Customised Ibadan-Yoruba

Abstract

This article reports that Reverend Gbade Ogunlana, popularly known as Paito wa, uses the Ibadan dialect of Yoruba in his preaching, but deploys available phonological mechanisms to add a sort of comic impression to his speech. Consonant deletion, which is usually minimised in public domains of speaking are rather maximised in his speaking, while tone spreading is accentuated to produce acute rising and falling contours. Further, it is reported that he prefers lexical borrowings which allow him the freedom to then adapt the borrowed words in the layman’s manner. This freedom is also apparent in the use of novel words which he is able to pronounce in the layman’s manner. It is argued that the intent of these is to add humour to his preaching, and accommodate his target audience for social identity and better understanding, an intention he appears to achieve with his choice of style.