No abstract

In this paper, we examine the processes underlying the Yorùbá numeral system and describe a computational system that is capable of converting cardinal numbers to their equivalent Standard Yorùbá number names. First, we studied the mathematical and linguistic basis of the Yorùbá numeral system so as to formalise its arithmetic and syntactic procedures. Next, the process involved in formulating a ContextFree Grammar (CFG) to capture the structure of the Yorùbá numeral system was highlighted. Thereafter, the model was reduced into a set of computer programs to implement the numerical to lexical conversion process. System evaluation was done by ranking the output from the software and comparing the output with the representations given by a group of Yorùbá native speakers. The result showed that the system gave correct representation for numbers and produced a recall of 100% with respect to the collected corpus. Our future study is focused on developing a text normalisation system that will produce number names for other numerical expressions such as ordinal numbers, date, time, money, ratio, etc. in Yorùbá text.

Programming languages based on the lexicons of indigenous African languages are rare to come by unlike those based on Asian and / or European languages. It is opined that an African native language-based programming language would enhance comprehension of computer-based problem solving processes by indigenous students and teachers. This study intends to attempt a design and implementation of an African native language-based programming language using Yoruba as case study. Yoruba is the first language of over 30 million people in the south-west of Nigeria, Africa; and is spoken by over one hundred million people world-wide. In preparation towards actual implementation of a prototype of the intended programming language, a mini token recognizer has been developed in QBasic. Keywords— Native language-based programming languages, Yoruba language, Digital divide, Information and communication technology, prototype implementation.