LANGUAGE

Contents & notes: what this topic covers

Under LANGUAGE, the JAMB Yoruba syllabus expects you to study:

• 1. LANGUAGE:
• (a) Comprehension:
• (i) Prose
• (ii) Verse
• (b) Essay Writing:
• (i) Argumentative
• (ii) Descriptive
• (iii) Narrative
• (iv) Letter Writing (Formal and Informal) etc.
• (c) Sound System:
• (i) Production of sounds (consonants and vowels);
• (ii) Tones and tone change;
• (iii) Syllable structure; and
• (iv) Sound processes - co-vowel occurrence, elision, deletion, etc.
• (d) Grammar:
• (i) Morphology – Word-formation;
• (ii) Loan-word integration;
• (iii) Word classes – nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, etc.;
• (iv) Phrases and clauses – types and functions;
• (v) Sentences – types, structures and functions.
• (e) Current Orthography
• (f) Translation

Study notes & guidance

Study LANGUAGE using a recommended Yoruba textbook that follows the JAMB syllabus. Work through the contents listed above one by one, make brief notes in your own words, and then practise as many questions on this topic as you can — in Yoruba, understanding and steady practice matter far more than memorising. Use the objectives below as a checklist: if you can do each one confidently, you have mastered this topic.

Objectives — candidates should be able to

After studying LANGUAGE, you should be able to:

1. (i) identify central issues in a passage and draw appropriate conclusions; (ii) determine basic assumptions and express ideas; and (iii) identify the meanings and functions of given phrases and sentences. (i) identify different types of essay; and (ii) apply different types of techniques associated with each type. (i) identify organs of speech, speech sounds and parameters for describing each speech sound; (iia) determine their correct usages; (iib) detect linguistic errors (pronunciations and wrong usages); (iii) determine the syllable components of words; and (iv) demonstrate knowledge of the basic principles underlying the relationship between sounds. (i) demonstrate good knowledge of word derivation; (ii) demonstrate knowledge of word adoption; (iii) identify the appropriate class a word belongs to; (iv) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of Yorùbá syntax; (v) identify the types, structures and functions of sentences. Yorùbá acceptable written form. interpret sentences and ideas in accordance with acceptable principles.

These objectives are from the official JAMB syllabus. Use them as a checklist — if you can do each one confidently, you have mastered this topic.

Source: official JAMB UTME Yoruba syllabus (IBASS, jamb.gov.ng). Reproduced for study use. Last checked: 17 Sept 2026. Always confirm the current syllabus on the official portal.