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18 Unit 2: Ìkíni àti ìpàdé
Language points
Using pè.lé.
põΩlõœ is a word used to greet a younger person, to express condolence
if something goes wrong with someone, or to apologize if one causes
offence. The context determines its exact translation. A younger
person will say “Õ põΩlõœ” to an older person.
Here are some examples of how the word põΩlõœ could be used:
PõΩlõœ o Kúnlé.
Greetings Kunle.
This greeting will be from an older person or Kunle’s peer who
initiates the greeting to Kunle.
PõΩlõœ àbúrò
Sorry, (my) younger sibling.
This could be said to a younger person that is crying to console him
or her.
PõΩlõœ!
I’m sorry (that you hurt yourself).
This could be used for someone who hurts himself or herself.
Vowel deletion
Vowel deletion is a very common process in Yoruba. It usually
occurs when a word ending in a vowel precedes another word
beginning with a vowel. In many cases it is not very easy to predict
which vowel will be deleted. Vowel deletion occurs in rapid or
colloquial speeches. In the above dialogue, here are some examples
of the vowel deletion process:
Slow speech
Íé dáadáa ni o jí?
Rapid speech
Íé dáadáa l’o jí?
Did you wake up well?
In this example, the vowel of ni is deleted. When the nasal consonant
n precedes an oral vowel, such as o, the n changes to l. This is why
we have l’o instead of n’o.