Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún is a Nigerian linguist, writer, translator, scholar, cultural activist, and filmmaker.
His work spans language technology, literature, education, journalism, and linguistics.
He is the recipient of the 2016 Premio Ostana "Special Prize" for Mother Tongue Literature and is Africa editor of the Best Literary Translations Anthology (Deep Vellum).
Túbọ̀sún writes in Yoruba and English.
Biography
- Born: 22 September 1981, Ibadan, Nigeria
- Education:
- BA Linguistics, University of Ibadan (2005)
- MA Linguistics/TESL, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (2012)
- MacArthur Socio-Cultural Exchange Program, Moi University, Kenya (2005)
Career milestones:
- 2002–2004: President, Union of Campus Journalists, UI
- 2009–2010: Fulbright Scholar, taught Yoruba at SIUE, USA
- 2010–2012: Volunteer literacy tutor for immigrants in St. Louis
- 2015–2019: Linguist & Project Manager at Google Nigeria for African languages and NLP
- 2019–2020: Chevening Fellow, British Library (African Language Collections)
- 2020: Appointed Programme Director, Yoruba Academy, Ibadan
Linguistics, Lexicography, and Language Advocacy
- Advocates digital and educational empowerment of Yoruba, Igbo, and Nigerian English.
- Key projects & achievements:
- Yorùbá Names Project (2015): Multimedia dictionary & free Yoruba/Igbo keyboard software
- Twitter Yoruba Translation Campaign (2012)
- Google Projects:
- Nigerian English voice/accent (2019)
- GBoard diacritics for Nigerian languages
- Corrected misrepresentation of Èṣù on Google Translate
- BBC Academy: Localized its Journalistic Style Guide to Igbo, Yoruba, and Nigerian Pidgin
- Oxford English Dictionary Consultant (2018–) on Nigerian English & Yoruba
- @DigiAfricanLang (2019): Twitter initiative for African-language documentation
Creative and Travel Writing
- Genres: Poetry, travelogue, essays, literary criticism, journalism
- Contributions: International Literary Quarterly, Sentinel Poetry, Brittle Paper, Aké Review, Popula
- Editorial roles:
- NTLitMag (2012–2015) – Founding editor
- Aké Review (2015–2016) – Co-editor
- The Sail – Student creative anthology editor
- 2018: Wrote travel profile on Wole Soyinka, leading to 2019 Morland Writing Scholarship
- 2024: Released Ebrohimie Road, a documentary film on Wole Soyinka’s life (premiered in Lagos for Soyinka’s 90th birthday)
Journalism
- Campus Journalism: Revived UCJ, created internship pathways (2002–2004)
- Professional Work:
- Travel writing for 234Next (2010)
- First blogger nominated for CNN African Journalist Awards (2015)
- Authored Guardian series on the demolition of Ilojo Bar (2016)
- Media Enterprise:
- 2019: Co-founded The Brick House Cooperative
- Founding editor-in-chief of OlongoAfrica, a literary-journalistic platform
Poetry
- Bilingual poet (Yoruba & English)
- Notable works:
- Headfirst into the Meddle (2005, chapbook)
- Attempted Speech and Other Fatherhood Poems (2015)
- Edwardsville by Heart (2018) – Travelogue/poetry collection
- Ìgbà Èwe (2021) – Bilingual collection with illustrations by Yemisi Aribisala
- Èṣù at the Library (2024) – Masobe Books, Lagos
Themes: Fatherhood, travel, Yoruba cultural identity, cross-cultural reflections
Literary Translations
- Translates from and into Yoruba to revitalize African languages
- Translated works:
- Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (Jalada Project, 2016)
- Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Absinthe Journal, 2019)
- James Baldwin, Haruki Murakami, and Wole Soyinka
- Film:
- Elesin Oba: The King’s Horseman (Netflix/Ebonylife, 2022) – Yoruba screenplay translation
- Language credits on Aisha (2022) & The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)
Awards and Fellowships
- 2016: Premio Ostana "Special Prize" for Mother Tongue Literature
- 2019: Miles Morland Writing Scholarship
- 2019: Chevening Research Fellowship (British Library)
- 2022: Imminent Innovations Grant in Language Technology
- Other recognitions:
- Ventures Africa 40 Under 40 (2017)
- Quartz Africa Innovator (2016)
- Multiple fellowships & writing contest awards
Selected Works
Poetry
- Èṣù at the Library (2024)
- Ìgbà Èwe (2021)
- Edwardsville by Heart (2018)
- Attempted Speech and Other Fatherhood Poems (2015)
Edited Works
- Best Literary Translations Anthology (co-editor, 2024)
- Edo North: Field Studies of the Languages and Lands of the Northern Edo (2011)
- NTLitMag (29 issues, 2012–2015)
Personal Life
- Father: Olatubosun Oladapo – Yoruba poet & journalist
- Wife: Temie Giwa – Founder of LifeBank
- Sister: Yemi Adesanya – Author & accountant
- Residences: Lagos, Nigeria & Minneapolis, USA
See Also
- List of Nigerian Bloggers
References
- Official website
- “Yoruba & Esperanto now open for translation in the Twitter Translation Centre”
- YorubaName.com Project
- BBC Radio 4: Ideas of Identity
- Kola Tubosun’s Travel Blog