Look Who it Was Random video

The Role Native Languages Play | Kọ́lá Túboọ̀sún | TEDxPortHarcourt

1,245 views · Published 17 January 2017 · 12:58 · Indexed 25 September 2026

Channel: TEDx Talks · 2017 · Nonprofits & Activism

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African names are often given a bad rep of being hard to pronounce when it is often the result of lack of information of our culture and heritage. Can we use tech to change the way our languages are represented? Are our languages evolving in ever changing times, or are they, and thus our identity, being left behind as the world charges on? Kọ́lá Túboọ̀sún details the importance of language in technology.

"Kọ́lá Túboọ̀sún (born Kolawole Olugbemiro Olatubosun) is a Nigerian writer, linguist, editor, and teacher. He was born in Ìbàdàn and raised in a family of six. He has an MA in Linguistics/TESL from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (2012) and a BA in Linguistics from the University of Ibadan. His work spans the fields of education, technology, literature, journalism, and linguistics. He is a Fulbright Fellow (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, 2009) and the first African recipient of the Premio Ostana Special Prize for Mother Tongue Literature 2016. He has written in Yorùbá and English, and translates between both languages.

 Tubosun has a travel blog on which he has written reviews, opinion pieces, and essays on language, teaching, creative writing, travel, and culture. But he has also used it to feature issues of journalistic interest pursued with vigour and dedication. For this, he was nominated for the CNN African Journalists Award (2015).

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

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