Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has described Yoruba as a highly tonal and complex language, saying its structure makes it difficult for non-native speakers to master.
In a short video shared on his Instagram page on Sunday, drawn from an Oxford University Media and Tunde Kelani content session, Soyinka compared Yoruba with other Nigerian languages while reflecting on his background in linguistics.
WA Aaà“Yoruba is a very difficult language. It’s tonal. I wouldn’t recommend it for my favourite scholar at all,” he said.
He contrasted Yoruba with Hausa, which he described as less structurally demanding in tonal complexity.
“Hausa is looser, for instance. I studied language, linguistics and things like that. Hausa is looser than Yoruba,” he added.
Soyinka also drew a comparison with Igbo, noting that each language carries its own linguistic difficulty.
“Igbo, I think I would say, is a little bit more tortuous than Yoruba, but nothing compares with the musicality of Yoruba. Yoruba sings, and some people are tone-deaf. It’s not their fault,” he said.
The clip also referenced his 2011 satirical play Alápatà Àpáta, where he used tonal shifts in Yoruba to show how meaning can change with pronunciation.
In the play, a retired butcher named Alaba commissions a signboard bearing the Yoruba phrase “Alápàtà Àpáta,” meaning “butcher of the rock.” However, due to tonal mispronunciation by a sign painter and ambiguity in delivery, the inscription is misread by the public as “Alápàtá,” which suggests a royal or authoritative title, interpreted as “ruler of Apata.”
Soyinka, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, is known for his work in drama, poetry and essays, often drawing on Yoruba language and culture. His writings frequently explore language, identity and meaning, reflecting his academic background in literature and linguistics.
