Abake Adenle is a quantitative analyst who
lived alternatively between the US and Nigeria whilst growing up. Now based in
London, Adenle has developed a mobile app, SpeakYoruba, aimed at teaching
children of the African diaspora the West African Yoruba language.
How we made it in Africa asked Adenle about the African
diaspora, the Yoruba language, and the steady inclusion of African languages in
the ICT arena.
How did the idea for SpeakYoruba come
about?
I came up with SpeakYoruba
primarily as a way to help my young nieces and nephews develop basic Yoruba
language skills. Having grown up in the States learning Yoruba from my parents
I understand the difficulties of learning a language ‘out of context’. Watching
them grow up in the diaspora, I wanted to create something that would remove
the ‘work’ from learning Yoruba. I wanted to develop an app that was
educational and visually stimulating and that makes the Yoruba language
engaging, accessible and fun.
Who are your target customers and why do
you think they will be interested in the app?
SpeakYoruba is primarily
aimed at children in the Yoruba-speaking diaspora. However, I’ve found that SpeakYoruba appeals to a wide age
demographic, from young children who appreciate the animations and consider the
app more of a ‘game’, to young adults and teenagers who are looking to build
their Yoruba language skills having grown up not speaking Yoruba. I’ve also
found interest from people outside the Yoruba-speaking diaspora who appreciate
the Yoruba language and culture.
Why do you think it is important for
children of the African diaspora to learn their traditional language?
I think Yoruba is a beautiful, rich language and learning
the language is a way to enjoy the various layers of Yoruba culture as
reflected by the language – the proverbs, poems, literature, art and music of
Yorubas all become accessible with knowledge of the language. This is true for
all African languages.
I think language skills are especially important for
children of the African diaspora as language allows them to access their
culture and history in a deeper, more meaningful way. By understanding/speaking
an ancestral language, even at a basic level, I believe they better understand
the role their heritage plays in their broader understanding of their cultural
identity. This is especially important at a time when many children of the
African diaspora are growing up within multiple cultures and across various
geographies, mostly outside of Africa. It is quite easy for African culture and
language to “get lost in the mix” within this plurality of cultures, especially
considering the dominance of Western languages like French, English and Spanish
in everyday life, and the increasingly important role of Mandarin.
SpeakYoruba is the first in
a series of apps under my ‘SpeakAfrica
Project’ aimed at promoting
and preserving African languages, with aim of expanding across a variety of
languages and features within the app to include a range of learning tools.
Why do you think African languages are
starting to be more and more represented in the ICT arena?
As with most segments of society, technology plays an
increasingly important role in the way in which we perform everyday tasks. Both
Africa and the African diaspora are participants of the global technological
revolution; it is only natural that technologists begin to embrace the needs of
Africans when creating products. Developing African language apps is a natural
progression from the traditional tools in place to learn these languages,
enhancing the existing knowledge base with modern technology.
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