Five grammatical factors to consider when using ‘japa’

In an incisive article published in ‘The Punch’ and some other platforms on Sunday, lawyer and teacher, Chidi Odinkalu, examines the concept of what is arguably the most trending entry in the ‘dictionary’ of Nigerian English: japa. That is the way he puts it in the piece poetically titled ‘Japa: the verb that became a noun’.

Odinkalu does justice to the socio-economic import of the japa rebellion, but I must confess that it is the linguistic aspect that interests me mostly. The reason is that it inspired the urge to make some grammatical observations and suggestions about the expression. I also consider it symbolic that the class is starting on this note this 2023.

One or two words?

 The way we (Nigerians) lifted the term from the Yoruba Language as well as the way it is commonly written is arbitrary. This will become clearer when one understands the dynamics of the way it is written in the source language, which is a little different. I hope that this analysis will influence the way some of us handle ‘japa’.

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In Yoruba, as in many other languages, an adverb is written separately from the verb it modifies. So, it is with ‘ja pa’. Here, ‘ja’ (run) is the verb, ‘pa’ (away) is the adverb. Hence, the Yoruba speaker or writer with a good knowledge of the language will write:

O ti já pa. (He has run away.) Not ‘O ti jápa.’

Mo fé já pa. (I want to run away.) Not ‘Mo fé jápa.’

Gbogbo noòsì Nàìjíríà ló ti feè já pa tán.  (Almost all Nigerian nurses have run away.) Not ‘Gbogbo noòsì Nàìjíríà ló ti feè já pa tán.’

It is the same way Yorubas will write:

O ti sa lo. (He has run away) Not ‘O ti salo.’

O fe sa danu. (He/She/It wants to run away.) Not ‘O fe sadanu.)

Japa as a noun or an adjective?

Yes. The question should be asked: What if the expression is used as a noun or an adjective? In the original Yoruba environment, it will be inflected as jápa, jíjápa or ìjápa (not ìjàpá the tortoise!) In the English context, however, this is where the first option is applicable, with the two words brought together – with or without the aid of a hyphen.

Remember that it will no more be functioning as a verb and an adverb, but as a noun which is now the subject or object of the clause (no more modifying the verb) or as an adjective describing another element in the clause:

Japa is the in-thing now in Nigeria. (A noun)

    Japa is the language on the lips of everyone now. (Noun.)

They discussed japa at the programme. (A noun)

When two or more words are joined to form an adjective in English, the hyphen is usually used. That is how the punctuation mark becomes relevant here too:

The ja-pa syndrome should worry any serious government. (Adjective)

The bank manager has joined the ja-pa train. (Adjective)

Italicised?

Because japa or ja pa is a Yoruba expression, it is also good to italicise it especially in formal writings. This tells your reader that it has been borrowed, and that you are not using it with impunity. Besides, there are still probably billions of people particularly outside Nigeria who might never have encountered the word, or the way it is being used here, but may come across your piece.

So, you don’t imagine that everyone is aware of what the term means. What this further suggests is that you may need to, as smartly as possible, explain what the word means in the context – employing brackets or dashes, as in putting (Nigerian expression meaning run away or instant relocation) after the term.

So, although ‘japa’, as is widely written, is an expression that got to the market before scholars or even the dictionary, making it difficult or seemingly a losing battle to control the way it is used, consider the following suggestions:

• When used as a verb, write ja pa.
• As a noun, leave it as japa.
• As an adjective, hyphenate it as ja-pa.
• Ensure you italicise the expression especially in formal writings.
• Smartly define/explain it especially in formal writings because it is a yet-to-be formalised term from another language.