YORUBA ALPHABETS: Vowels and Consonants

YORUBA ALPHABETS: Vowels and Consonants

The Yoruba language is unique in one aspect: it doesn’t have consonantal clusters.

This means that in Yoruba language, you don’t have two consonants together: every consonants MUST be followed by a vowel.

Almost all other languages in the world have consonantal clusters.

Because the Yoruba language has no consonantal clusters, the language rolls off the tongue.

The second distinction is that the Yoruba language is tonal:

Agbọ́n = wasp.

Àgbọn = coconut

Àgbọ̣̀n = chin

Agbọ̀n = basket

To write the Yoruba language properly, you must include the tonal marks. Chinese, I was told, is like this also.

The design of Yoruba alphabets that I have here has the tonal marks embedded into the body of the vowels.

If you understand Yoruba tonal marks, you can use it.

You may start by writing your name.

Have fun playing with it.

If you can write your name, go ahead, write it, photograph it, and post it here.

I will do an example by writing OLÓDÙMARÈ.