Spelling and tone marks
Use standard Yorùbá orthography. Mark high and low tones on every syllable that carries them, and use subdots for ẹ, ọ and ṣ. Leave the mid tone unmarked. Use the syllabic nasal ń or ǹ where it is sung.
Where a singer contracts words, write the contraction as sung and use an apostrophe where letters are dropped.
Lines and sections
One sung line per line. Mark sections on their own line in square brackets, such as [Ègbè], [Ẹsẹ 1] or [Ìpè]. Write out repeated choruses in full so line counts stay strictly aligned.
Translation & Line Notes
Translate each line on the same line number. Aim for meaning, not word-for-word English. Use a line note for anything a translation cannot carry: proverbs, oríkì, wordplay, place names and references to people.
Oríkì and oral forms
Oríkì belong here as much as recorded songs do. When submitting oríkì, provide details on whose oríkì it is, where it is from, and who it was learnt from.