The history of Yoruba language in the UK

A Yoruba band playing their traditional instruments

Yoruba is a language which originated from Nigeria and is commonly spoken in Nigeria, it is spoken by about 22 million people around the world. Although it is not very clear as to who the first person to start speaking the language was or when the language was first spoken. It has been suggested that the language started from Nigerians who went to the UK for a number of reasons a long time ago and they began to speak it there.

Since both the language and the culture has found its way into the United Kingdom and is commonly spoken in the UK, a large number of Yoruba speakers come into the UK more and more both to visit and to stay. A survey conducted in 2000 in London indicated that the language is more spoken amongst school children in the UK in places such as Greenwich, Hackney, Lambeth and Southwark. Yoruba is also one of the most researched sub-Saharan languages and culture

References

BBC (2007) 'Yoruba' Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/multilingual/yoruba.shtml#A (accessed at: 12th December, 2013)

SOAS (2013) 'languages of Africa at SOAS: Yoruba' Available at: http://www.soas.ac.uk/africa/languages/languages-of-africa-at-soas-yorb.html (accessed at: 12th December, 2013)