Yoruba alphabet

The Yoruba alphabet (Yoruba: Álífábẹ́ẹ̀tì Yorùbá) is either of two Latin alphabets used to write the Yoruba language, one in Nigeria and one in neighboring Benin. The Nigerian Yoruba alphabet is made up of 25 letters, without C Q V X Z but with the additions of Ẹ, Ọ, Ṣ and Gb.[1][2] However, many of the excluded consonants are present in several dialectal forms of Yoruba, including V, Z, and other digraphs (like ch, gh, and gw). Central Yoruba dialects also have 2 extra vowels that are allophones of I and U. It is somewhat unusual in that the letter P usually transcribes [k͜p], being [p] only in restricted situations like onomatopoeia. The Beninese alphabet has the letters Ɛ and Ɔ, and previously had C.

Yoruba
Time period
1965-present
LanguagesYoruba
Related scripts
Parent systems
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Latn (215), ​Latin
Unicode
Unicode alias
Latin

Letters
Yoruba alphabet (Nigeria)[3]
Upper case A B D E Ẹ F G Gb H I J K L M N O Ọ P R S Ṣ T U W Y
Lower case a b d e ẹ f g gb h i j k l m n o ọ p r s ṣ t u w y
IPA a b d e ɛ f g ɡ͡b h i d͡ʒ k l m n, ŋ̍ o ɔ k͜p, p ɾ s ʃ t u w j

The nasal vowels are written with digraphs: ⟨in⟩, ⟨ẹn⟩, ⟨an⟩, ⟨ọn⟩, ⟨un⟩, unless they come after ⟨n⟩. Long vowels are written double, as in dáadáa (transl. fine, okay). The high and low tones are written with acute and grave accents (á, à), while mid tone is unmarked (a), except for disambiguation on a nasal (n̄, etc.). Combinations of these tones produce falling and rising tones, written e.g. â, ǎ when they are combined on a single vowel letter. These may appear on nasal consonants as well, as in ńkọ́ (how...?), nǹkan (things). An apostrophe may be used to mark an elided sound, at the choice of the writer, as in ń'lé (transl. at home), from ní ilé, but sọ́dọ̀ (transl. to a place), from sí ọ̀dọ̀. When n is a syllable of its own before a vowel, as in n ò lọ (transl. I didn't go), it is pronounced [ŋ̍] (plus tone).

Yoruba alphabet (Benin)[4]
Upper case A B D E Ɛ F G GB H I J K KP L M N O Ɔ P R S SH T U W Y
Lower case a b d e ɛ f g gb h i j k kp l m n o ɔ p r s sh t u w y
IPA a b d e ɛ f g ɡ͡b h i d͡ʒ k k͜p l m n, ŋ̍ o ɔ p ɾ s ʃ t u w j

In older signage, ⟨C⟩ may be seen for current ⟨Sh⟩.

See also

References
  1. Gaye, Jules A. De; Beecroft, W. S. (1923). Yoruba Grammar. K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Company, Limited. pp. 4–5.
  2. Wood, J. B. (1879). Notes on the Construction of the Yoruba Language. J. Townsend, printer. pp. 3–5.
  3. Hartell, Rhonda L. (1993). "Nigeria: Yoruba". Alphabets of Africa. Dakar: UNESCO Regional Office. p. 240.
  4. Hartell, Rhonda L. (1993). "Benin: Yoruba". Alphabets of Africa. Dakar: UNESCO Regional Office. p. 37.
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