A Critique of the Yorùbá Section in "Vocabulary of Primary Science and Mathematics in Nine Nigerian Languages"

Abstract

In response to the National Policy on Education which states that children should be taught in the first three years of education in the language of their immediate environment, NERDC (1980) published A Glossary of Technical Terminology for Primary Schools in Nigeria. The book is a glossary of terms in mathematics, science and technology in nine Nigerian languages, one of which is Yoruba. However, not only are the terminologies presented in the book insufficient for science terms in the lower primary, some of them are not precise enough to capture the notions and ideas encapsulated in the existing English terms. This paper takes a critical look at the aforementioned publication and propose adequate terms for the observed imprecisions. In addition to making reference to dictionary of science, teachers of science at the primary school level were consulted for opinions based on their teaching experiences on the definition of terms to formulate adequate and precise Yoruba language terms that will portray the exact meaning of the existing English terms. It is hoped that the proposed terms will serve as guides to teachers and learners of science subjects using Yoruba as the language of instruction.