Yoruba Language – ChatGPT

Perhaps you may have heard of ChatGPT. For those who have not, ChatGPT(Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is simply a model ‘which interacts in a conversational way’. In more technical terms, according to Wikipedia, it is a is a chatbot built on top of OpenAI’s GPT-3 family of large language models, and is fine-tuned (an approach to transfer learning) with both supervised and reinforcement learning techniques.

So I decided to test ChatGPT’s article writing skills. I simply asked it to ‘Write an article on Yoruba Language’. The result is presented below. Some errors here and there but a very good starting point for any freelance writer. What do you think? Are you able to find out where/how ChatGPT sourced it’s data from?

At what point do you think we will all start relying on AI’s to do our writing for us?

ChatGPT’s article on Yoruba Language

The Yoruba language, also known as èdè Yorùbá, is a language spoken by the Yoruba people, an ethnic group native to Nigeria, as well as by Yoruba communities in Benin and Togo. With an estimated 20 million speakers, Yoruba is one of the largest languages in Africa and it is also one of the four most widely spoken languages in Nigeria, along with Hausa, Igbo, and English.

The Yoruba language belongs to the Niger-Congo language family, which is one of the largest language families in Africa. Within the Niger-Congo family, Yoruba belongs to the Kwa subgroup, which also includes other languages spoken in Nigeria such as Egun and Igala.

The Yoruba people have a rich oral tradition, and their language has a complex tonal system with six different tones. This means that the same word can have different meanings depending on the tone used. For example, the word “èdè” can mean “language” or “tongue” depending on the tone used. Additionally, Yoruba is a highly inflected language, meaning that changes in the vowel or tone of a word can indicate changes in tense, mood, or aspect.

The Yoruba language has a rich literary tradition. The most famous Yoruba literary work is the “Odu Ifa” which is a collection of religious texts that is considered sacred among the Yoruba people. The Odu Ifa is used as a divination tool, and it is also used to transmit traditional knowledge and beliefs. The Yoruba people also have a rich tradition of storytelling and oral poetry, which is still an important part of Yoruba culture today.

Yoruba language is also of importance for linguist and researchers for the fact that it has been an active part of the linguistic and anthropological research, particularly with respect to the study of tonal systems, lexical and grammatical structures, and the use of proverbs in Yoruba culture.

In recent times Yoruba language, is being promoted by the Nigerian government in schools, and also as a medium of instruction in some universities. Also, with the advent of technology, it has made it easier for people to access Yoruba language resources such as dictionaries, textbooks, and language-learning apps.

In conclusion, Yoruba is a rich and complex language that is an important part of the cultural heritage of the Yoruba people. Its tonal system and inflections make it unique, and its literary tradition is renowned. With more promotion and resources, Yoruba will continue to be spoken and cherished by Yoruba people and those interested in Yoruba culture and language.