Popular Nigerian linguist and writer wins the 2016 Premio Ostana international award for Mother Tongue Literature

Popular Nigerian linguist, teacher, writer and founder of YorubaName.com Kola Tubosun, has been named 2016 recipient of the Premio Ostana International Award for Scriptures in the Mother Tongue.

For the first time in the history of the award, it is going to an African author.

Organized by the Culture of the Chambra D’Oc in Italy, the prize is usually given to people who defend indigenous language, protect it and teach it for educational and informative purposes.

Tunbosun went viral  when he founded the Tweet Yoruba Movement and the annual “Tweet Yoruba Day” to pressurize Twitter into making the platform useable for Yorùbá speakers, and to create awareness for the usage of Yorùbá on the internet respectively.

In August 2014, when Twitter facilitated Yorùbá translation, túbọ̀sún remained an active translator on several internet portals previously available only in English and the world’s ‘main languages’.

Whilst working as an English teacher in Lagos, Nigeria, Tubosun’s many feats include helping to record the first translation of The Nigerian Constitution in Yorùbá.

In recognition of his work and dedication, In October 2015, he was appointed  as Speech Linguistic Project Manager at Google (Nigeria).

Born in Ìbàdàn, Nigeria, in September, 1981, Kọ́lá TÚBỌ̀SÚN studied Linguistics at the University of Ibadan before proceeding to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for his MA in (2012). He was awarded a Fulbright fellowship/scholarship in 2009.

The 8th edition of the Premio Ostana international award for Mother Tongue Literature will be held from June, 2 to June 5, 2016 in Italy, in collaboration with the Municipality of Ostana.

Past winners of this International Prize include Jaques Thiers (2015), Lance David Henson (2014), Mehmet Altun (2013), Harkaitz Cano (2011), Witi Tame Ihimaera (2010), among many notable others.

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