The U.S. State of Maryland’s Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA), has officially introduced the Yoruba language for driver’s permit tests, vehicle registration, and study materials.
Yoruba is a language primarily spoken in West Africa, with its main concentration in Southwestern and Central Nigeria.
It serves as the primary language of the Yoruba ethnic group, and approximately 50 million people are native speakers, with an additional 5 million individuals who use it as a second language.
This inclusion comes in response to the latest data from the United States Census, which revealed that Yorùbá is among the most widely spoken non-English languages in the state.
Starting this September, residents of Maryland will have the opportunity to take their learner’s permit test in Yoruba, marking a noteworthy development.
Surprisingly, this option is not even available in Nigeria, where Yoruba is spoken by a substantial portion of the population, U.S. State of Maryland added .
Maryland’s decision to incorporate the Yoruba language reflects a commitment to inclusivity and recognition of the linguistic diversity within its borders.
