Online Symposium: How Should We Write Yorùbá?

Yorùbá Orthography in the 21st Century: Two Session Online Symposium on 2 and 3 September 2020, 16-18h

Writing with diacritics (accents and special characters) is essential in the Yorùbá language of Nigeria and Benin. Diacritics indicate the tone of vowel sounds, and thus the meaning of individual words. But this has put Yorùbá, and other African languages, at a specific disadvantage online and with computer technology because of the general unavailability of tools, the irregular use of diacritics by other Nigerian writers in English, and the different attitudes among readers and writers of Yorùbá about when and whether to use the marks in general.

This two-day online symposium (in English) will address these questions, through conversations with writers, academics, editors, experts and people who interact with the language in various fields. There will be two sessions of two hours each, featuring presentations and ample time for discussion. The audience will include those who read and write in Yorùbá or any tone language, people who read Nigerian literature, people who interact with academic work from Africa or languages with tonal diacritics, people interested in writing systems and literature from non-English-speaking environments, and people generally interested in language and linguistics. The organizers hope that the symposium will be the beginning of a wider and deeper conversation on Yorùbá orthography in the digital age.

Programme:

• Session 1: Yorùbá: From Mission Field to Web Page: Wednesday 2 September, 16.00-18.00 UTC+2
• Session 2: Using Yorùbá Today: Literature, Leisure and the Academy: Thursday 3 September, 16.00-18.00 UTC+2

The free event can be booked here.

For further information please contact Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún: kọ́lá.túbọ̀sún@bl.uk

Veranstaltung übernehmen als iCal