Ẹ̀rọ Ìbánisọ̀rọ̀ àti Ayélujára
Chapter Objectives
By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:
- Discuss phones, the internet, apps, and online services in connected Yorùbá.
- Give sequenced instructions for completing a digital task, using serial verbs already developed in this volume.
- Make polite requests for help with a device, an account, or an online service.
- Recognize and correctly label common English loanwords used in Yorùbá technology talk, and identify a formal Yorùbá alternative when one exists.
- Write digital messages with full tone marks and dot-under letters, while recognizing that everyday texting sometimes reduces diacritics.
- Recognize (receptively) how relative clauses, contrastive focus, and a reported-speech complement clause can appear in a customer-service exchange, without being required to produce new instances of them independently.
- Write an accurate, polite digital-service message requesting help with a technology problem.
Opening Communication Scenario
Adé's aunt has a new phone and wants to send money to a relative and check her data balance, but the banking app keeps showing an error message. She asks Adé to help her follow the steps in Yorùbá, and later to help her write a short message to the network company's customer-service line.
- This chapter develops modern vocabulary, labeled loanwords, sequencing instructions, and polite requests already active in the volume, now applied to phones, apps, and online services.
- Relative clauses, contrastive focus, and one reported-speech complement clause appear for recognition only in this chapter's readings and listening passages; you are not expected to produce new instances of them independently yet.
- By the end of this chapter, you should be able to explain a simple digital task step by step and write a polite request for technical help.
Core Vocabulary
The following vocabulary supports technology, apps, and online-service communication. Several items are common English loanwords in everyday Yorùbá; each is labeled, and a formal Yorùbá alternative is given where one is regularly used.
| Yorùbá | English | Status |
|---|---|---|
| fóònù | phone (loanword) | Productive |
| ẹ̀rọ ìbánisọ̀rọ̀ | communication device / formal alternative for phone | Productive (formal alternative) |
| ayélujára | internet | Productive |
| ìhun ẹ̀rọ (app) | application; app (loanword recognized) | Productive |
| àkọsílẹ̀ (account) | account | Productive (recycled sense, Ch. 10–11) |
| ọ̀rọ̀ ìpamọ́ (password) | password | Productive |
| ránṣẹ́ | to send | Productive |
| gba iṣẹ́ránṣẹ́ | to receive a message | Productive |
| owó (tí a rán) | money (sent/transferred) | Productive |
| dátà | data (loanword) | Receptive |
| àṣìṣe (error) | error; mistake | Productive |
| olùrànlọ́wọ́ oníbàárà (customer service) | customer service assistant | Productive |
Pronunciation Focus
English-derived words such as fóònù, dátà, and ìhun ẹ̀rọ are pronounced with Yorùbá tone and vowel quality, not with English rhythm. Read each loanword slowly first, keeping every tone mark and dot-under letter accurate, before repeating it at ordinary conversational speed.
- Practice tone on fóònù (high-mid-high) and àkọsílẹ̀ (recycled from Chapter 10), keeping the dot-under ẹ distinct from plain e.
- Notice that everyday text messages between friends often drop tone marks and dot-under letters entirely; this is a labeled, receptive-only informal practice and must not be copied into formal instructional writing.
- Read the sample text message below first as it would be formally written with full diacritics, then note how it might appear informally on a phone screen.
Grammar and Sentence Patterns
This chapter develops sequencing instructions and polite requests already active in the volume, applies them to technology tasks, and labels common loanwords. No new particle or clause type is introduced for the first time; each pattern below builds on material already scheduled.
Sequencing instructions with serial verbs
Kọ́kọ́ + verb-1 ... kí o tó + verb-2 ... lẹ́yìn náà + verb-3
This ordering pattern reuses the motion, transfer, and result serialization developed earlier in the volume to walk someone through app steps in the correct order.
Kọ́kọ́ ṣí ìhun ẹ̀rọ náà, kí o tó tẹ ọ̀rọ̀ ìpamọ́ rẹ, lẹ́yìn náà tẹ orí "Rán Owó."
First open the app, before you enter your password, then tap on "Send Money."
- Ẹ kọ́kọ́ tẹ àmì ayélujára náà, kí ẹ tó tẹ orukọ àkọsílẹ̀ yín sínú rẹ̀. First tap the internet icon, before you enter your account name into it. respectful plural sequencing + purpose/time subordination (recycled)
Polite requests for help
- Ẹ jọ̀wọ́, ẹ ràn mí lọ́wọ́ láti tún ọ̀rọ̀ ìpamọ́ mi ṣe. Please, help me reset my password. polite request frame + purpose infinitive (recycled)
- Ǹjẹ́ ẹ lè ràn mí lọ́wọ́ láti wo ìdí tí ìhun ẹ̀rọ yìí kò fi ṣiṣẹ́? Could you help me find out why this app is not working? polite question request + labeled recognition-only relative-like frame ("ìdí tí")
Labeling loanwords and offering formal alternatives
- A máa ń pe fóònù ní ẹ̀rọ ìbánisọ̀rọ̀ nínú ìwé àti ọ̀rọ̀ ìṣàkóso. A phone is often called "ẹ̀rọ ìbánisọ̀rọ̀" in writing and official language. habitual labeling statement + formal register note (recycled habitual, Ch. 9)
- Dátà jẹ́ ọ̀rọ̀ àyọkà láti èdè Gẹ̀ẹ́sì tí a máa ń lò lójoojúmọ́. "Dátà" is a loanword from English that is commonly used every day. loanword-labeling statement
The listening and reading passages below contain a longer relative clause describing an app feature, one contrastive-focus phrase distinguishing two settings, and one complement clause after "ó sọ pé" in the customer-service reply. These items remain receptive; you are not assessed on producing new instances of them in this chapter.
Model Dialogue
Ipò: Adé ń ràn ìyá àbúrò rẹ̀ lọ́wọ́ láti lo ìhun ẹ̀rọ báńkì lórí fóònù rẹ̀.
Setting: Adé is helping his aunt use a banking app on her phone.
Guided Practice
- Find the sequencing pattern (kọ́kọ́ ... kí o tó ... lẹ́yìn náà) in the model dialogue and list the three steps it describes.
- Rewrite Adé's first instruction so that it addresses a single friend informally instead of a respected elder.
- Find one polite request in the dialogue and restate it using a different polite frame with the same meaning.
- Identify the loanwords in the dialogue and, for each one, state whether a formal Yorùbá alternative was given.
Listening Practice
Ask an instructor, study partner, or qualified Yorùbá speaker to read the passage below aloud at a natural conversational pace, or read it aloud yourself and then cover it before answering.
If no speaker is available, this is a Listening Script for Independent Use. Machine text-to-speech must be checked by a qualified Yorùbá speaker before use as a pronunciation model.
"Ẹ ku àṣẹ́ṣe, Ìyá Adé. A ti rí ọ̀rọ̀ ìránṣẹ́ yín, tí ó ṣàlàyé pé àṣìṣe ń hàn nígbà tí ẹ bá ń gbìyànjú láti rán owó. Ìhun ẹ̀rọ tí ẹ ń lò ni ẹ̀yà tuntun, èyí tí a ṣẹ̀ṣẹ̀ ṣe àtúnṣe sí ní ọ̀sẹ̀ tó kọjá; kì í ṣe ẹ̀yà àtijọ́ tí kò ní àṣìṣe yìí. Ẹ jọ̀wọ́ ẹ kọ́kọ́ pa ìhun ẹ̀rọ náà, kí ẹ tó tún ṣí i, lẹ́yìn náà kí ẹ gbìyànjú láti rán owó náà lẹ́ẹ̀kan sí i. Bí àṣìṣe náà bá ṣì ń hàn, ẹ pè wá lẹ́ẹ̀kan sí i, a óò sì rán ọ̀gá kan láti wo ìṣòro náà fún yín fúnra rẹ̀."
1. What did the customer-service reply say caused the error, according to the app version mentioned?
2. What three steps does the reply instruct the customer to follow?
3. What should the customer do if the error appears again?
4. Which sentence in the passage reports what the customer's message said? Identify it.
Iṣẹ́ rẹ — Your task: Answer the four questions above in complete Yorùbá sentences.
Speaking Practice
Tier 1 — Supported
Using the model dialogue as a guide, explain the steps for sending money through an app to a partner, using the sequencing pattern kọ́kọ́ ... kí o tó ... lẹ́yìn náà.
Tier 2 — Guided
Make a polite request for help with a technology problem of your choice (a password, a slow connection, an app error), and have your partner respond with sequenced instructions.
Tier 3 — Independent
Deliver a one-to-two-minute spoken explanation of how to complete a digital task (setting up an app, sending a message, checking a data balance), combining a polite request, sequencing instructions, and at least one labeled loanword, without reading directly from a script.
Reading Practice
Ìwé Ìtọ́nisọ́nà Ìhun Ẹ̀rọ Báńkì
Kí o lè rán owó pẹ̀lú ìhun ẹ̀rọ báńkì yìí, kọ́kọ́ ṣí ìhun ẹ̀rọ náà lórí fóònù rẹ, kí o tó tẹ ọ̀rọ̀ ìpamọ́ rẹ sínú àyè tí a ti ṣe sílẹ̀ fún un. Lẹ́yìn náà, tẹ orí "Rán Owó," kí o sì kọ iye owó tí o fẹ́ rán àti orúkọ ẹni tí ìwọ ń rán an sí. Ẹ̀yà tuntun ti ìhun ẹ̀rọ yìí — tí ó yàtọ̀ sí ẹ̀yà àtijọ́ tí kò ní ẹ̀ka àbò yìí — ń béèrè fún ìdánimọ̀ mìíràn ṣáájú kí owó náà tó jáde. Bí àṣìṣe kan bá farahàn nígbà kankan, kọ́kọ́ pa ìhun ẹ̀rọ náà, kí o tó tún ṣí i, kí o sì gbìyànjú lẹ́ẹ̀kan sí i kí o tó pe olùrànlọ́wọ́ oníbàárà.
1. What must be done immediately after opening the app and entering the password?
2. What extra requirement does the new version of the app add before money is sent, and how does this differ from the old version?
3. What should the user do first if an error appears at any point?
4. Identify the relative-clause phrase that describes the old version of the app, and restate its meaning in your own words.
Iṣẹ́ rẹ — Your task: Answer the four questions above in complete Yorùbá sentences.
Writing Workshop
Write a short digital-service message of 60–100 words with full tone marks and dot-under letters throughout. Your message must include a polite request for help, at least two sequenced steps, and at least one labeled loanword with its formal alternative where one exists.
Include
- at least 1 polite request for help
- at least 2 sequenced steps using recycled serial-verb ordering
- at least 1 labeled loanword with a formal alternative, where one exists
- a clear statement of the problem
Avoid
- producing new relative-clause, focus, or complement-clause structures beyond recycled forms
- writing loanwords without labeling them as loanwords
- copying informal, undiacritized texting spelling into this formal message
- omitting tone marks or dot-under letters
- Every vowel that should carry a high or low tone mark has one.
- Every mid-tone syllable is left correctly unmarked.
ẹ,ọ, andṣare distinguished frome,o, andsthroughout.- Loanwords such as fóònù and dátà carry Yorùbá tone marks, not English spelling habits.
- No unscheduled grammar (new focus patterns, new relative-clause types, new complement clauses) has been produced.
Culture and Communication
Everyday Yorùbá conversation about technology commonly borrows English terms such as fóònù, dátà, and ìhun ẹ̀rọ, adapting them to Yorùbá tone and pronunciation; this is an ordinary feature of modern usage rather than a sign of incorrect Yorùbá. At the same time, formal writing, official announcements, and some older or more purist speakers may prefer established Yorùbá alternatives such as ẹ̀rọ ìbánisọ̀rọ̀. Text messages between friends and family also frequently drop tone marks and dot-under letters for speed, which is a recognized informal digital convention rather than an acceptable model for formal instructional writing.
Common Mistakes
Error: Writing a formal message that uses fóònù or dátà without any awareness that these are loanwords, or assuming no formal Yorùbá alternative exists.
Correction: Recognize fóònù and dátà as everyday loanwords from English, and note that a more formal alternative, such as ẹ̀rọ ìbánisọ̀rọ̀ for phone, exists for official or highly formal writing, even though the loanword remains completely acceptable in everyday speech.
Error: Writing a formal digital-service message the way one might text a friend, such as *E jowo, e ran mi lowo without tone marks or dot-under letters.
Correction: Keep full diacritics in a formal message: Ẹ jọ̀wọ́, ẹ ràn mí lọ́wọ́ ("please, help me"). Informal, undiacritized texting between friends is a labeled receptive pattern, not a model for formal instructional or customer-service writing.
Chapter Summary
This chapter developed sequencing instructions with serial verbs, polite requests for help, and labeled loanword use in the context of phones, apps, and online services. Relative clauses, contrastive focus, and a reported-speech complement clause appeared for recognition only. Learners practiced interpreting, speaking, reading, and writing connected technology-related communication while maintaining full tone marking and dot-under orthography, and while recognizing informal digital diacritic reduction as a labeled, receptive-only pattern.
Chapter Review
Apá A — Ìṣàyẹ̀wò Gírámà (Grammar Check)
1. Explain the sequencing pattern kọ́kọ́ ... kí o tó ... lẹ́yìn náà, and give one example sentence describing a digital task.
2. Identify a sentence from this chapter that labels a loanword and gives a formal alternative, and explain how the two parts work together.
Apá B — Ìṣàyẹ̀wò Ara Ẹni (Self-Check)
1. Which system (sequencing instructions, polite requests, or loanword labeling) did you find easiest to use accurately in your own writing? Which was hardest?
2. Did you notice any of the recognition-only items (relative clause, contrastive focus, complement clause) in the reading or listening passage? What did they add to the meaning?
Ìfojúsí ẹkọ̀ tẹ́lẹ̀ — Cumulative review check
Before continuing to Chapter 13, confirm you can do the following:
- Form and understand sequenced instructions using kọ́kọ́ ... kí o tó ... lẹ́yìn náà.
- Form and understand polite requests for help.
- Label common technology loanwords and give a formal alternative where one exists.
- Combine these systems into a single digital-service message.
- Maintain full, accurate tone marking and dot-under orthography in formal digital writing.
Practical Performance Task
Iṣẹ́ aṣeyọrí — Abala 12
Ọ̀rọ̀ Ìránṣẹ́ Mi Sí Ilé Iṣẹ́ Ẹ̀rọ — My Message to the Service Provider
Produce a connected spoken and written technology request (based on the banking-app scenario, or a real or invented technology problem of your choice) that includes a polite request, sequenced steps, and at least one labeled loanword with its formal alternative where one exists.
- Speaking: Deliver a one-to-two-minute spoken explanation (Speaking Practice, Tier 3).
- Writing: Submit your 60–100 word written digital-service message (Writing Workshop).
- Self-review: Complete the Tone and Orthography Checkpoint for both your spoken explanation and written message.
Assessment note: This task provides evidence of controlled use of sequencing, polite requests, and loanword labeling together. No new productive grammar beyond these systems is assessed in this chapter.
Answer Key
Listening Practice Questions
- The reply says the app version the customer is using is a new version, recently updated the previous week, and the error relates to that update rather than an older version.
- The reply instructs the customer to first close the app, then reopen it, then try sending the money again.
- If the error appears again, the customer should call customer service again, and a technician will be sent to look at the problem in person.
- The sentence "A ti rí ọ̀rọ̀ ìránṣẹ́ yín, tí ó ṣàlàyé pé àṣìṣe ń hàn nígbà tí ẹ bá ń gbìyànjú láti rán owó" reports what the customer's message said.
Reading Practice Questions
- Immediately after entering the password, the user must tap "Rán Owó" and enter the amount and the recipient's name.
- The new version requires an additional form of identification before the money is released; the old version, described in the relative clause, did not have this safety feature.
- If an error appears, the user should first close the app, then reopen it, and try again before calling customer service.
- The phrase "ẹ̀yà àtijọ́ tí kò ní ẹ̀ka àbò yìí" describes the old version of the app; restated, it means the earlier version did not include this safety feature.
Guided Practice — Sample Responses
1. The three steps are: open the app, enter the password, then tap "Rán Owó." 2. Sample informal singular form: "Kọ́kọ́ ṣí ìhun ẹ̀rọ náà, kí o tó tẹ ọ̀rọ̀ ìpamọ́ rẹ." 3. Sample restatement: "Ẹ jọ̀wọ́, ẹ ràn mí lọ́wọ́ pẹ̀lú ìṣòro yìí." 4. Loanwords in the dialogue include fóònù (no formal alternative given in this exchange) and dátà (no formal alternative given); ẹ̀rọ ìbánisọ̀rọ̀ was introduced earlier in the chapter as the formal alternative for fóònù.
Chapter Review — Apá A
1. The pattern kọ́kọ́ ... kí o tó ... lẹ́yìn náà sequences three actions in order, reusing serial-verb ordering from earlier in the volume; the first action must be completed before the second, and the third follows. Example: "Kọ́kọ́ ṣí ìhun ẹ̀rọ náà, kí o tó wọlé, lẹ́yìn náà tẹ orí àmì náà." 2. "A máa ń pe fóònù ní ẹ̀rọ ìbánisọ̀rọ̀ nínú ìwé àti ọ̀rọ̀ ìṣàkóso" labels fóònù as an everyday term and names its formal written alternative; the two parts show that both forms are valid but suited to different registers.
Chapter Review — Apá B
Self-check items have no single fixed answer. Confirm your responses against the cumulative review checklist above.
Looking Ahead
Ohun tí o lè ṣe báyìí — What you can do now
You can now interpret and produce connected communication about phones, apps, and online services, combining sequencing instructions, polite requests, and labeled loanword use, while maintaining accurate tone marking and full diacritics.