high tone.
2 Yoruba has no passive voice. Whcre English and other languages which have a
passive voice use the passive construction with the agent unstated, Yoruba makes
., I
47
46
..
'."'-
II:!
'I
,.'~"'.
-----_.
I,
Adeblink~
Ade ba n
Qhibanji
Qlel ba nji
Ohifunmilayi) Adebimpe
Qhibimhin
k~
OILl fUn n 1M ay
Ade bi m pe
Qlei bi
In
tan
.Fabanwij
BandeIe
If,i b'l n WD 6
Ba n de 'Ie
OIUfunk~
Oliifulli;li)
OhifUntQ
Olu Hill n ~9
OILL fLll1 n k
Olu fim n t9
AdebanjQ
Qdimmbaku
Babarinsa
AdCgbenro
Fagbenle
Adekanmbi
,I
XIV'
PREVERBS
A preverb is a particle which normally occurs immediately before a verb.
All the particles cited below are adverbs: they say something about
the manner of the action of the verb.
,- Qhitunde
QInQtiinM
YCtunde
BabMunde
QJiitunji
"Honour is revived"
Adetunji
AdCjumi)bi
Ade.il)mi)k~
QhijillnQk~
jq k
IbijQk~
j<;> bi
OgimjQbi
--
Qd~jQbi
QIMubi)sun
tim del
tim j i
jilm<) bi
jlun<) k --
t6b<) sun -
48
~y
Ajetunll1Qbi,
-- Atunwa~y
49
.0
(iv)
a k~d.
ad
a ka a ti
xv
a ~' Qrim
NEGATIVE PARTICLES
Ee ~'
Ka slil 9kQ
Ka ku mQ
Ka f' owo r' 91a
Ka to i y~
- KOt6y~
-. Adeoti
- Qlao~ebikan
Ade a ti
Qla 0 ~e 'bi kan
Bi
a ~' Qran ti
Ko / 0 in indicative sentences:
(I)
a ba kli
(ii)
KosQkQ
KokurnQ
KOfow6rQhi
Biobliku
Qla i i tan
Qlaiitan
Aje i i gbe
Ajeiigbe
(iii)
"There is no hoe"
money"
"It is not enough to .... "
"The crown does not fade"
"Honour does not dwell (ex
clusively) in one place"
"If he does not die, ... "
Maj~
D~~l-I
Mar.
Qran ti
!fa: ee ~' Qran ti
ti "No")
a kli
6 kli ti
< Kuti
ee
er.
Akin - 0 ku gbe
Akin - ee ku gbe
Akin - 6 bQ 'hun
Akin - ee bQ hun
Akin - 0 t mi
Akin - ee t mi
Akint~rni
Awo - 6 ~'ika
51
Awo - eR
~'ika
[Aw6"~ika]
Aw6~ika*
[Fa.~Qrantl]
Fa~Qdmti*
Fabiduj~*
[F<iBblJluj~]
All these names illustrate the importance of the assimilated low tone
(marked Ii). As it is never indicated in the orthography, the names
marked* have suffered mispronunciation by speakers whose dialects
have, instead of the Oild6/Ij~bli negative particle ee/er., the QYQ/ibadan
negative particle k% (which now prevails in the common dialect).
Because the 0I1d6/Ij~bU ee/e. has an effect similar to that of the
high tone before the finite verb, many people have missed the negative
in these names. They have misconstrued Awof2$ika as Aw6~ika "AlVo
did a wicked thing" and they pronounce Fitia$pranti as Fit,5pranti "Ifa
attempts a project and fails".
In both cases, the results are the
opposite of the meaning intended.!
The same tendency has been extended even to the QYQ/ibadan
negative particle:
Qi<i - ko ~e 'bi .kan
Qla 0 ~e 'bi .kal1- Qlao~eblkan "Honour doesn't dwcll (exclusively) in
anyone place"
III
!II
ill
I'i
, '
\1
I,
I
I
'l
Akin - 6 ni 19bagbe
Akin - ee ni 19M9be
~e
lwc*
II'
Ii,
il
II
II:
'" fwd is Ijt;bu dialect for" this one"
Urun is Ijt;bu dialect for "thing"
1 This perhaps fortifies AYQ Bamgbo~e's suggestion that the assimilated low tone be
marked in Yorubil orthography. He suggests a dot on the line: Aw6.~lka. See his
Yoruba Orthography.
52
53
II
:1\, .
I)
I
,i),;
J.
XVI
'I.
7. Ajayi
8. DawOdu
Iyl a consonant)
Iyl a semi-vowel;
Iii dropped)
[da-wo-du] (3 syllables; Iwl a consonant)
[dei w-duf (2 syllables; Iwl a semi-vowel;
101 dropped)
[a-ja-yf] (3 syllables;
[a-ja 9]' (2 syllables;
-
-
[Q-Ia-yi-de] (4 syllables;
[Q-lei y -de] (3 syllables;
[da-Yl-ni] (3 syllables;
[dei Yl-ni] (2 syllables?;
Iyl a consonant)
Iyl a semi-vowel;
IfI dropped)
jyl a consonant)
Iyl a semi-consonant;
!If attenuated)
5. Dei eyi r6
Dei Ryf r6
Dairo
6. Dei eyi sf
Da liIyi si
Da isi
IyI a semi-vowel;
lei lost)
IyI a consonant)
[tei-ye-wo] (3 syllables;
[t,i y -wo] (2 syllables;
[dei-YI-r6] (3 syllables;
[dei YI-r6] (2 syllables?;
Iyl a consonant)
IyI a semi-consonant;
K~hinde
[k~h-in-de] (3 syllables; Ihl has lost whatever con
1;)odinde
F~hintQla (3 syllables)
,il
II
!I
I,
II
Mo r. ohun f. e)lei -
Akingb~in
(3 syllables)
Dahunsi
MorounfQJa
(4 syllables)
/lj attenuated)
-
54
1 Hence the nineteenth century spelling of the name of Bishop Adjai Crowther.
2 The same name as came to Yoruba land later through Islam as Dauda, through
the Bible as David.
3 The diphthong is often initiated by a high tone.
4 hin = ((yin in the speech of some people.
5 The 3rd person pronoun object after high tone monosyllabic verbs show this change
in the common dialect: ge e ( > ge) "cut it"; mu u ( > mu) "take it"; j6 0 ( > jo)
"burn it". Two syllables (high, mid) become one (mid tone).
6 See onj(( -- ol1nj(( < ohun jij(( "food < edible thing"
55
II
III
I (I
I If
,I
I II
II
,I
"
i
)11
I,
111,
1
1
.~
I
MorounmiIbQ
(4 syllables)
II
I,
'R6nk~
11
Aderounmu
Olurounbi
Karunwi
Ii
XVII
ORIKI*
It will be seen that AIdb, Akdna [aIda], Adib, etc all have the tone
pattern Iil 9 III the same tone pattern as most of the names in the two
tables on page 39; Ab~bi, Ab~k~, etc. All these are oriki "pet names"
as Samuel Johnson calls them on page 85 of The History of the Yon/bas:
'II
Ii'
I
I
I'
'\
[III
I
I \
'l'It is uul easy to find a name for this in English because the Llsage does nol exist
among the English peop!c\ "Oriki ... is a little more than the "cognomen" among
t1~e ancient Romans. The nearest I have found to it are the invocative recitals of
Virgil in his Aineids. In these books Virgil describes his heroes and his principal
actors and actresses by giving their genealogy treeS and re-counting the heroic
deeds of their deified ancestors.
Tn Yorubaland two categories of odk! are easily distinguishable. There is a per
sonal or!k! and the family or ancestral orfk!." Ogunleye Agunbiade-Bamishe,
Know The Yorubas (lbadan, 1968) pp. 32-33.
56
57
Ii
I,!
,I
,
i
OrukQ
(name)
Oriki
(pet name)
Oril~
AbiQdun
AIM
Ajibik~
Ab~ni
Ajamli
Akan6
Erin
Qkin
Ogun
Qg9
AdcjiJmQ
Fagbcmi
(totem)
1 It must be obscrvcd that this system was most at home among the Northern Yoruba
the i-dialect group. In fact, the -0 oriki are rare among Southern groups like the
ljc;bu.
2 Samuel Johnson, The History of the Yorllbas, pp. 85-86. For a list of the orile and
the families they signify, see p. 86. Also page 195 of J. O. Lucas, The Religion of
the Yorllbas and pp. 6-12 of C. L. Adeoye, Orllkr Yoruba.
58
I
I
I
.1
I
,\I'll.
I'
III
1
')'
:\1
:1
;,11
1,1
i
:1
Ii
I
I
II
L
d
j
Ii
Ii
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
f
A lot. The Hebrew for "name" is shem, the Arabic is 'ism. Both
are cognate with Arabic wasama "to brand, to mark". A name, then, is
a mark, a wasm, "a mark, a brand". To be nameless is to be without
identity. A name identifies the person.
Yoruba has the root wsm/,sm: we say sam! "to put a mark on ... ".
You can trust Yoruba to break that CVCV verb into a "verb-nominal
collocation": from sam! we have back-formed the YCY noun am! "a
mark, a sign". Only s- is left; we do not know what to do with it alone.!
Ortik9
Sam! has now been restricted to the branding of non-human beings:
we mark things and brand cows, but we name people. Our word for a
name is oruler. What is its origin?
Let us begin with the Yoruba for "to mention":
tk/rukr "to mention"
(d-r-k-)
Yoruba
Arabic
qakara "to mention"
(<.i-!c-r-)
Assyrian zilearu "to mention, to name" (z-k-r-)
So, here we have an Afro-Asiatic triconsonantal verbal root d-r-k-/d-k-r-: 2
Semitic keeps that intact; but Yoruba "analyses" it-- looses it up into a
"verb-nominal collocation": driruk\} "to mention" (>&i 'ruler "to mention
the name of..."). -ruler "name" was then restructured and given legitimate
lexical status as a VCVCV noun by the usual noun-forming process of
vowel prefixing: -rttkr>orukr. Here is an illustration of the statement of
Ferdinand de Saussure that "the vast majority of words are, in one way
1 For if srJmi is a verb plus noun, and dmi is the nonn, wl1a! is the verb? This is not
a case of ellision from sa dmi. The Hausa reflex of the root is s/,Ina "name".
2 Metathesis often takes place where /r/ is one of the consonants See Yoruba eri'tp?,
Hebrew 'apar "dust". Robert Lord says on page 92 of Teach Yourse!( Comparative
Linguistics that "consonants (I) and (r) are the most frequently melathesised conso
nants".
61
,II!
II
"remind me"
"remember"
,:III
I
Orfki
Let us start by warning the reader not to play the folk etymological
game by back-forming orf "head" from the word oriki. Not so soon after
we have just been talking about orukr. Orrik(J and orfki have the same
consonantal root: -r-k-. Orukr is the linguistic symbol by which you
remember an individual; oriki is the literary form by which you remem
ber him within the history of his family, clan and tribt:. Hence the genea
logical content of orikl. 3
,I,
d
I.
Ii
I
,I
I
\
The nasalization in pkimrill began from the final consonan t, like the Inl in Hebrew
zlkkaroll, and spread through assimilation: [Qkurin] > [Qkunrin]
The
process is still going on in obirill "woman" (d. Arabic' imra' "woman" Agni
Beri obla "woman") more frequently spelt
Ivory Coast bla "woman",
obinrill. I differ from Archdeacon J. O. Lucas, Religioll of fhe Yorubas, pages 92-3.
What Archdeacon Lucas calls" nasal n" in the footnote is the orthographic device
in Yoruba for showing that the preceding vowel is nasalized.
2 zlkkaron has the word-formative sumx I-ani, found in Lebanon ( <I,z/xf/l "white"),
Jordan (<yarad"to descend").
3 See S. A. BabalQla, Th(' Content and Form of Yorubu ljala (O.D.P. 1966) pp. 23-4
and AW(J1l Orfki Orflf (CoIlins, 1967) p. II. See also E. Bolaji Idowu, Olodllmare,
God in Yoruba Beliefpp. 9-10 and Ogunl~y~ Agunbiade-Bamishe, KnolV the Yorubas
(Sketch Publishing Co., Ibadan, 1968) pp. 32-4.
62
,i
II
63
I
_..."_._:Mi
I
;,lr1WMll"
i.,
,,\";iJr*'j,:;0:\;j;i
"It is thought that the recital of the orfki arouses in the child a
strong feeling of solidarity with its blood relations ... " l For the oriki
finds a secure place for the restless child in the midst of a host of ancestors.
The oriki invokes a host of ancestry, and the child is made to experience
"the communion of saints". "There are widely publicised stories of
many a mentally ill person who has been cured through the repeated
performance, in his hearing, of the oriki of his lineage.,,2 It is a way of
tracing a man to his roots, to his genesis a way of integrating him into
a closely-knit web of family relationships and thus rescuing him from
marginality.
64
I!
"
65
Yoruba mesi found in Afesi Ogp, the nick-name of the people of lbadan,
"begotten of the hill", a reference to the devotion of the Ibadan people
to Oke 'badan "the lbadan hill" which, according to legend, ofTered
refuge to Lagelu, the founder of the city. I
England: every Smith was close to the smithy; every Mason came from
a family of builders; every Carpenter was connected with that trade.
Today, a Mr. Mason may be a fisherman or a lawyer, a Mr. Fisher may
be a smith, and a Mr. Fowler may not have hunted for game in his life. I
Christianity and Islam have had at least one effect on Yoruba names:
by persuading the Yoruba converts to reduce the number of divinities
they worshipped to only one, they have had the effect of reducing the
number of theophoric prefixes in the Yoruba names chosen for children
from Christian and Muslim homes-no more Ogllll-bL'mmi, Fa-Mnmi,
i)pa-Yfmi, If.fun-Iqiya or Ori'~'afunk(:; only Olzi-bL'mmi, Olu~run:jd, Olu-/qiya,
Ohi~runk(:. The ancient variety of Yoruba names and Yoruba worship is
preserved now in the names which have become fixed as "surnames"
family names. Thus the OS{lnyln in the surname of the late Bishop
OS{ll1yln indicates nothing of the religion of the bishop himself; it merely
shows the ancestral belief of his forefathers.
Ii
In ancient times every male Altiytillde would know how to play the
drums, every male Oneib6M would be skilled in some art, every male
i)jflabi would be initiated into the cult of ancestral masks: religions and
professions ran in families. This made the babaldwo's question - "What
is your name?" - meaningful. "What is your name? What is the name of
your father? What is the name of your mother?" And a lot of background
information would have fallen into his hands. It was as it used to be in
Williams, Moore, Syngle, Lucas, Fisher, Smith, Fowler are only a few of the English
surnames which can be found as surnames among the Yoruba. The explanation is to
be found in the history of the Yoruba contact with British missionaries first in
Freetown, Sierra Leone, and subsequently in Abyokuta. The incidence of such
names is lherefore highest in these two places. Similarly, Portuguese surnames like
Branco, Perreira, Jacintha, da Rocha were actually brought back from Brazil
reminders of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to South America and the return of the
exiles after the abolition of slavery. Most such names can be traced back to the
"Brazilian quarters" in Lagos. There is nothing funny about these "foreign" names;
they are a true reflection of significant events in the history of the bearers. Nor is
there anything funny about Mr Wood or Mr Stone: the reader may consult J. W.
Freeman's book, Discovering Surnames, or such manualS for their explanation.
1 L6gelrl itself, like other mythological names, is symbolically given: it breaks inio
L6-gelti. The first is the particle of ownership - of a thing or a quality. The second
palt is cognate with Hebrew gal "mound, hill" in Gal Ed. L6gehi means something
like" mountain nymph" - the one on the hill.
2 See Modupv OduY9ye, "Yoruba and Semitic Languages: Linguistic Relationship"
in the Nigeria Magazine, No. 99, Dec. 1968.
66
67
......,..
'enf.
'M;i.
tt
...
Diu "God"
Oluf~mi
Oluszmya
Oh'ijinmi
Oluk~mi
0lllY9mi
Oluymisi
OIUfunmiM
OIUr~mil~kll11
011Illyd6
OIll~~gun
OIMunn~
---
Olll~Y<;
OIMelanu
OlublIs(l!a
OlubUkul1<,JIa
Olllkya
Oilideire
Olltwmim
0lllt6yc
-----
OIll~eyi
Ollunid6
OIlunby
Olllb~tjo
OlllpltZlJ1
Olu~\)ga
(Lord, Master)
\,
Olu f~ mi
"God loves me"
Olu san iya
"God avenges punishment"
Olu jin mi
"God gave me"
Olu k~ mi
"God pets me"
Oill Y9 mi
"God rescues me"
Olu y~ mi si
"God honours me"
Olu fun mi k~
"God gave me to pet"
Olu kit ay de
"God brought joy"
Olu ~ ogun
"God won a victory"
01L1 ~e Yl(
"God wrought a thing of dignity"
Olu 1. aanu
"God has mercy"
OIll w ml 1110.
"God washes me clean"
Olii t6 aye
"God is as valuable as a title"
Olll ~e eyi
"God did this"
Olll 15mi Ii de
"My Lord comes"
Olii In by
"God exists"
Ori~awayi
Ori~agbemi
Od mil 016ye
Orimal<id6
Od mil aliide
OriYllmi
F,~l]biyi
E~ugbayi
E~u .. bi eYl
E~u .. gba byi
Ira
Filllia
Fal(,lp~
Faluyi
Fala~y
Falllm(,l
Fei~lIhi
Fa~ade
Fa~uyi
Fa~lIrQ
QIrun ni ill by
QIrun" f mi
Mo f' QIrun ~II
Orimol6ye
Fa~anu
FaleO
FagbUlil
Fa~ina
QIrunniillby QIrunf~ll1i
Mof91run~ -
Orl*
"Augury, divination"
"Ijit is elevating"
Ori is "head". The Yoruba do not worship their own head. Circumstances of
linguistic symbolism, however, brought it about that the gods (and God) being
high and lofty, are called bywords related to words for" head": ori,\'(ilrosh; o/liwaloruwo;
hence Ollilori_ The most easily visible and palpable of these concepts is the human
head.
III
II
Ii
69
68
II
"[I,r
..--:el~____
_ _
, ,
Jj
Fcidip~
Fagbeml
FciJana
Feiy~ml
FagllDwa
Fayiga
Fatogun
Faj[lna
FcibiJl1mi
F,ifunwa
FagbCnlc5
Fcik6redc5
FagbamiIA
F;;idarr6
F;;ijmb(>la
Fa$csll1
F;;ijmisin
F;;lgadc5
F,ttolei
Fasanm[
FMiad6
Fcitllloti
F;;ld,ihunsi
FakciYQd6
F,imoriYQ
F,lrinm;;idc5
Ad6Y yf;;i
Adubifa
Abifadn
Ql;;lifa
Fei$\)ranti
F,ibuluj~
FasehUn
Fajilyi
i
Ifa di ip~
"lflt substitutes a ransom"
I
Ira gbe mi
(
"lId supported my causc"
Ira la Qna
"lIlt cut a path"
Ifa y~ mi
"(The worship of) lId suits me"
Ifei g1111 iwa
"lId straightens character"
Ifa yi iga
"/fd marks out a royal courtyard"
If,1 to oogun
"lfli is sufficient for a medicine"
Ifa j;;i Ql1a
"Jfu crosses the path"
- Ha bim mi
"l(d gave me"
- Ira flm mi wi
"1ja gave me"
- 1m gM mi le
"ljii carricd me aloft"
- WI k6 ire de
"ljii brings in good things"
-- Ita gM mi la
"lId saved me"
- Wi da eyi 1'0
''If(i kept this one waiting"
- Ifei j (lei) n b:i 91~1 "lIlt made it possible for me to
cncounter wealth"
l[ci $C i sin
"lid is auspicious to worship"
- Ira j l11i 1 sin
"f(d is propitious for me to wor
ship"
- If,i gun ade
"lI(i got on a crown"
- Ifa to i ki
"lid is enough to salute"
-- If;;i san 1111
"l(d is good to me"
-- Ini fi i (flw) ad6
"lid gave him to the crown"
-- Irei t6 1r6-ti
"l(ii is reliable enough to stand
by"
- 1fti c1cihlll1 sl i
"l[d gave a response to it"
- If;;1 ko aYQ de
"l(d brought in joy"
- Ifa (ni) 1110 ri YQ
"It's lId I saw that I rejoice"
- Wi rin I11Q ad6
"l(d walks with the crown"
- Ade YV Ifei
"A crown befits ljd"
- A- dtldll bi If,i
"One who is black as lId"
- A- b:i Ifa rin
"One who walks with Jf(i"
- Ql;;IIfa
"Thanks to lfci"
- Wi :ee $e Qran ti
"1.f(i does not fail to solve a
problem"
- If;;i :ee ba ulll j~
"lId does not ruin a city"
- Ifa :6c se ohlin
"1.[a does not refuse an utterance"
-- Wi :c5e j (ki) uyi gbc5 "lId does not let glory die"
70
\
lId names are commonest among thc Ij<;$a. Ncxt come the Ondo.
~here these_ have lIlt names, the Ijvbu tend to have Odi'l and Awo, tl1e
:e:~ba o.}'6. Qsanyin is from Ekiti.
Awoyinfa
AwOfala
AwojQbi
AwolQwQ
AwokQya
Awolilja
AwodQla
Awosanml
Awoyyfa
Awo~ika
Odusanya
Odusanwo
OdllYQye
OdutQhi
OduwQle
--
Odub~la
Awob6du
$ofodtl
Awolil M Oelil
0$6 fQ Odll
Odu~Qt~
Odujinrin
Odudemur~n
Odunaiya
71
Ogun~Qla
$6Ulllk~
$6kya
$6wQle
$6yinkii
$6bande
$6weinde
$6wunmi
$6mQrin
$6tunde
$6sanya
$6liirin
$6mlde
$6litja
$6ya11l1wo
$6riyan
$6diimLl
$6dip~
$or~m~kun
JQlao~6
KQleo~6
$6tikar~
O~6
O~6
Oguntade
OgunjQbi
"Seer, wizard"
ni an M
kQ iya
Ogunk~yy
Ogunlade
OgunmQIa
Ogundip~
Ogun~' Qla
Ogunt6yinb6
Ogun~ina
Oguntim~hin -
Ogunnuga
Ogungbe
Ogunrinde
Ogunbiyl
Ogunba
Ogl1l1mQdyde
Ogun t6 ade
OgunjQ bi
Ogun k6 ~yy
Ogun I' ade
Ogun mQ Qla
Ogun di ip~
Ogun t6 oyinb6
Qd y "Hunter"
Qd~gbaroye
--
Qd y "
Qd y "
Qd y
Qdy
Qdy
Qd y
Qdy
Qd y
AbQdyrin
A- ba 9dy rin
Qd~biyl
Qd~rinde
Qd~ku
Qd~yale
Qd~tQla
Qd~bunmi
QdNina
bi eyi
rin de
ku
ya ile
t6 Qla
bim mi
di na
gbQ aroye
Most O~6 names are ~gbci. They are also found in Ij~bu R~mQ area.
Ogun*
Ogunlesi
Ogun~~yy
Ogl/It is the god of iron, the patron of all who work with iron
Akingbade
Akinwunmi
Akintunde
72
Akin. yy ile
AkinYyIe
73
"'mar
---._._.__.__._.. _--~-_ ..
J
\1
I'
Akinrin(>hi
Akint(>hi
Akinsanya
Akinlade
Akinniyi
Akinjide
AkinY'Ymi
Akfntciy
Akintoye
Akinluyi
AklnbQgun
Akinp~llI
Akinl~yy
Akintl11ide
Akinsanm i
Aldnrele
--
AkinmUSlllJrU --Aldnkunmi
Akindele
-Akfn~~t~
Akfnb(>li
--
AkinQlii
Akinkligbe
Akinbl1Un
Akfntmf
AkinnigbagM
Ogunmakind6
-.
--
Ogunnuikinw~-i-
lkllll10gunniyi -
"Valour is dignity"
war"
Akin .. p~lu
"The valiant man was one of
them"
Akin .. t mi de
'The valiant man came after me"
Akin .. san l11i
"Valour is good for me"
Akin .. re ']C r~
"The valiant man went to his
house"
A1<in .. mu sllllrll
"The bold one exercises patience"
Akin .. kllI1 111i
"The valiant man
Akin .. de ile
"The valiant man got home"
Akin .. ~e ~t~
"The valiant man did
Akin B bii Qlii
"Valour goes very well with
honour"
Akin Q/;i
"Valour of honour"
Akin:ee b ohilD
"A valiant man does not give up"
Akin:ee t 111i
"Valour never let me down"
Ba16gun
I'
I,
I,
QnMQw(lkil11
Qnab61l1
Qniifk
Qnayetmi
QnaJaja
OnaMmir6
Qn{l~i16
Qnabajo
Qnadip~
QnaMnk~
Onagoruwa
Qnakomaya
AdebniljQ
Qna II ba Olll
"Art befits lords"
Qna .. f ~kQ
"Art needs learning"
Qna .. YiY mi
"The profession of artist suits me"
Qna .. la ijil
"Art settles the quarrel"
Ona .. M mi r6
"Art stays with me"
Qna II ~i He
"The artist opens a house"
Qna. di ip~
"Art puts in a plea with a ransom"
Qna .. ba mi k
"Art helps me to pet (this child)"
Ade ba Qna jQ
"A crown goes very well with art"
- Ayan" de ile
- Ayan ail t6 Qla
-- Ayan .. t6 llga
Ayanbad6jQ
Aliiyiind6
Alayan" de
Most Akin names are Ondo and Ijy~a. No girl is given an Akin name.
Qya WQ oye
A- ba Qya de
Ogull "War"
AdebQgun
Ohl?~gun
~-.
Abisogun
1 The River Niger being to the north of Yoruba land, Qya names are found among
the Northern Yorubil, in Qfa for instance.
74
75
,
"""";;;':'<ittttt
.1jjF~'f'
,I!
O$unniyi
O$Lll1kya
of the suffering"
O$un .. ni iyi
O$Ull k9 iya
O$unbimmi
O$un bUn mi
Qpadtun
Qla Opa
QI(Jpad6
~fun -
J;:fUnyymi
-J;:fun yy mi
J;:fUnkya
J;:fun. k9 iya
$6k~fun
Ogunm~fun
Ogun mQ J;:fu11
Orni "Water"
Omikunl6
Omit(Jla
Omf$ad6
Omf$oore
Omi. $e ad6
Omi $e oore
Oke*
Ok6~fn~L
Okcdijf
Ad6gokc
Qlc\g()kc
"The hill"
OkC. $i Qna
Okc. d' iji
(lIla "Plenty"
Opc\kunl6
Opal~yy
Opayymf
I.
76
suits me"
indignity"
QrnQ "Children"*
9.
Qm9wunmi
QmQtQ$<)
Qm9. wun mi
Qm
t6 9$9
QrnQtay
Qn19 t6 ay
Q m 9 lan\
Qm9 niyi
QmQd616
Qm9 d6 ilc
Q n19 l' ~yt;
QmQI~yy
Qm910lu
1 Osun Division, of course, is the centre around which Osun names occur mpst fre
quently. But the names follow the course of the Osun River through 0sogbo,
:ed~, Ibadim districts and the Eastern parts of Ij~bil land.
* Oke names are found in the hilly areas whose beginnings are conne.cted with the
flight of refugees to safety on mountain tops or in mountain caves: Ekiti, Ibildan,
Abeokilta, etc.
god of plenty"
In the days before the conlact wilh Brilain, the Yoruba had no surnames, as we
now know them. The method of connecting a person with his family was to call him
A the child of B - 9lnP LagbrijJ, pmr Tmdu - a system best preserved in the
Semitic system extant in Hebrew (ben Gurian "the son of Gurion") and in Arabic
(' ibn Musa" the son of Musa").
The surnames of Yoruba today were the personal names of the parents of the
children whose names were registered soon after the contact with Britain in the
nineteenth century: the names of their fathers were interpreted as "surnames".
Hence Mr. Id6wu; even Mr. Bal6gun.
77
I
Ii_
i.
.f
~
~
Q1116bhi
Qmparf9I,i
Kik19 111 9
~ OJ II de ile
~ OJ Iii d' iran
OJdele
OJdiran
OJdokun
E6gllll j9 bi
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
K(l~im
Kuybi
~iwkil
Eegun yC; mi
Baba" tun de
~ lye II tun d6
~ Iya be)
~ Baba II tlm ji
~ Baba IIji de
~ Qn19 III dhin de
~ Qm9 II dhin be)
-- J;:ni (tl) 6 19
l' 6 be)
Dllr6jay6
Kaljaye
~
~
Ma 19 111
Ko ku m
Ko si 9k
R6 ti mi
Dur6 sin mi
"Stand by me"
"Stay to bury me" (don't die pre
maturely)
"Stay and enjoy life"
"Sit down and enjoy life'.'
78
II
Aye) "Joy"
'Tunde ~ Reincarnation
Babatunde
Yetund6
ly,ibe)
Babatunji
Babajid6
Qm<)deind6
Qmdinb<)
J;: nfl 9
Ba mij6ko
Ba mi kQ ile
Qm9 ni aiM k
IkujwQ r
lku yin in nil
IkLl $e aanu
lku $e or6
lku run mi
lkLl foriji
lku k9 eyi
lku $i i m!)
lku yy bi
~i 'wQ iIeu
~ A- ba eegun de
~
Banj6ko
Bankle
Qm 9IaMk
Kuj9r
Kuyinnu
KU$aanu
KU$or6
Kurunmi
KUforiji
Kuk9yi
AY9d6le
AY9 deji
AY9 rIn de
Ql11t,iye)
Temit,iY9
TitilaY9
J;kLll1daY9
AY9 ade
AY9 Ia
QdunaY9
~
~
joy"
"Mine is enough cause for joy"
AY9" de il6
AY9 II d' eji
Ay II rin de
Qn19 II t6 aY9
Ti emi II t6 ay<)
Titi l' ay
~ J;:kun d' aY9
~ AY9 ad6
-- Ay 9la
~ Qdun aY9
~
.J::kun "Weeping"
J;:kundaY9
~ J;:kun d' aY9
J;:kundare
~ J;:kun da are
OlurmilkLm ~ Olll r mi ni ykun
~6rmkLm
~ 0$6 r mi ( , ) ykLm
"Weeping vindicates"
"God consoles me in my weeping"
"The seer consoles me in my
weeping"
79
I
!
I ' ~
Ade "Crown"
-
Ad6 tunji
Ad6 dap
Ad6 ba ayo
Ad6 wei il6
Ad6 kun ile
Ad6 gun oke
Ade gun ori oye
Ade S9 ji
Ad6 r~ mi (1111 ykllll)
Ad6 f mi
Ade ~i na
Ad6111(J1~gun
-
-
Ad6 da m 91ei
Ad6 m 91a
Ade ba mi k
Ad6 bU kun 91ei
Ade bi si
Ad6 bi 111i p6
Ad6 pe oju
Adej9 k
Ade di oyin
Ad6 taro
Ad691ei
Ad6 yc,: mi
Ad6 yi mi k:i
Ad6poju
Ade mu i1~ glm
Ad6kanmbi
AMgbit
Ad6kya
Ad6day
Ad6muwagun
Adeyym9
Ad60ye
Adeniran
Adetunji
Ad6dap
Ad6bay
Ad6weil6
Ad6klm16
Ad6goke
Adegor6ye
Ad6s9ji
Ad6r~mi
Ad6f~mi
Ad6~[na
Ad6damlei
Ad6mla
Ad6beink
Ad6bllknlei
Ad6bisi
Adebimp6
Ad6peju
Ad6j9k
Ad6doyin
Adeloro
Ad691ei
Adeyc,:mi
Ad6yinkei
Adepojll
Ade yy 9m9
Ad60ye
Ad6 ni iran
80
Ad6niyi
Adeniji
Ad6 ni iyi
Ad6 ni iji
Ad61abU
Adebajo
Adela iM
Ad6 b (Wi) ajo
Ad6iye
Ad6nrel6
Ad6deji
Ad6bUs6ye
Ad6gb91ci
Ad6ribigbe
Ad6gb6yega -
Ade iye
Ad6 n re '16
Ad6 di eji
Ad6 btl si oye
Ad6 gba 91ei
AM Ii ibi gbe
Ad6 gbe oye ga
Ad6b6yej9
- Ad6 ba oye j9
Ad6b(maj9
v'<71ci~adc
Ad6 ba 9na j9
F' 91ci ~e ade
Iga/uga
Ademlga
ayenuga
Bisuga
Leid6ga
Hyiga
"courtyard, palace"
Ad6 nllluga
aye II nil ug~t
A- bi si uga
Qla d6 iga
Ifa yf iga
Oba "King"
Qbafmi
Qba II f l11i
ayekan
ayetund6
ayebanji
aye II kan mi
aye .. tun d6
aye III ba mi j i
81
Oyekunle
OyeyipQ
Oye~ina
Oyenuga
Oyel~sy
Oyeniran
Oyeniyi
Oyediran
Oyemade
Oyenam~
Oyebde
OyeYymi
Oyesilllya
Oyegoke
Oyebla
Oyebolll
OyelwQ
Qlcidunjoye
Ogunt6ye
OlMoye
Adeloye
---
Ogll11 t6 aye
0111 t6 aye
Ade l' aye
Adegboyega -
Adeoye
QhlOyC
Abioye
Ad6 aye
Qla aye
A- bi (si) aye
O~in
Qr;;ifow6ra
Q~rdele
Q~rYymi
Q~rkQya
Q~isanya
"Chief"
Q~i"
f' owo ra
Q~i" de ile
Q~i" Yv mi
Q~i" kQ iya
Q~i II san iya
Q~ib6dil
Q~iyaJe
Q~ibQwale
Q~ikomaiya
Q~rb~ril
Q~ikanlu
Q~naja
Q~ifQdlJ]1fin
Q~i" ba odu
Q~i" ya ile
Q~i" b wa 'Ie
Q~i" k6 mi 0") aya
Q~i
Q~i
II
b~ru
Q~i
"la ija
.. f' Qdun rin
Qla~eni
Qladunni
Qladimeji
QladipQ
Qlanrewajll
Qlab(>p6
I
I
i
l~
Qhi ~e i ni
Q!<i dun i nr
Qla di meji
Qla di P1IPQ
Qla 11 re 'wajll
QM bQ (si) ipo
----------
lOne hears in Ijybu ogu [or ogun "war", f!fu for ffim, a circumstance which now makes
it difficult to know whether the first elemenl of the names Okusimyil, OkuliljiL,
Okubadek), etc, is okun" thread" or bkti"the dead". The context helps one to choose
in okubcidlfj(J "threaded beads match a crown".
83
82
''',~,;._,_ .;,,~'
,A.
,t
QIal6kan
Ql<inlyan
Qhfglmju
Q!<iolu
Qlatund6
AbiIa
Gbemisl:i
Daraml:i
Ql:idunjoye
- Qla Ie kan
- QM ni [yan
- Qla gun oju
- QM Olu
- Qla tun de
- A- bi (s1) QM
- Gb6 mi Sl Qla
- F' Qlci ~e ade
- A- dara mQ QI::f
- Qlci dun ju oye
Blanl6
AjibQlci
A- ji ba <;>Ja
Moblciji
Qlabisi
KOf6
Mo ba QI<I ji
Qla bi si
FQJa~ade
"Fame increases"
money"
AfQ1cibi
- A- f' Qlci bi
"Born with fame"
OlubUsQla
- Olu btl SI Qlef
"God amplifies status"
TitilQla
<)r~dQM
~ijuwQlci
without blemish"
-
OfukQ AmutQfunwa
1. Talabi is one of the amutfmmwa names in Yorubci; that is, it is
determined by the circumstances of the birth of the child. Any (female)
child who is "born with the head and body covered with the caul, or
ruptured membranes" is automatically called TaJdbi, whatever other
Abis!) names it may acquire at its naming ceremony on the eight day.
Like most of the other amutrrunwa names, we do not try to translate
them as we instinctively do with the Abis!) names. We still know the
correct usage of the amutrrt'mwa names, but their etymologies are in
most part now obscure. I have not arrived at the etymology of SdJdlq5,1
Ajayi, Ige etc.
But TflUtbi has the consonantal root t-I-b. This, I suggest, is the
same consonantal root as we find in TombOlo. 2 The connection between
TdJdbi and TombOJo is this:
TambO/a: a man clothed like an eegungun masquerade, pretending to
the role of eegllngun but really acquiring no more than the
abuse of bush eegungun, eegun ara aka ...
TaJab[:
"a child born with the head and body covered with caul"
draped like a masquerade!
The two Yoruba words are related to Arabic labisa, Hebrew (mit)
labish "dressed, clothed" (l-b-sh):
t - I - b
Talabi
t - b - I
Tambala
I - b - s
"clothed, dressed"
It is this idea that is expressed in the Hausa name Mairiga for a
child born with its placenta intact: Hausa riga is "clothes".
2. Any baby whose incessant crying at birth seems to suggest that it
is in some distress or the other is Oni. The name has nothing to do with
its homophone, oni "today". It is cognate with Arabic 'ana "distress",
Hebrew 'anah "to be afflicted", as in the Biblical name Ben Oni, "the
son of my affliction", Hebrew 'awft "affliction, iniquity".
3. Any baby who comes from the womb feet first is 1ge.
4. Any baby born face to the ground is Ajayi.
5. Oj6 and Aina are the names for children born with their umbilical
84
85
cord twined around their neck. Of the two names, the Ijybu use only Aina;
for it is proverbial that IjfbU ki fit oj6, "Ijybus never bear the name Dj6."
6. Children whose hair are knotted together around the crown of the
head are called Dada. The hair must be left like that until ceremonially
cut.
7. IIQri is the name of children conceived soon after a previous birth,
before resumption of menstruation.
8. Qk~ - which means "sack" - is the name of a child born wrapped
up in a thin membrane - the amniotil sac.
9. The following names mentioned before are determined by the
circumstances of the birth of the child: AbfPdun, Ab(5dl'inrin, Abfpl1a,
AbfrSf, AbpsMe.
10. The first of twins to "taste of the world" is Taiwo; the one who
"comes last" is K~hinde.
11. The third of triplets is !:;ta oko, but the child is not generally called
by this "title". f:;ta is "three"; for oko, see Hausa ukil "three".
12. Counting Tafwo as one, Kt!hinde as two, the child born after a set
of twins is Idowu if a boy, Idogbe if a girl. For reasons of sound symbc
lism, Idogbe is so unpopular that I have not known a girl called by this
name: Idi)wu, therefore, serves for boys and girls born after a set of twins.
3
Exercises
13. The child born after Idilwu counts as the fourth: He (or she) is
Ah\ba, a cognate of Hebrew rabica, Arabic 'arbaca "four".
14. If, as it happens once in a blue moon, a child is born with an extra
digit showing the beginnings of a sixth finger, he is Oh'igbOdi - but, of
course, this name is not advertised.
15. A child born with the umbilical cord wound round his wrist is
Erinl~.
(ii)
(iii)
fSf gfgim
ow6 iliP
ow6 mi
"house rent"
"my money"
ite ewe
"thatched house"
i.)(! alf
"night duty"
i.yf (Jw(J
"hand work"
ow60rf
"capitation tax"
etf inu
"inner ears"
ite
wa
"long legs"
omi didim
"our house"
i$f
"sweet water"
+ yfn
"your work"
(Jm(J
(Jm(J
k(Jbr mfta
"three pennies,'
(Jtn(J
kekere
"little child"
a$(J w(Jn
omi gbUgb6na
"their clothes"
$fle kan
"one shilling"
eniyan pup(J
"holy spirit"
"her child"
"his son"
ori fz!a
"big head"
"many people"
ftni mfm(J
"your child"
(iv)
"hot water"
ok?!l?! bamba
"large morsel"
apata ganga
"lofty rock"
ikim randu
"rotund belly"
Real adjectives are rare)n Yoruba: the gap ;s filled by the lJse of verbal nouns formed
from stative verbs - 0 gun: gigun "It (is) long/long"; 0 dun: didun "It is sweet/
sweet". The number names with m-prefix count as adjectives. There are also adjectival
ideophones formed by infixing a syllabic nasal within a root, e.g. Rausa baba "big",
Yoruba biimba.
Compare gdngii and ogongo "ostritch" with ga "to be high" and the triplicated
ideophone giigiiga.
2 The following place-names are in this group: Ij~bU Ode, Ij~bU 19bO, INbli +
Rmr, Ij?hU /N$ii, Ipetu IN$d, lie-Iff, Im~si lie, Adi OY9, Ado Ekltl, I;;sii Oke, 19biirii
Oke, ado Ogbo/ii, Oke Add, lsiil~ Ekd, Ab Oklita, Ifllin 19b~tI, EbUti Era, etc.
3 The symbol / + / is not used in normal writing. It indicates the presence of a mid
tone juncture when noun B begins with a consonant: ile + wa is to be pronounced
ilee wa.
89
~~.
'I
't
Predicate
---!comPle- ,
Sub
ject
Ade
Qla
Oye
------,- -r---
A
n'
QmQ = 1QmQ
mi
'F,i
Og~1I1 = IOg~1Il
Akm
= Akll1
'LQlli
Copula Complement
Sub- / verb
ject I "to be",
of
ni
i verb
l'
iyi
ad6
QP9
iyi
uyi
ani
CSI
I; 9yt;
~~t;
I ~a_'
I-----,----.-
'Deji
'Dayi,l
'Doyin
'Di,ltun 0 di tuntun "It became
new"
Salt became water "Iy 9 d' omi"
Afternoon turned into night "Osan
d' oru"
White became black "Funfun di
dlidu"
It is eggs which bec0111e cocks
".e:yin ni i d' akilk</"
You will become old (live long)
"Wa ::i d' agba"
He became rich (a rich person)
"0 d' 016w6"
Till morning "6 d' aar" (greetings)
Till (I) return "6 d'ab" (greetings)
Verb
"beco
mes"
= lAde I
>
Oye
l;klm
= Il;kun
Ogun
eji
(pU)P9
tun
meji'
di
IQ1a
d'
IOgt'in
1----
ment
of '
verb
~jQ
ay
igba
I Han
~yill
Predicate
--~---
j~~1 verb
Sub-
Direct
object
'$aanii
'$cyt;
'$1)1l1
:::-r 1
aanll
Olll
Ogun
"
-,
ainu
::
~yy
Qla
90
'
91
i
.~~,:j'; ':'ji1:~",,:;~m
fI1
&
-hr-....-. ,=-----,,"----.-'..-...;.-
"
Predicate
'WQle
Predicate
gun
Subject
Ade
Q1<i
Oye
AM
<)1,
> Oye
A policeman entered.
bke
- - -----
verb
object
_I
I climbed a hill.
oke
g'
,Goke
Sub
ject
w9 ile
Qgb~ni"
016
01"--1
Ade Ade
0~6 'S6
Oye > 10ye
"QIQpa W9
'Ie"
"W9 'Ie,
w9 'Ie
1-----1
"Ole kan W9
'Ie"
A hen has entered Adiy kan-6 ti
WQ '16)
Adiy kan ti w9'le
Predicate
Subject
Ade
Ade
Akin> Akin
0~6
'S6
If<i
'Fa
Ogun
Ogun
<)~un > <)~un
Awo> Aw6
Qla
Qla
---
finite
verb
n[
Direct
object
Nik~
Niyi
~yy
111
1111
ik~
eti
iyi
QWQ
I.
meji"
A dove which has no wings "Adaba
ti 0
apa"
A maiden who has no clothes
"Qm9ge ti 0 I. a~9"
Olubadilll 0 I. aM "(The) Olu
badan has no crown"
I.
iY9 nu
92
Predicate
I.
-\--1
ogun,
S~
Sub
ject
Olu - j ~IU Ade -~de
direct
verb
~~
I object
I
'gun
'~~guo
93
,J
Predicate
Predicate
Subject
IFinite -;bjec~verb
-----
Akin>
Ifa
Ifcl
Ad6
ql,i
qlla
lbi
Akin
'Fa
'Fa
01(1
>
Subject
'Y~mi
'Ie
'111Q
01(1
mi
Ad6
yc;
qlci
qnil
fbi
---._----- - - ---)---_._--
OrukQ
Odli >
Odii
Ade
Ogul1
Olu
--
verb
direct
object
san
'w6
liIya
'Sanya
'Sanw6
--
-~--
J:;san
"Recompense"
Predicate
Sub
ject
la ija
lAde
Predicate
~ub-
Ject
QmQ>
I Qm 9
Qna >
Awo>
Oku
Qna
Aw6
'Lajlt
la 'ja
onilaja
-- peace maker
aWQn
- They
- - - - - ----------
Finite! Object
\ verb
'
- - - - 1I - - - ----
Olu
Baba
Predicate
'I<'~rni
Adc -- Ad6
01(1
> Bab,i
QI(mll1
Oba >
MoN
1111
Sub
ject
Q111Q.
Q1QrLln
Ob,,1.
'-------\
kQ iya
'KVyil
\ Ad6
I O~6
'Fa
Qna > 011:1
Qsun > _Q~un
\ Olu
, Ogun I_ _I
k<) 'ya
-~-
95
94
i"'
....
--~,-
'..
Predicate
~ub-
Ad' -Qla
Omi >
,OO
>
aye >
lbi
>
kim il6
'KUnle
f?~
Qla
[i I
,On
Predicate
Ject
..k
aye
lbi
verb
object
di
(ey)i
Q'U
hln'I6
11 Direct
Subject
,i
Iku
Dais!
Good Lord, spare us "Oluwa rere,
da wa si"
Death spared him "Iku da a si"
Predicate
!---'
ml
fUn
f-.
~--
Sub
ject
Second
in- verb exdirect pressing
object purpose
--
Verb
-J--
Predicate
Sub-
'~ject
verb
1._--
visitor waiting"
Mil dd 111i duro "[)on't keep me
waiting"
W(m ti dti OIUf~mi duro ni ibi '~~
"OIUf~mi has been dismissed
from work."
l\Wqll qlQpa dO. wa durol'Qna
"The police stopped us on the
way."
Oill
'Fa
D:ilro
Dl'iini
LI
i
I k~
t(>
'~Q
~--,----
'Fun~(}
'Funt(}
I
Fun mijy.
Do
Qd~
verb
---,-'
cyi
1
Qd y >
r--=-A~d6
I Olu
Chapter IV)
'Funk~
di I '( I r6
\_I~-
016Ifa
1
j
'KaY9de
~1~6
'Korede
k6 __
I
~,'
!:_J
Sub-
j,e<
Predicate
k.
aY9
(i) re
d6
clothes.
I have come with the paper.
96
97
Ii
~" -
Sub
ject
Olll>
Ad6>
:~~--I~-rl
--~ dire~~ --I
vcrb I object
~I-----
Olll
Ad6
I Ifci
_,~_
verb
---- -----
YiJ
' --
Predicate
1---1---'
IStative
gb6
Stative Verbs
(to ff)llow Chapter VIll)
,Gbenga
'Gbenro
W(lI1 gbe e ga nl'bi i~
Predicate
n , ga
r6
Id
---- --,-I
Subverb
\
ject I t6
I Com
Iplement
1- .,---_.-----_.--. - - -
Akin> I Akin
Ogll11
<)~Ull
O~(1Il
>
tw
I 91;;i
lade
I ()yinb6
Gtt-teng:~
Predicate
sea"
A~~T
I'
- - ---_.--
GMy~~g~a
GMd6h~
Sub- \
Direct
ject ,vcrb object" verh
----~-
ok;1I1
ay\)
T'emi> I Tcmi
Qm? > Qm()
Qd y > Qd
'1'(ll1i
'Tliyi)
Gh0mit;(nh'i
- --'-',-
Clod elevated
1-,:r;""J E~_li~_
/\ w~i ligh/
i,l
liS
"Olll gb6
ga" ql.(mm
l!'(f
Pi).iiJ
lja"
"Vie mat;
Predicate
Sub
ject
I verb I
P9 I
verb
1---1'----1------'
r'\d6 --
I AM
jl.l
_ _ _ _ _- - - 1 - - -
99
98
:~:~I%
"'-",T\,
"I
____1
[ > dun un
Ko ~e i jy [> Ko ~e jy ]
It is undrinkable
Ko ~e i mu [> Ko ~e mu ]
Qti yI 0 ~e i mu
Ko ~e i ~e
~c
~e]
yja dun i jy
Jy yja -
( > d ill1 un jy ]
S9 9r9 -
<)r<) dim i S9
[ > dun un S9 ]
9ti dun i lUU
Mu 9ti -
r>
dim un
Wa 9k -
11111 ]
Sun (oorun) -
[ > dun un
Predicate
fiU ]
J y obi -
obi dlll1 i jy
r>
dim un jy ]
Qla
Qla
Ad6 - I Ad6
Akin> I Akin
QlUq> QmQ
Eji >
Eji
Q~6 O~6
[ > dim un bi ]
Ni 91<i -
91<i dlll1 i ni
[>
dlm Lin ni ]
Ni ow6 -
-I
SU~j'd IM I~Obj'd I
ow6 dlll1 i ni
I wun
_ 111i
[>
[>
[>
~e
ow6
~e
e ni ]
~e
i nl
i bi
91119
~e
e bi ]
9r9 ~e i S9
~e
e s9 ]
100
101
~_~~~:~~,~.,...,'".. -;,:.m~',;,;i!r
..- ,-~
I.
o
o
o
o
o
016w6
"rich man"
016ri
"headman"
016ju kan
"one-eyed"
anile
"house-owncr"
oninLI '1'10
"kind person"
aniwa tLltLI
"a lllan of gentle disposition"
money"
a head"
one eye"
a housc"
kindness"
gentle character"
o n i lI1(jto
"Yall have a vehicle"
"car owner/driver"
onibread
"bread sellcr"
o ni siga
o
o
o
onisiga
"cigarette seller"
on [portmanteau
"owner of a suit case"
016bi
"owner of kola nuts"
016mi tlltu
"those who use cold water
(for healing)
016ke meji
"The town with two hills"
0160re
"kind person"
alagidi
"strong-headed man"
01.
001'10
"dog-owner"
Qlpa
"police man"
016ye
"chief"
aJaiinu
"merciful one"
Qlla
"Honourable so and so"
onigbagb
"Christian"
onigbese
"debtor"
o 1M alubsa
onim(jto
o ni bread
alaja
Obi aja
"You have a dog"
o l!lilpa
"You have a baton"
o hi aye
"You have a title"
0111 aanu
"You have mercy"
o hil:Qla
"You have high status"
o ni igbagb
"You have belief"
o ni gbese
"You have a debt"
o hil ow6
"You have
llIii or!
"You have
hi oju kan
"You have
ni 'Ie
"You have
ni 'nu 'rIO
"You have
ni iwa tlltLI
"You have
Ahilubsa*
"onion seller"
On [yamin':'
"sandy place"
I;:lyylc*
"Pigeon owner"
o mJilip~
011ip~*
102
_-",-_...
103
?EE
.....",,";.~,~~
--~'-"'--'
...
...
~'"_.,m, ...."
)
,
n;
Predicate
d~-'--~~-I
Subject
-I
Verb
In~r.a~l~-
sltlve
'Dele
----r ----
\
>I
II
>
AY9
>
Ay9
Qlci
-.
()la
Qm 9
Awo
Akin>
Ogun
de
Qm';
Aw6
Akin
'Ie
6g~_1
>
.1
I w~
1- -
ile-II
1 - -1- - -
[ntran
Subject \ sitive
Verb
1 Notl: the difference beiween the copula, the ycrb TO BE 1', /I', IIi (middle tone)
and the finite verb "to have": /.:., 1l1lil. 11, (high tone). "To own" is 1', n', ni (middle
tone), distinguishcd fr0111 Ihe verb TO BE in that it occurs only in subordinate
clauses: Emi ni Ina 11i f"Il is I who owns it".
Ad6 Olci _.
Ad6
Ola
Om<;> >
Om
Ogun-IOgun
i
I wa
Your house.
Our house.
I came home.
I came to your house.
You came to our house.
I came home in the afternoon.
'Ie
I
'W:lJe
105
104
'-~,.="'-.
~~'
.. -"'=~
11
Predicate
Predicate
------1
111-
}n-
O~o
Ad(~
--I
__ ~
ly,i
'$6
-- Ad6
_.. -. fy:5
()I11Q
>. Om,)
I
I
II
II
Ogun -- Oglll1
-----1----I-------1------
'-'-'--~-
'TunW
t(\11
~-.
I ji
de
. _ - - - - , ----
__- _ I
----)
Predicate
\-;~l~l
-------1
Subject
Adverb
Ogun
Ooun
Awo>
Ibi
~w6
~~
bi
----
Ad6
Ad6
jQ
jillnQ
k0
---1
Predicate
Subject
I 16
W,]
h,)
bl)
I Ad6
Ad6
i-
, -
QJ,]
I Qla
Qlci
,_~_
verb Iverb
I.-----
I~TeJ~
S"bjeet Adv"b
S u b- tran- tran
ject i sitive sitive nounl
IA(;;~I~I-~el-b
'JQk
, JimH>k~
'TiJll1dc
Baba>
lye :>
ql::]
I
Akin>
Ak~1l
I
Oye
Oye >
QIllQ
>
() tll11 de
Translale inlo Yoruba:
11/C rain has come agaill.
(}jcJ has come again.
Y all have come again.
You have eOllle agaiil, have you?
Baln]
'YC
Qlci
tlll1 I de
()m(l
1------ -
I
- - -- - - -----
1. Note:
t(ll1oO.
bi
Aj6 tun 'mQ bl- AjellmJTIQb'j "Prosperity gives a second lease of life \()
:1 111:111"
106
107
11.'1\\"('11 "
1""lnl,
.~
J~
[AF~I~
I11Q
A I
bo
bi
J~
k(~*
ji
dll
~a
Uti
gbc
kltll
jQ
\
i
'.'
II':
,r,1\
ai
J1I."
Ii
i '
Ii!
I ,~I
.N
"il
~'
it
!11
--------1
i~
A verb verb I
1----.--- ----,-1
III
~a
A I
bi
ldlll
dll
I-_1._--,-----
I gbe
~
Only girls have names with k,; "to pet". All the names in this table, therefore, are
pet names or girls.
108
'"'~!I':~.!!ilifIOfii