About the Campaign: A Names Dictionary
To the Yorubas (and most African cultures), a name is not just a name. Names have meanings. Names are powerful. Names are an embodiment of history, of a family, of a lineage. (More here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_culture#Naming ). Sadly, today our names are being washed away by "civilisation". We are raising children who are ignorant of this power (or meaning) of their names. Soon, one child at a time, a Yoruba name will be lost. Soon, one name at a time, the significance of the naming tradition will disappear.
Or not! We can't let this happen. (The video above is meant to illustrate the difference between how names are written and how they are pronounced; and a popular Nigerian attitude to mispronunciation of their names).
This project seeks to create an online multimedia database of all Yoruba names; a place of knowledge for those who need it. People removed from their homeland can look to it and find a lost connection while those not familiar with the Yoruba culture can come there to learn about Yoruba names, spelling, etymology, meanings, stories, et al; a wiki of sorts, a free web-based multimedia repository of knowledge open to all; a dictionary; a project designed to reverse a trend and preserve a culture.
There are some websites around right now with bits and pieces of information about Yoruba names. Most of them are either hard to use, don't have enough names in it to earn the name "dictionary", don't offer users a chance to add new names that the dictionary doesn't have, don't have audio links where the user can click and hear the name pronounced, doesn't have detailed description of where the name is from, what its morphological components are, or aren't dynamic enough to include modern names along with ancient ones.
There are two parts to this project. The first part is the initial database created from easily accessible sources: books, radio, television, internet publications, twitter, visitor logs, passenger manifests, etc. The second is the crowd-sourced entries created by users around the world, which will then be vetted by other users and by site administrators. These entries will then be edited for appropriate presentation, and an audio file added, among other things. These parts are equally important to the success of the project.
What the Dictionary will Look Like
"The distinction between dictionaries and encyclopedias is not only the one that is practically impossible to make, but one that is fundamentally misconceived. Dictionaries are encyclopedias." - John Haiman
- SEARCHABILITY: Users will be able to search for names, or add their own entries
- ETYMOLOGY: Names will have links and information about its (ethnic and geographical) origin.
- MORPHOLOGICAL/PHONOLOGICAL INFORMATION: Like most dictionaries, this one will have relevant morphological and phonological/phonetic information. This will be of help to linguists and other academic users.
- AUDIO SOUNDS: Users will be able to click on names and hear the correct (and alternative) pronunciation. The sounds will be recorded by paid (or volunteer) voiceover artists.
- ALTERNATE SPELLINGS: Names that have alternative spellings will be highlighted. Abbreviated names (like "Lanre", "Banke", "Tunde" etc) will also be defined in full.
- SOURCE: Some names came from Arabic, Hausa, or European influences (names like "Bakare", "Rasaki", "Alimi", "Buraimo", etc). These will be highlighted with links and (web/audio/video) sources.
- STORIES: Some names carry more than what can be gleaned from their meaning. Users who know the stories related to their names will be able to edit entries in order to include it.
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OTHER RELEVANT CULTURAL INFORMATION will be provided, e.g songs from naming ceremonies, and other information of cultural value.
What We Need
In total, we need $5,000, for this drive, basically to pay for the website designer, and to set up the most crucial software and hardware backbones of the project. The rest, hopefully, will take care of itself (or require a different funding of its own). The breakdown is as follows:
- We need $2000 to design the website (already purchased at www.yorubaname.com. and www.orukoyoruba.com). These are the best names available. More names will be sought out that can capture the extent of the project and still be succinct enough to be memorable.
- $500 will be required to pay for site hosting for five years.
- $1000 will go into the purchase of audio equipment: microphones and other acoustic tools and software. A few of them are listed here:
However, as much as $5000 will be most helpful, this drive is set up in such a way that even if we don't reach this entire goal, whatever is raised (especially anything above $1500) will be spent to design the online database so that the project can, even as a purely crowd-sourced project, be able to kick off and build from the ground-up.
The Impact
From a micro point of view, this project provides a valuable space of knowledge for anyone interested in the structure, form, pronunciation, etymology, meaning, and style of Yoruba names. At the larger level, it is meant to start a crucial documentation process for much of our African experience. Think of future iterations: A Multimedia Dictionary of Igbo Names, Swahili Names, etc. Or, even better: a crowd-sourced Yoruba Lexical Dictionary (that captures not just names this time but all the lexical items in the language).
In a little way, we would be saving one language from extinction (even though it currently has over 30 million speakers (ethnologue.com). As a Yoruba speaker, we would be building a valuable legacy for the coming generation, and knowledge that can prove useful for others in some other part of the world.
Like the Tweet Yoruba Project, this will be another contribution to the documentation (and eventual survival) of the language in the 21st century and beyond. Not just for Yoruba, but for indigenous languages everywhere.
Risks & Challenges
There are no risks. The project will thrive on demand. As long as people are online looking for information about the Yoruba culture, particularly Yoruba names, there will always be people using this website to share their own knowledge that can help others.
Other Ways You Can Help
In case you can't contribute financially, please stay in touch. Your knowledge or any other tips you have may be useful in the long run. If you are also able to donate any of the tools listed, that will help too.
Also, please share this campaign and get your loved ones to chip in.
- Please use the Indiegogo share tools!
And that's all there is to it. Follow us on twitter for more.
About Me
My name is Kola Tubosun. I work in Nigeria as a teacher, linguist, and writer. There is more about me here: http://www.ktravula.com/about. In 2012, I led a successful campaign to make Twitter available in Yoruba (More about that here: http://techcabal.com/2014/11/14/twitter-yoruba/).
I've been interested in activities and projects that make Yoruba more adaptable to new technology, and conversely, those that make new technology more user-friendly to Yoruba speakers (and learners) all over the world.
My undergraduate project from the University of Ibadan (2005) is titled "The Multimedia Dictionary of Yoruba Names", and my masters thesis, at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (2012), focused on "Initial Tonal Acquisition by American English Speakers learning Yoruba."
