I am a Yoruba Gal Born in Lagos, Grow up in London. My mum married a White man when i was little and now I don't understand Yoruba anymore.

Nigeria's come over to London (for the first time), that see me are supprised that I am a Yoruba girl.

anyway i had a serious argument with someone that just Come to London, and i found out that there are Yorubas in Nigeria that don't understand Yoruba

Is this true?

ofcourse it is true, it is like that in every ethnic group in Nigeria. Ibfact, Yorubas are ecen better compared to Igbos

i think every yoruba kids understand yoruba in nigeria as far as they go to school but they might not be able to speak it though, but they really understand it (yoruba is important in schools). when i went to naija my little cousin does not speak yoruba at all and then i said to someone behind me omo yi n run ito (he stinks) he kicked my butt straifght away

ayh i beleive most kids should be able to understand, even if you are not perfect in speaking

BADMAN888

YEAH I DEFIANTLY AGREE WITH THAT,

BUT ARE THERE YOURBA'S THAT DON'T UNDERSTAND OR HEAR THEIR LANGUAGE

i dont think there is anyone that wont understand it completely, they will probably not be able to speak it fluently at the most, even igbos in lagos know how to speak the language. it will always rub off on you

Yep there are ppl in Nigeria who can't speak their language. That's the pathetic state our society is. People are ashamed of their culture and language and relentlessly seek way to become "oyinbo" as much they can so their friends and neighbours can say they're cool!

I'm glad I'm able to see how our people are sooooo ashamed of being African. Come to the West and black man's African culture is non-existent. But you see "oyinbos" and even these pathetic Africans consuming other cultures like the Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, that were brought here by their citizens who practise their culture proudly.

If you ever come to the UK you'll see the how many britons born and bred here are of Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi/Nepalese origin with some into 3rd generations or more. But I've never met one that doesn't speak let alone not understand her parents tongue! They eat their food, speak their language in private and public wherever and whenever they can in presence or absence of oyinbos, and have their community well represented in the society.

I mean if you already see children living in Nigeria but unable to speak the local language because their parent want them to be "oyinbo", I can only SMH in pity!

We need to understand one thing for a fact, Yoruba is not spoken in every part of Nigeria. So for a child born in say Bama, or Monguno or Nguru which are remote parts of Borno State, likelihood is for the child to speak Hausa or Kanuri much easily than Yoruba.

While I was doing my NYSC in this part of the country, there were several Yoruba kids who I met who could not speka the language. The Ogbomoshos are famous for travelling and residing in practically any part of Nigeria or the west coast of West Africa.

It is easy to pick a language if it is spoken all around you.In a situation where the kid only hears Yoruba at home, it will be much more difficult for the kid to pick up the tongue.

Am not saying this is good, but this is one of the effects of the global movement of people.

its true even me ma self dont understand or speak yoruba. But i was breed and brought up in Abuja so maybe thats why.
So dont feel bad abt it.

there are probably people that cannot speak yoruba, but most of those pple understand the basics and highlight of yourba, if anything the insults

@FaithSight

, anyway i had a serious argument with someone that just Come to London, and i found out that there are Yorubas in Nigeria that don't understand Yoruba Is this true?

Yup yup, dont worry FaithSight, you're not alone. WE are many. At least you grew up not hearing the Yoruba Language been spoken around you, at least you heard the English language been spoken around you.
What do you say for those who grew up in environments where English is not the language spoken in their environs, not even to talk of Yoruba!!!!
Its not only Yorubas, across every tribe/ethnic group in Nigeria, there are Nigerians here in Nigeria that dont understand their native dialect, and that is not a crime.

I believe the most important thing is to be able to communicate, forget which language you use. Im just beginning to do the Yoruba-language catching up myself, and my current research is into the meaning of "Abi o n siere ni", thats not meant for you or anyone, its just that im looking for info on the real meaning, coz if you move around in Lagos, you'll hear ppl saying, shouting it from right and left.

@rof-Imao

Yep there are people in Nigeria who can't speak their language. That's the pathetic state our society is. People are ashamed of their culture and language and relentlessly seek way to become "oyinbo" as much they can so their friends and neighbours can say they're cool!

Oga rof - YOU ARE TOTALLY WRONG. To say that because someone doesnt speak his/her native language, he/she is ashamed of their culture is totally wrong. The fact that someone might be able to communicate in his/her native language is not a sign of patriotism. Okay, the Oyinbos you are talking about, what is their native language, is it not English, do they have another option, so youre saying they are more patriotic than we Nigerians? thats not true, my guy. And if you are truly patriotic yourself, you should have been making your posts/replies in your own dialect, and lets see how far that will get you. abi.

Another thing - there is no body that will have an opportunity to learn his native language that wont learn it. Even if he/she is totally uninterested in it, by hearing it everyday been spoken by friends/neighbors/strangers, such a language will begin to stick upstairs. So as @FaithSight has said, she didnt have the opportunity, and theres nothing wrong with that. Now, that shes on Naira land, she'll learn.

I mean if you already see children living in Nigeria but unable to speak the local language because their parent want them to be "oyinbo", I can only SMH in pity!

Its not only Oyinbo, its a matter of where one grew up. I have cousins who grew up in Kano, Maiduguri, here in Nigeria, and the Hausa they speak is even better than English sef, talk less of Yoruba.

Come to the West and black man's African culture is non-existent

It depends on which part of the West you're in man. And maybe you could start a pet-project by projecting African culture where you are. You can give us a head-start and Nairaland will be by your back.

@jogego

It is easy to pick a language if it is spoken all around you.In a situation where the kid only hears Yoruba at home, it will be much more difficult for the kid to pick up the tongue.

-- thank you, thats the truth

ROFLMAO @ this confused homie kimba ya'll,

The only reason for your all DEFENSIVE approach is because you do not speak your mother's tongue and I'm glad I touched your emotions real bad. What kind of PATRIOT wouldn't speak his local language? You got some sensible comments but your understanding is flawed and confused big time son. And you asking me to respond to post in my language is just a sign of how confused you are. This is a public forum where Nigerians(with over 250 local languages!) and non-nigerians engage. This ain't an "Afenifere" or "Oduduwa" forum kid so don't get it twisted homie!

My whole point is that THERE ARE PARENTS WHO TRY NOT TO TEACH THEIR CHILDREN THEIR OWN LOCAL LANGUAGE for absurd and lame reasons. And if you go through my comments you'd see that your arguments of someone not growing up where yoruba is spoken is totally irrelevant! I told you I 'm in the UK and I'm yet to come across a British born and bred Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi/Nepalese that don't speak his or her parents language. English is the language spoken in the UK isn't it? So how come these guys still manage to speak their parents' language? Simple. because their PARENTS made sure they did so by communicating with them in their own local language at home. FaithSight grew up in London right? Ask her if she has any friend of Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi/Nepalese origin that doesn't speak their parent's language.

I ain't blaming kids who don't speak their language because some never had the opportunity to learn it because their parent/guardian, whose responsibility it is that they understand local languages, have alienated them from it.

I'll give you an example: I have a of friend of Yoruba origin who grew up and lived in Ivory Coast and studied in Ghana. This guy not only understand and speak the Ivorians' local language, but also French, Ghana local language, English and surprise surprise, Yoruba! And about you even arguing about African culture in the West I ain't even going to go there with you because u obviously don't know what you rambling about homie.

While communication is irrespective of language used doesn that mean you should promote English while you completely ignore yours? China was colonised by Britain just like Nigeria but English ain't their official language but Cantonese/Mandarin. Ask any language specialist in the world and he'll tell you the worlds' language should be preserved as much as possible. Language is one of the easiet things to learn. All you need do is communicate in it as much as you can whenever possible. Why our people are contributing to the detriment of thier most valuable asset is beyond me!

well said@rof-lmao

any parents who knows how to speak his.her language and deprived it from their child(ren) still owe them something precious nomatter what

@rof-imao

hey, i disagree with u, i am ibo, and i understand my language but cannot speak it well, im not ashamed of my language and i wish i could speak it very well, it jus that i grew up around a lot of people, my dad is ibo and my mom is from delta, so they spoke different languages, so it was easier i guess for them to speak english at home. then again i grew up in lagos which made speaking my language hard and i went to a private school where all kids spoke english, the list goes on and on. then i went to oyo for 2yrs in a boarding house, now am in the US and majority of my friend are not ibo, not cause i choose it to be that way but cause there are not a lot of nigerians where i am, and my family is not here, so are u still gonna blame me for not speaking my language very well, i actually consider myself a little lucky, cause i speak a little of ibo, yoruba, french, creole and a lotta english

Its funny how a bunch of you come here and heap insults on people who cannot speak their mother tongue without even caring to understand why. Of course its not a thing of pride, but when a child has been brought up with no knowlegde or experience with his culture or anything, how can you blame him? Seriously, u guys need to chill out.

word!!! i like dat word" chill out" , yea, don't blame people can't speak for a good reason esp. when both parents are from diff. places

@roflmao

so im a confused homie? wow, thanks man. as you have chosen to call me your son, let me refer to you as my old man!!! My old man speaks my old grand grandma's mothertongue. So how many medals have you gotten for it

The only reason for your all DEFENSIVE approach is because you do not speak your mother's tongue and I'm glad I touched your emotions real bad.

Sorry sir, you didnt touch any emotion of mine. I was just trying to defend the person who opened up the topic, because your comments hit on her and everyone concerned. Ok, so I put up a defensive approach? did I do anything wrong? am I supposed to be all to laid out and allow you to promote your offensive ideas. Okay, fine, I don't speak my mother-tongue, what the heck. Have i gaiined anything out of it? NO. Have i lost anything out of it? NO. It didnt add an extra hair to my head.

What kind of PATRIOT wouldn't speak his local language?

The Kind of PATRIOTS that did not grow up in an environment conducive enough to learn their local language are the kind of PATRIOTS that don't speak their local language.
Does the fact that these PATRIOTS do not understand/even speak their local language make them less PATRIOTS? NO.
Does the fact that some PATRIOTS who speak their local language make them better PATRIOTS. NO!!

I'll give you an example: I have a of friend of Yoruba origin who grew up and lived in Ivory Coast and studied in Ghana. This guy not only understand and speak the Ivorians' local language, but also French, Ghana local language, English and surprise surprise, Yoruba

FYI, a considerable percent of Ghanians speak YORUBA!!!
If you were to walk from Nigeria to Ghana(if you've got the stamina), and you did not know your way, and the only thing you understood was Yoruba, I tell you, you'll get to Accra and even to Kumasi safe and sound, because there are people(not nigerians, togolese, Seme peeps, etc) along all the borders that speak Yoruba, i mean the Konk yoruba, original, and if you interview them, they are not Nigerians.

I ain't blaming kids who don't speak their language because some never had the opportunity to learn it because their parent/guardian, whose responsibility it is that they understand local languages, have alienated them from it.

Fine, you are not blaming the kids who don't speak their language because they never had the opportunity. So who are you blaming then? their parents. Okay, by the time these kids grow up and become parents, if they themselves do not understand their local language, who are they to teach their own children their grandparents local language, I have an example if youwant to hear my story. Now who would you blame as not patriotic? is it the person who has been living outside Nigerian shores since 1960+

And you asking me to respond to post in my language is just a sign, 

Yes, at least to show your PATRIOTISM. I know that this is a global environment, but all the same you should have added a little "local touch" to your posts to show your level of patriotism.
Let me give you examples:
- theres an artist - a rapper that does his thing in pure Yoruba, I consider that to be patriotic. Theres another good artist that performs in Pure Hausa - I consider him to be Patriotic too. These peeps understand English, but their own style of doing their thing is the African way. Does his way of rapping make him a better rapper than those who do theirs in English? NO
- the google project for which we have google searches in Yoruba, etc, and the african folks that contributed to it, I consider them patriotic. What is the probability that your search in google-yoruba wont be available in google-english? zero. everything is available everywhere.
- there are a whole lot of Nigerian artists all around the world doing their thing in English. I consider them Patriotic too. Are they less patriotic than the pidgeon english rappers? No
- there are a group of White folks migrating to Africa, and settling mostly in Ghana, they have resolved to wear only African clothes, live here in Africa, even changed their surnnames to AFrican names like Akpan, Nana etc, I consider them Patriotic, even if they are not Africans. Can you tell them they are not patriotic?

All the Lebanese claiming Kano as their fatherland? are they patriotic? where is the govt official to tell them that they made a mistake. A lot of them now speak Hausa, and a lot of northern languages. Does that make them less a lebanese and more a nigerian?

REASON: the world is globalizing, its becoming a smaller world each and every-single day, as we are having a common language, common currency, common everything. A lot of people migratiing to and fro, right and left, a lot of cultures mixing, intermarriages here, and there. Nigerians from the north grow up in the south, west, east, and wherever and viceversa and therefore the PATRIOTS who feel their understanding of a local language is a sign of PATRIOTISM should better find other banners to use to project themselves.

Even today, Nigeria is getting to the point whereby the surnname you bear is not giving a conclusion as to the state you belong. Okay, here, i have an igbo surnname, I claim to be from Ondo-state, but I don't understand Yoruba!!, what is that to you? Am I patriotic!, I went to the state house in Abuja, told them my name and was allowed inside the gate. I got the same attention as everybody got, regardless of the surnname difference? do I care less about them, do they care more about me?

I know a Nigerian family living in Hongkong, the father of the guy was born in Hongkong by a nigerian father and mother in Honkong. He practically grew up there. He met a nigerian lady who was also born in Hongkong, shes a halfcast(Nigerian-British). So they got married, working and still living in Hongkong, and just had their first child, a very cute boy. Yoruba by name, the 32yr old man doesnt speak a word of Yoruba, not even to talk of Pidgeon english. They are in Nigeria now for 3wks vacation, they even got counted by the census peeps. They even got the slip. Tell me, Are they Nigerians? Are they foreigners? Are they even patriotic. You decide.

Therefore, there are a whole lot of things that one can do to promote, preserve his local culture etc, but to zero everything down on Language is to miss things out.

And besides, here in Nigeria, we use English for our medium of Instruction in school, right. In China, pakistan and all the other countries you were mentioning, they use their language for basic education. Chinese always like going back to China for Christmas. If Indians can't go, they would gather together in a group of houses and celebrate together. Even there in the U.K, you see that these cultures practically live together, as in you can find a row of 5-8houses where all the occupants are indians etc. In Nigeria here, you can tell where Indians live in Lagos, go to Abuja and tell any taxi man you are looking for an Indian living in Maitama, he'll take you to where a group of indians live. You can pinpoint where a Chinese man lives. If a Chinese man starts living on a street, give it one year, another Chinese family moves in, and so on and so forth. Soon a China town is in breeding. They would do all their best to intermarry among themselves, except in few cases. Does Nigeria have the same mind-set? How many China-towns are in Nigeria, and how many nigerian villages(forget even about town) are in China. We don't have the same mindset as these people, our own is that we are black, anywhere we reach is HOME sweet home. Now for all these, who are you going to blame? our great-grandfathers we never knew.

A child will always rapidly master the language or languages spoken in the area that chilld grows up.  There was a story of a blue-eyed, blonde girl of 6 years old whose parents lived in Ilorin, Kwara State during the first years of the girls life.  To the astonishment of everyone including her own parents who never learned more than a few words of Yoruba, that little white girl had learned and could speak fluent Yoruba simply as a result of keeping the company of her Yoruba playmates in her parent's back yard. 

Any black African who spent their first ten years amongst speakers of an African language WILL learn and understand the language with fluency.  Some Nigerian parents, in a misguided attempt to make their black children more "white", do forbid their children from speaking anything except English while at home, but this DOES NOT in any way hinder that child's comprehension of the "forbidden" local dialect.

Later in life, some Nigerian young adults resident in Nigeria, in a similarly bizzarre and comical quest to be percieved as white or at least non-African, will also go to great lengths to feign an inability to speak an African language.   An actual visit to Europe of North America generally cures that particular malady, for as soon as such posers realize that they are still regarded as black and subjected to racism regardless of how they speak, they quickly learn to take solace in the African culture they had earlier turned their backs on, and often do find themselves speaking African languages with belated pride, if for no other reason than to demonstrate to whites around them that they are more than just slave descendants with no culture.

me i want to learn yoruba and urhobo

@kimba

I was just trying to defend the person who opened up the topic, because your comments hit on her and everyone concerned.

thanks, I get cussed for being Nigerian and not speaking Yoruba by those that just come from Nigeria, they seem to find it hard to comprehend that a Yoruba girl cant speak or understand Yoruba.

Yoruba by name, the 32yr old man doesn't speak a word of Yoruba, not even to talk of Pidgeon english. They are in Nigeria now for 3wks vacation, they even got counted by the census peeps. They even got the slip. Tell me, Are they Nigerians? Are they foreigners? Are they even patriotic. You decide.

this is definitely a point. i feel this away as well. my genes say i am Yoruba but my experience does not live up to it. yet in the eyes of the English people, i am Nigerian not matter what. yet i feel that if i went to Nigeria now i would not be seen as a Nigerian.

ROFLMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! This homie kimba got me cracking up right here, LOL!!!

First I implore you to get acquainted to the use slangs,, "son". I ain't your father kid and you prolly older than my ass anyway!

You deny I didnt' get @ ur emotions but one only need to look at your reply to my previous post to see where we both @. I'm glad people Jakumo know what time it is. Ya'll funny getting all DEFENSIVE and fired up over this. I'm just stating what I observed and as much as I've tried not get at people like yourself if you still got fired up over it well, tough!

I repeat "My whole point is that THERE ARE PARENTS WHO TRY NOT TO TEACH THEIR CHILDREN THEIR OWN LOCAL LANGUAGE for absurd and lame reasons". That clears anybody who don't speak his or her local language due to alienation or lack of exposure. All you gotta do is look within yourself whether you ACTUALLY AND SINCERELY WANTED to learn your language yourself but wasn't able to.

I ain't even gonna touch all 'em other rambles of yours cos they just make me LOL!!! And like it or not that kid Jakumo already spoke the Truth for ya'll to see. I'm sticking to my gun. Whether ya'll agree or disagree ain't don't bother me. What you eat don't make me shyt.

Was born in the UK and grew up speaking both languages, as those around us spoke yoruba.

Was fluent in both languages, but spoke yorus with a british accent

People found this hilarious in Naija, so I stopped speaking Yoruba out of shame.

result: I kept my british accent, retained my perfect comprehension of the yoruba language, but developed a mental block against speaking it at all.

Over time (mostly thnakns to UNILAG) my brit accent has become distilled to the point that some people think I'm faking it. I dont care, really, cos it puts me in an excellent position:

ABSOLUTELY NO-ONE BELIEVES I UNDERSTAND THE LANGUAGE.

i dont *sound* like I can speak it, and I NEVER speak it. so even if i say 'i understand', they think 'yeah right'.

this is excellent because people lapse into yoruba when discussing me in my presence, *absolutely convinced* that I cannot understand them. They also use yoruba when discussing things I should not hear.

you will be surprised at the insight into human thought processes that this can give you. Sometimes, people even think out loud in yourba when making a decision that concerns me, to my face! Its supposed to be insulting,  but I am absolutely overjoyed by the situation!

My only regret is being unable to join certain conversations. The only people that actually believe that I understand the language are those close to me, and those smart enough to question the fact that a guy that can respond instantly to a yoruba question, even in English.

When it comes to this topic,Wole Soyinka happens to be my role model,and I point to him all the time when discussing with my friends.
I find it amusing that some parents go out of their way to prevent their children from picking up their dialect,considering the fact that this was one of the first things the slave traders did during the slave trade.They change their names,prevent them from speaking their language,effectively destoying their identity.
I think there are many angles to the discussion.Mixed marriages,immigration and a host of other  factors do make it more difficult for people to speak their language but some people had these odds stacked against them and they managed to teach their offspring their local dialect.
Some parents and invariably,their children see it as evidence of their upper class breeding, and sort of carry this smugness about them as a result of this,I use to think it was cool, but now I have a different opinion.
I mentioned Wole Soyinka at the beginning because he writes and speaks the Queen English better than some of these misguided, 'sophisticated' parents would ever dream of, yet his yoruba is excellent.So also was late prof Olikoye Ransome Kuti.
It is sad because at the end of the day you are not fully English(can never be!) and you still miss out a great deal on your own culture.

Tell 'em pearl. Educate these people,

@dakmanzero

Was fluent in both languages, but spoke yorus with a british accent

People found this hilarious in Nigeria, so I stopped speaking Yoruba out of shame.

I know how you feel, at least you understand the language. I am a bit worried to go to Nigeria in case people take advantage of me cos i don't understand the language

I am starting to pick of phases, so you can start by using Yoruba phase in conversation to build back your confidence

If anyone wants to learn Yoruba, you can go to this website.
http://www.learnyoruba.com.
You may need to download a yoruba program, so that  you can view the text properly.
Reason this website was created is to To promote the reading, speaking and writing of the Yoruba language PROPERLY.

personally i dont see anything wrong in not understanding your language completely.am a yoruba guy but whenever i speak yoruba,people laugh at me that d way i pronounce my words differ frm the way a yoruba person would.

I'm seeing a lot of blanket statements in this thread that aren't true, in the least.

I know plenty of people who are of Asia descent who have never been taught their so called 'mother tongue'.

There no proof of any disadvantage in having a child learn multiple languages. All the parent simply have to do is speak indigenous language and the child picks it up in their formative stage. The kid will surely pick up formal language at school. The excuse that the kid might get confused learning both, is complete bullshit. Any parent that can speak an indigenous language and fail to pass it along to the kid is selling the kid short. There is nothing to lose and a lot to gain by speaking multiple languages, no matter how "uncool" the indigenous language is. It's mindboggling to imagine Nigerians living in Nigeria but can't speak their local language fluently.

The same subconscious self-loathing which drives some Nigerian parents to try and prevent their children from speaking an African languge also propels many African women to smear highly toxic and carcinogenic chemicals on their skins in search of a "whiter" look attainable by means of scorching off healthy black sun-resistant skin to leave smelly bleach-mottled and diseased scar-tissue.

Self-hatred it is too that similarly inspires many young Nigerians who have never set foot outside their homeland to adopt strange spoken English accents that nobody from any country could ever understand, all in the sad, futile and farcical hope of appearing "foreign" and therefore "superior" to other unpretentious Africans with identical cultural backgrounds to their own.

i'm one of the people who grew up in naija and while in secondary school my schoolmates thot i couldnt speak nor did i understand yoruba. whenever i said somn they all turn around like so u speak the language and i'll be like duhhhh wat do u expect. even till today people assume i dont know how to speak yoruba. watever gave them that impression i dont have a clue. cos i know for sure my persona dont have omo ajebo written on it. but then NA THEM KNOW!