By Tony Ubani, Tokyo
Words often mean different things to different people.
Anywhere in the world, though people speak different languages, you once in a while stumble on familiar words and spellings which however mean different things in your own language or dialect.
In Yoruba for instance, Otami means enemy. Imagine meeting your Yoruba friend and calling him Otami. While he would retrace his steps from you and reconsider his friendship, you’ve definitely lost a good friend without truly knowing the word which means a good thing in your place is distasteful in another place.
The same word Otami means friend in Kogi. To a Kogi person, he would hug you passionately when you call him Otami while a Yoruba man would slap (gba oju ee) you. What a funny world. In the great Urhobo land, when you hear OMO ME DOO(a compliment for a son who has done well). In Yoruba, the compliment of OMO MI DOO can mean so many things depending on the interpretation.
Olayemi is a…
Source: Vanguard Newspaper
