Recent
Recent activities
2024
Translating Somali Language Poetry with Guest-translator Ibrahim Hirsi (March 18, 2024)
Meet the Judges for the 2024 Language Rights Defenders Award | Global Coalition for Language Rights (March 13, 2024)
Kola Tubosun Writes Documentary on Wole Soyinka’s Campus Home on Ebrohimie Road | Brittle Paper. (March 12, 2024)
Translating Spanish language Argentinian poet Paula Galindez with Guest-translator Jon Herring (March 4, 2024)
Translation Across Disciplines 2024 | Brown University, Rhode Island. (February 29 - March 1, 2024)
Translating Chinese language poet Dan Ying with Guest translator Christina Ng (February 19, 2024)
In Conversation with Afreada (February, 2024)
Symposium on African Digital Humanities: Digital Humanities, African Stories, and Agency | The University of Ghana–Legon (February 15-16, 2024)
Best Literary Translation anthology soft launch at AWP Conference, Kansas (February 7 - 10, 2024)
2023
A Statement of Solidarity With Gaza From More Than 100 Literary Translators (November 13, 2023) essay in Literary Hub
Who Wants a War in West Africa? (August, 2023) essay in Popula
Three poems in Isele Magazine (July 2023)
Engaging An African Abroad (June 23, 2023) Conversations at the Lagos Studies Association Conference.
Nigeria’s Last General Departs the Political Stage (May, 2023) essay in Foreign Policy
Lingua Fracas — Making Multilingualism Work (March, 2023) | Colloquium at the University of Minnesota
OlongoAfrica Multilingual Anthology (February, 2023) | Project for the International Mother Tongue Day
Farewell at Kafanchan Station (2023) poem in Márọkọ́ Mag
2022
On the New Nigerian Policy on Education (December 2022) YouTube
Movie credit: Aisha the Movie (November 2022)
A podcast exploring the intersection of African culture and modern technology systems, myths, theories, facts, and experiments in conversations between Dr. Tunde Adegbola, Molara Wood and Kola Túbọ̀sún (November 2022) | Alára, Lagos, hosted by Ìwàlẹwà
Call for Submissions: The Best Literary Translations Anthology (October 2022) World Literature Today
An overview of the British Library Yorùbá language collection (October 2022) | Published in the Africa Bibliography, Research and Documentation. Cambridge University Press
A Global Conversation on the Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi | October 20, 2022
Preface in An African Abroad by Ọlábísí Àjàlá | 2022 reissue (October, 2022)
Translation & subtitling credit on Ẹlẹṣin Ọba | Movie by EbonyLife and Netflix (September, 2022)
Translating Ẹlẹ́ṣin Ọba into Yorùbá was “the only way to make the film immediately accessible to a global audience.” — Variety Magazine (September 2022)
Participation in Foro Internacional Lenguas Indígenas e Innovación (FILII) | Rumbo a MONDIACULT 2022 (August 25 to 27, 2022)
"Of Depth and Artistry" | Foreword to Ìjìnlẹ̀: The Aisha and Gbénga Oyèbọ̀dé Collection by Adenrele Sonariwo (August, 2022)
Biyi Bándélé: The Storyteller Departs | An Obituary in OlongoAfrica. (August 8, 2022)
On On Digital from an African Perspective | a Podcast by Open Restitution Africa (June 30, 2022)
Ìjẹ́wọ́ Ìnàkí Shìnágawà Kan | A translation of "Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey" by Haruki Murakami. Olongo Africa (June 26, 2022)
Panel on 25 Years of Nigerian Literature on the Internet. At Lagos Studies Association Conference. (June 25, 2022)
Africa Represented: Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún considers technology issues in African languages and why the ability to write online is crucial. Essay in The Linguist (April/May, 2022)
€20,000 Grant for language data research from Imminent (April 12-13, 2022)
Panelist at Oxford World English Symposium (April 12-13, 2022)
The Example of Ọ̀ṣúndáre: A Keynote Speech at Shallow Tales II (March 12, 2022)
Poetic Evolution: When the translator becomes lexicographer and a driver of language evolution and growth. Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún discusses his poetry translation into Yorùbá Essay in The Linguist (February/March, 2022)
Lingua Fracas in Rio a conferencegoer's adventure (February 18 2022) A travelogue in Popula
A poem in Sọ̀rọ̀sókè Anthology (February 15, 2022)
Radical Approach to Reading" on language hegemony at Poetry Translation Centre, London (February 6, 2022)
Welcome to Nigeria Language Challenge (February 1, 2022)
Feature in Employing Linguistics: Thinking and Talking about Career Linguists. Book by Anna Marie Trester (February, 2022)
On Ìgbà Èwe: A Linguist as Poet, Translator and Lexicographer. Essay in The Linguist (February 1, 2022)
Nigerian Language Advocates Seek Inclusion of African Languages in Tech Devices (Voice of America) January 26, 2022
Member of the Technical Advisory Panel, Lacuna Fund (2021/2022)
2021
The 2nd International Academic Forum: Sustainable Development of Indigenous Languages (YouTube) (November, 2021)
In Conversation with Akin Oseni on language and translation (October 26, 2021) | Zoom video
In Africa, rescuing the languages that Western tech ignores (December 23, 2021)
Global Voices community members to share Indigenous language poetry. (November 25 & 26, 2021)
Jalada Language & Translations Symposium. (November 16 & 17, 2021)
Linguistics Rights Residency, Olot, Spain. (November 2 to November 12, 2021)
In Conversation with Akin Oseni on language and translation (October 26, 2021) | Zoom video
The Future of African Language Technology: AI, Voice, and Translation (September 2021)
Voice Concerns: The Need For Diversity In Voice AI Datasets (A September 2 Virtual Panel) on MozFest Dialogues & Debates (September 2021)
Conversation with BBC Yorùbá on the future of Yorùbá language (September 2021)
On AI Saturdays Lagos Colloquium, Lagos (March 2021)
On The Spoken Web podcast to discuss “Drum Codes: The Language of Talking Drums” (January, 2021)
2020
Symposium on African Digital Storytelling (October, 2020)
Translation of The Gospel of James Baldwin into Yorùbá (September 2020)
COVID19 Terms in Yorùbá: A crowdsourced and ongoing list. (March 2020)
“A Linguist at Primark”(poem) in We Are Goodenough Magazine (April, 2020)
“Stranger by the Train” & “The Library in September”(photos) in We Are Goodenough Magazine (April, 2020)
The Yorùbá Scriptwriting Workshop at the British Library with CultureTree UK (April 2020) | Suspended due to Coronavirus
Language is Resilient (April 1, 2020) | An interview for the “First Drafts” on The Republic NG
On BBC Radio 3’s The Verb | (March 20, 2020) Obsolescence and the language of the no-longer useful, with William Gibson, Don Paterson and Caro C and Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún.
Not Hesitant to Speak (February 19, 2020) | A one-day workshop on stammering in Lagos, Nigeria. [Twitter report]
Two poems Akáṣọléri ́ (Mourners) and Last Tweets in Wreaths for a Wayfarer: An Anthology in Honour of Pius Adesanmi (February, 2020)
29 Nigerian English Words Have Been Added to the Oxford Dictionary—Here's What That Means (February 03, 2020) OkayAfrica
Twenty-nine Nigerian English words added to the Oxford English Dictionary (January 29, 2020) Interview on the BBC World Service
Interview on NewsDay about the new Nigerian English words in the OED (January 29, 2020) | On the BBC, from the 47 minutes mark.
At Forumbie 2030 of the Education Relief Foundation gathering in Djibouti. (January 27-29). Remote participation.
2019
Yorùbá: Linguistic Vehicle or Value System: (November 2019) A Language Panel at Aké Festival 2019. [video]
Lingua Fracas [Episode 2] | On the Nigerian Oral English Syllabus (September 2019) | Soundcloud
UNESCO Language Technology for All (T4All) Conference in Paris (November 4-6, 2019) | Report on my blog here.
Lingua Fracas [Episode 1] | What is Nigerian English Anyway? (August 2019) SoundCloud
Google's new Nigerian accent ( Friday, August 2, 2019) The World/BBC
Alumnus Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún’s Work on Preserving African Languages (2019)
How Kola Tubosun and his team gave Google a Nigerian accent (July 2019)
How Google created a Nigerian voice and accent for Maps (July 31, 2019)
2018
Faber Residency on Linguistic Diversity (Olot, Spain) | From November 12 to November 19, 2018
The News Agents (10th November 2018) with Jude Cowan Montague in London
Photo Credit: Jude Cowan Montague
2017 - 2010
Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún – indigenous language advocacy (February 28, 2017) on Career Linguist
The Yorùbá Guardian (Spring, 2017) Latterly profile
Kola Tubosun – indigenous language advocacy” on Career Linguist Part I (February 8, 2017), Part II (February 15, 2017)
Online Dictionary Helps Nigerians Decode Their Names (February 25, 2016) Voice of America/Chris Stein
Nigerian Scholar Creates an Online Home for Yoruba Names (May 25, 2015) Global Press Journal/Temitayo Olofintua
Kola Tubosun, the Man Behind Yorubaname.com, Shows Us the Future (March 13, 2015) Tech Cabal
AN INTERVIEW WITH YORUBA LINGUIST, KOLA TÚBỌ̀ṢÚN (October 7, 2010)
Fulbright scholar brings Nigerian culture to SIUE (April 22, 2010) The Alestle/Jason Frazier