Towards a renaissance of Yoruba (Indigenous) language and culture in the new cinematic mode in Nigeria
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21790603 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Azeez Akinwumi Sesan (0000-0001-8217-7157, Osun State University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 17 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 227-240 |
| Publication date | 2025-09-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of African Cinemas (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1754-9221 • E-ISSN: 1754-923X |
| Publisher | Intellect (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1386/jac_00152_1 |
| OpenAlex | W4416646456 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 2 |
The orbit at which Yoruba film industry operates in the recent time reveals the concentric relationship between the artistry and the technology of productions as evident in the use of language, props, costumes and make-up in compatibility with the representation of characterization and subject matter on the screen. The current situation of Yoruba films in the cinematic mode is a sort of reflection of nostalgia for the functional use of Yoruba language for communicative and artistic purposes with the interplay of codes and significations. With the qualitative approach of literature review and textual analysis of some Yoruba-language films such as Tunde Kelani’s Ayinla , Kunle Afolayan’s Anikulapo as well as Sadiq Adebayo and Adebayo Tijani’s Jagun Jagun , the present study critically examines the use of Yoruba language in its natural forms without any trace of code-mixing or code-switching that have been recurring patterns of Yoruba-language films since the departure from the cinema to home videos in the early 1990s. The use of Yoruba language in the contemporary films in cinematic mode has been functional thereby revealing the aesthetic, pedagogical and cultural values of the language. This is evident in the use of proverbs, local idioms and other nuances of Yoruba language without affecting the cognitive and semantic import of the theme and overall message of the film texts. The renaissance of Yoruba language and culture in films is necessary to reawaken the consciousness of native speakers at home and in the diaspora on the significance of the sustained use of the language for literary and non-literary functions
Consciousness · Film genre · Movie theater · Yoruba · Zulu · African history and culture studies · Literary Theory and Cultural Hermeneutics · Postcolonial and Cultural Literary Studies
| Highly cited | No |
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