Book Review A.Y. Schleicher. Colloquial Yorubd: The Complete Course for Beginners. New York and London: Routledge, 2008. 295 pp. Tao Oluwaseun Ehinent Indiana Univesity Bloomington tehinenigindianavedu ‘The book presents Yoruba inthe basic and simple everyday conversational context of use among native speakers which isan attempt by the author to "ive learners the opportunity toleara Yori with or without a teacher" (p. iil The book describes how Yoruba is used by native-speakers communica tively and functionally. Accordingly, with this im, each unit beins with « ‘number of basc functions and dialogues that learners willbe able to perform in real native speaker situations and contexts. These functions also serve as learning goals for every unit. Additionally, every unit is accompanied by audio activites to ass earners in spesking and listening kills, 25 well asin under standing the tone patterns of the language in real native speeches. ColloqualYoribé consists of 5 chapters wit a separate introductory sec tion. This introductory section presents the alphabet and sounds of the lan- guage including significant features like tones and nasal vowels which gives the learners foundational knowledge ofthe sound structure of the language. ‘The first and second chapters are based on conversation at a friend's house and include learning activities such a forming greeting, showing appreci- ation and asking polar questions. The third chapter “Sisdrdnipa dnlyan,” (alking about people) demonstrates how to talk about peoples nationalities, ikes and dislikes and age (thistle is also repeated fr chapter 8, where the author explores other aspects of talking about people. Chapter 4, “Wind i lit Et" (Looking fora house to rent) discusses housing and ren; chapter 5,"Nakan ja at ago” (Market and clothing things) examines market prod- ‘ucts and clothing; chapter 6, "Sise ot," (Cooking food) focuses on cooking {and also how to ask questions on types of foods. In chapter 7, "Nipa ere ara 5165 ‘Book Review by Tao Oluvaseun Fhinenl + (About your health) and chapter 9, Sisdptwe éniyan ati” (Describing people and places, the author explains how to talk about one’s health and de scribing people and towns. The remaining chapters (0-14) desl mostly seth bullding the learner's ability to ask questions in different situations such as finding one's way, fixing a problem, visiting new place and making inquiries from people to find out more Information about them. Essentially, the author cover different contexts of situations where Yoruba could be used in interac- tion by native speakers, The chapter “Grammar summary” sums up the key {grammatical points ofthe previous chapters and ofers brief Lingulstle details ‘on parts of speech in Yoruba. ‘Bvery chapter is fellowed by 2 list of important vocabulary words wsed in the dialogues and utterances. These ists are useful ro the learner since they offer insights into the denotations of words in isolation separately from the context of the dialogues and translation. Hence, aside from the functional ‘knowledge ofthe language that i targeted through the dialogues and conver- sations, the ist helps wth vocabulary development of earners. The “Language Points” provide grammatical information such as tense and aspect, preposi> tions, verbal particles, plural markers, tc, and structures such as questions forms, noun phrases, ec, while the "Culture Notes” introduce cultural infor~ ‘mation where appropriate to the learner, for instance, a young boy prostrating to greet and a young girl kneeling to greet older people in the Yoruba com> ‘munity (p17). The exercises given atthe end of every unit help the learner to practice the lessons while the "Key to Exercises” (pp. 223-261) serves as means for learners to evaluate their progress in the language. CClloguialYortd ise pedagogial textbook presened in a functional con- text and no just formal context showing linguistic analysis of Yoruba struc- ‘ures. The author pretents aspects of Yoruba language in rea situations where native speakers use language paying attention also to sociocultural aspects of the language such as gestures, power relations age, et. The self-assessment provision for the learner, through the answers given atthe back of the book, ‘contributes tothe author's goal of helping learners learn Yoruba even with ‘outa teacher. ‘This book will bea valuable resource for those interested in learning ‘Yoruba or even working on the language from a more funetional perspective in terms of dialogues and conversations. However, more vivid picoralrepre= sentatons may be expedient in faclitating the learners’ progress inthe lan- ‘guage. For instance, the diagram (eyes and arms) used to illustrate health in {pp. 93) may just only connote parts of the body without stuating them in a health context (more relevant pictures may also be used). Als, some chapter tiles are repeated (chapters 3 and 8) which might be confused by a learner as talking about the same thing. Infact, chapter 8 could have been more aptlyColloquia ort: The Complete Course for Beginners wr ‘named “Talking bout amily" since that was the main goal ofthe chapter. In any case, Colloquia! Yoruba sa fascinating and functional contritution to the _study of the Yoruba language and will undoubtedly enhance the proficiency ‘oflearners in thelanguage.,