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A Comprehensive Review of the Yorùbá Numbering Scheme: Linguistic Structure, Computational Modelling, and Digital Preservation

by R.K. Adeeyo, O.A. Ọdẹ́jọbí, A.B. Olorunlomerue, J.A. Hassan
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International Journal of Applied Information Systems
Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA
Volume 13 - Number 5
Year of Publication: 2026
Authors: R.K. Adeeyo, O.A. Ọdẹ́jọbí, A.B. Olorunlomerue, J.A. Hassan
10.5120/ijais67e558d0fad0

R.K. Adeeyo, O.A. Ọdẹ́jọbí, A.B. Olorunlomerue, J.A. Hassan . A Comprehensive Review of the Yorùbá Numbering Scheme: Linguistic Structure, Computational Modelling, and Digital Preservation. International Journal of Applied Information Systems. 13, 5 ( Oct 2026), 21-28. DOI=10.5120/ijais67e558d0fad0

@article{ 10.5120/ijais67e558d0fad0,
author = { R.K. Adeeyo, O.A. Ọdẹ́jọbí, A.B. Olorunlomerue, J.A. Hassan },
title = { A Comprehensive Review of the Yorùbá Numbering Scheme: Linguistic Structure, Computational Modelling, and Digital Preservation },
journal = { International Journal of Applied Information Systems },
issue_date = { Oct 2026 },
volume = { 13 },
number = { 5 },
month = { Oct },
year = { 2026 },
issn = { 2249-0868 },
pages = { 21-28 },
numpages = {9},
url = { https://www.ijais.org/archives/volume13/number5/a-comprehensive-review-of-the-yorubu-numbering-scheme-linguistic-structure-computational-modelling-and-digital-preservation/ },
doi = { 10.5120/ijais67e558d0fad0 },
publisher = {Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA},
address = {New York, USA}
}
%0 Journal Article
%1 2026-10-05T23:58:05+05:30
%A R.K. Adeeyo
%A O.A. Ọdẹ́jọbí
%A A.B. Olorunlomerue
%A J.A. Hassan
%T A Comprehensive Review of the Yorùbá Numbering Scheme: Linguistic Structure, Computational Modelling, and Digital Preservation
%J International Journal of Applied Information Systems
%@ 2249-0868
%V 13
%N 5
%P 21-28
%D 2026
%I Foundation of Computer Science (FCS), NY, USA
Abstract

The Yorùbá numeral system is one of the most complex indigenous numeral systems in the literature, with a vigesimal (base 20), decimal, and quinary structure and the usage of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division (algebra) in the computation of numbers. With the recent advances in computational linguistics and natural language processing (NLP) technologies in low-resource African languages, there has been a surge of research on the morphology, translation and computational Modelling of Yorùbá numerals. This paper is based on a systematic literature review (SLR) of different studies either directly or indirectly related to Yorùbá numeral from 1970 to 2026, which focus on the linguistic structure, computational modelling, and educational application of the Yorùbá number system, as well as comparative studies of the role of number systems in other computing fields. The reviewed works are summarised in five thematic areas: (i) morphological and linguistic analysis, (ii) computational and machine translation systems, (iii) educational technology and language preservation tools, (iv) implications of the vigesimal system and of computing architectures, and (v) number systems in other areas of computing. The synthesis reveals that although the linguistic structure of Yorùbá numerals is relatively well documented, computational tools that can effectively process large numerals, context-sensitive translation and integration with modern NLP pipelines are still in their infancy and are fragmented. The paper ends with a research agenda for a standardized, data driven computational framework for processing Yorùbá numerals.

References
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Index Terms

Computer Science
Information Sciences

Keywords

Yorùbá numbering scheme linguistic structure computational modelling digital preservation

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