Ọba ní kòró (The king has coronavirus): Lexical Innovations and Yoruba Naming Strategies in the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19, a worldwide pandemic since 2019 influenced individual and collective behaviours and practices. Consequently, existing words and expressions in the Yoruba vocabulary were used to convey new thoughts and perceptions. Using the corpus planning framework of language expansionism, this study investigates the lexical innovations of Yoruba speakers in their reactions to COVID-19 as shown in the lexical expressions developed to describe their perceptions and experiences about the pandemic. Their lexical innovations are reflected in the naming of the disease and the pandemic outcomes through punning devices. Data were obtained through participant observation and questionnaires administered to 200 randomly selected respondents in Southwest Nigeria to harvest their expressions about the pandemic. Key informant interviews were also conducted with officials from the Africa Centre of Excellence for the Genomics of Infectious Diseases, Ede, Osun State, Nigeria. The study identifies several lexical innovations such as kóbíìdì, kófíìdì, kòróbíyí, kòrómúyìwá, kòrólà, etc. which present the naming strategies of the Yoruba people of Southwest Nigeria of the pandemic. The study revealed that other lexical innovations in the Yoruba language such as, kòrófirọ́si, irónikòró, Ọba ní kòró, amplify the beliefs of some Nigerians that COVID-19 is an elitist disease, hence, a societal low rate of compliance to the prevention protocols. The study however concludes that COVID-19 is not elitist and has no regard for social status.