Preface

This book is for the use of beginners who want to learn Yoruba and those who want to speak it as a second language (L2). The set of people that fall into this category are:

Those who marry to Yoruba spouses. Students learning Yoruba as a second language (L2). Yoruba children born abroad. Those who have interest in speaking the language.

It is written in a Teach-Yourself format. It is highly interractive. A reader studies a lesson and tests himself through series of Brainwork provided in the book. Because it is a book meant for beginners, some basic grammatical rules and orthography are adjusted to make learning easier for users. This book is to be viewed as an introductory to learning Yoruba. Also, the reader should note that words used in a chapter are built on preceeding chapters for sequencial learning. Hence, the lessons on preceeding chapters help readers to understand those on subsequent ones.

The peculiar problem a learner of a new language faces is how to correctly pronounce new words. Being able to correctly pronounce new words encourages a learner to keep on. Therefore, it is important to go through the use of tone marks in the Chapter 1 of this book. With the knowledge of the tone marks, an audio assistance will only become a catalyst and not essentially a necessity.