THIS HIS NOT APPENING!

I like Yoruba people, this would of course comprise indigenes of Western states. I would guess the reason for this is that I spent part of my childhood in Lagos. I started Nursery school in Lagos, we lived there till my Primary 4. We had to move to Port-Harcourt because my dad was transferred. Moving for me was tough. I had to leave all my friends, my wonderful teachers, my beloved school. I remember playing Jewel’s ‘I’m leaving on a jet plane’ over and over on the cassette player. I only knew the lines that made sense to me, which were – ‘ I’m leaving on a jet plane, don’t know when I’d be back again’. I did not know what else she sang. I would cry as it played, missing my friends already.

JENIFA- Extreme case of 'H Factor'?

Before we left Lagos, I’d learnt to speak Yoruba as fluently as a little non-yoruba girl could. How could I not be fluent when except at school, almost everyone around me spoke Yoruba. My immediate younger brother who was born in Lagos was caught up in some kind of conflict as he didn’t know whether to learn to talk in Yoruba or English. He chose Yoruba and had a real problem learning to speak English as a toddler.

However, it was much later that I noticed the Yoruba ‘H Factor’, the way they omit ‘H’ where there is one and add it where there isn’t. This can be amusing as well as annoying. There are only very few Yoruba people I know who do not have the ‘H Factor’. For instance, they would say ‘hear’ when they mean ‘ear’ and vice-versa. A typical Yoruba person may say something like, ‘My and (hand) urts (hurts), please elp(help) me bring er(her) book from hon(on) top the shelf.’ No matter how educated the person is, the ‘H’ Factor almost, always shines through. And, it does not sound nice.

 So you can imagine my incredulity when I caught myself exhibiting the ‘H Factor’ a few times. This was while sharing a room with my Yoruba roommates in Law school. For those that do not know, I am currently in Akure. Being sorrunded by so many people with ‘H Factor’, I have caught myself doing it lately. Which is not good. Not good at all. I  do love the language and hope to speak it again as fluently as I did before but I definitely draw the line at ‘H Factor’.

Why my rantings? I caught myself this morning saying ‘harms’ instead of ‘arms’. That is not acceptable! No, no, no! This just goes to tell me I have to be very careful. Don’t want the ‘H factor’ rubbing off on me o. How can a ‘Delta girl’ have ‘H Factor’?