Want your children to speak Yorùbá? Start with your own

"I lived with my grandmother for most of my teenage years. She spoke only Yorùbá, so I understood the language well. But whenever I tried to speak it, my accent sounded off and the words rarely came out quite right, so I always replied in English. Now I'm a dad, and I want my children to speak Yorùbá well. The problem is, I can't."

Oluwatoni, co-founder of Soro

If that sounds familiar, you're not alone, and it isn't too late. This guide explains why Yorùbá so often skips a generation, why your own speaking matters more than any lesson you could buy your child, and simple habits that bring Yorùbá back into your home.

Why Yorùbá skips a generation

It usually happens without anyone deciding it:

1. Parents speak Yorùbá to their children; the children answer in English. Everyone understands each other, so nobody insists.
2. School and friends run on English. Children quickly learn which language "counts".
3. Those children grow up understanding Yorùbá but not speaking it. Many of today's parents are in exactly this position.
4. They speak English to their own children, because English is what comes out naturally. The children now hear little Yorùbá at all.

By the third generation, Yorùbá can be something children hear only at Grandma's house. The cycle doesn't break by itself. Somebody has to start speaking.

Why your speaking matters more than lessons

Classes can teach children words. What makes children speak a language is hearing it used for real life, by people they love, and having a reason to use it themselves.

Research on bilingual families points the same way. The best-known approach, one person, one language, has each parent consistently speak one language to the child. One study of Japanese mothers in Australia found that consistency was key: children whose mothers stuck to Japanese were more likely to use it actively as adults.

For Yorùbá families, that means:

• Your child needs to hear Yorùbá regularly, not only at weekends with grandparents.
• They need to hear it from you, in everyday moments, not just in lessons.
• They need a reason to speak it, which usually means someone who keeps talking to them in Yorùbá even when they answer in English.

What if your own Yorùbá isn't good enough?

This is the question that stops most parents. Here's the honest answer: imperfect Yorùbá is far better than no Yorùbá. Your child will also hear grandparents, relatives, songs and films, so your accent won't be their only model. What they can't learn is a language nobody speaks to them.

And your Yorùbá will improve by using it. Speaking simple Yorùbá to a toddler every day is excellent practice for you, too. If you want faster progress, get regular speaking practice of your own (see below), so the Yorùbá you bring home keeps growing.

Everyday Yorùbá for home

You don't need to hold long conversations to start. Daily routines repeat, so they're the easiest place to make Yorùbá the default.

Teach your children the respectful greetings for elders too: Ẹ kú àárọ̀, Ẹ kú ọ̀sán, Ẹ kú ìrọ̀lẹ́. Grandparents notice.

Habits that build a Yorùbá-speaking home

• Pick your Yorùbá moments. Mornings, meals and bedtime are easy to keep consistent. Start there, then grow.
• Keep answering in Yorùbá. When your child replies in English, carry on in Yorùbá. Gently invite them to say it in Yorùbá when they're ready, without making it a punishment.
• Bring in the grandparents. Regular calls with Yorùbá-speaking grandparents give your child a reason to speak it, and someone who'll be delighted when they do.
• Tell stories. Yorùbá folktales (àlọ́), including the trickster tortoise Ìjàpá, are perfect for bedtime.
• Sing. Yorùbá songs and nursery rhymes stick in a way that words on their own don't.
• Watch together. Yorùbá films and cartoons give children more voices to learn from than yours alone.
• Never mock their mistakes. Many of today's parents stopped speaking Yorùbá because they were laughed at. Don't pass that on.

Where Soro fits

Soro doesn't teach children. It's for you: adults who understand Yorùbá but don't speak it confidently, and want that to change, often for exactly this reason. You join a live group of three adults at your level, led by a friendly Atọ́nísọ̀nà (guide), for one hour of speaking practice each week. The more confidently you speak, the more Yorùbá your children hear.

Questions people ask