Unit 1 ISi nke mbụ THE IGBOS AND THEIR LANGUAGE

Objective
Ihe mmuta (Objectives): By the end of this unit, learners should be able to: • Know and recognize the Igbo alphabet. • Learn the sound of each letter of the alphabet . • Recognize the similarities and differences in sounds between some Igbo letters and En
Introduction

Nkọwa (Introduction) The Igbo language is one of the major languages in Nigeria, spoken predominantly by the Igbos in eastern part of the country. There are currently 7 Igbo speaking states namely Imo, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia, Delta, Rivers. Though each state has its own variation of Igbo, there is a central Igbo spoken and understood by all. Igbo is a Kwa language of the Benue-Congo subfamily of the Volta-Congo and Atlantic-Congo branches of the Niger-Congo language family. This language course will focus on the central Igbo and point out variations when necessary.

Lesson Vocabulary

Lesson Vocabulary

Lesson Conversation:

Lesson Monologue

Lesson Note

Student Notes

Mkpụrụmkpi (Double Consonants)

Double Consonants Equivalent English Sound Examples

Ch Church chọta (find)

Gb no exact equivalence gbapụta (run out)

Gh Ghana ghasaa (sprinkle)

Gw Iguana gwa (tell )

Kp no exact equivalence kpọọ (call)

Kw query/Quebec Kwere (believed/agreed)

Nw no exact equivalence nwanne (sibling)

Ny Kenya nye (give)

Sh Shock shishi (six pennies)

Grammar Notes

Udaimi (Nasals)

In Igbo language, the nasals (ụdaimi) are the letters that sound as though they are being pronounced through the nose. There are five of such letters. Nasals Equivalent English Sound Examples Nw Wine nwoke (boy/man) Ny Kenya nye (give) M Mine mmiri (water) Ṅ no exact equivalence ṅụọ (drink) N no exact equivalence nne (mother) Note: and each represent two phonemes: a nasal consonant and a syllabic nasal.

Abichidi (Alphabet)

(a) A a Aka B b Be Ch ch chi D d Daa [animal] Hand [baby] Home [church] god [day] Fall E e Eze F f Fee (b) G g gọrọ (i) Gb gb (ii) Gbeda [elephant] Teeth [finger] Wave [girl] denied (iii) No equivalence (iv) Crawl down Gh gh Ghee (v) Gw gw (vi) Gwee H h hụ (c) I i Imi No equivalence Fry (i) [Gwen] (ii) Grind [height] see [ink] Nose (d) Ị ị ịmụ J j (e) Jụ K k kee (f) Kp kp kpọọ [equality] to learn [jail] Refuse [kite] share No equivalence Call Kw kw Kwapụ (g) L l Lee (h) M m mmadụ N n Nedo Kwame [name] pack & move [light] Look [man] human [nail] Look after Ṅ ṅ Ṅụọ (i) Nw nw Nwa (j) Ny nye O o Oge [no equivalent] Drink [wine] Child [Kenya] give [oath] Time Ọ ọ ọzọ P p pụta R r rie S s sị [aunt] again/another [prison] Come out [ring] eat [sing] Say (i) Sh sh Nshịsha (k) T t Taa U u ududo Ụ ụ ụgbọ [shock] Food [teacher] Chew [rude] spider [put] Boat (l) V v Vọpụta W w Were Y y ya Z z zụọ [voice] (scratch out) [week] take/took [year] him/her/it [zebra] Buy

Ndakorita Ụdaume (Vowel Harmony)

This simply means dividing the Igbo vowels into 2 groups, the “dot” and the “dotless” vowels. “a” and “e”, each becomes the leader of a group. The rule is that in Igbo word formation, words must be formed using vowels of the same group. A word would not have its complete meaning if formed from both groups. “Ndakọrita ụdaume na asụsụ Igbo ga esiriri na otu mpakala were nweta ụdaume ya. Ọ bụrụ na esighi etu a, ọ gaghi enwekwa ndakọrita ụdaume”. 2 Groups of Igbo Vowels: Otu A (Group A) These are the light vowels (ụdaume mfe). A: akụ, anya, akpị, akpa ụ: ụkwa, ụzọ, ụdara ọ: ọkụ, ọchị, ọkpa, ọkpọ ị: ịma, ịmụ, ịṅọ Otu B (Group B) These are the heavy vowels (ụdaume arọ). e: egbe, eju, edo, ewi i: igbe, ikwu, ibe, ibi o: onye, obi, odu u: uwe, udo, ugwu, uri Nevertheless, there are some words in Igbo that are not bound by this rule. 1. Borrowed words e.g. ashawo, agboro 2. Dialectical words e.g. akupe, Ekuma, Agbo, enya 3. Adding suffixes e.g. ebela, soronu, eyighị 4. Words joined together to form another word, as in most Igbo names e.g. Chukwuemeka, Amaechi, Ndubisi, Ndukaku Myiriụdaume (Vowel Resemblance) The English vowels are A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes “Y.” This is also the case for Igbo vowels, where particular letters are vowels in certain cases. Analogous to the “Y” in the English case, “M” and “N” are also considered Igbo vowels. They are called “myiriụdaume,” vowel look- alike.” These two letters act like vowesl in a word, especially if their sounds are prominent in that word. Examples M : mkpumkpu, mgbede, mma, mmiri N: nchọpụta, nna, ntutu, ndị, ndidi, nku

Linquistic Features

The Igbo phoneme inventory consists of eight vowels, twenty- eight consonants and three primary tones, with variant tones that form a combination of tones. There are nine digraphs (double consonants). The use of double articulations in the consonant system, in particular the (implosive) labiovelars e.g. [kp]. [gb], is a defining feature of the Igbo sound system. Likewise, aspiration and nasalization are also phonemic (constrastive) in the language

Udaume (Vowels)

Letter Vowels Equivalent English Sound Example A Animal, act, add aka (hand) E ape, end elder eze (teeth) I Ink ire (tongue) ị ill ịgba (drum) O Oath, old olu (neck) Ọ orphan, office, off ọka (corn) U Rude, rule ute (mat) Ụ Singular ụlọ (house) Points to note: It is pertinent to observe that the order of the letters is strictly alphabetical in that undotted letters follow their dotted counterparts e.g. i follows ị n follows ṅ o follows ọ u follows ụ The double consonants follow the single counterpart of the initial partner, e.g. gb follows g kp follows k sh follows s Subsequent digraphs, after the first of the kin groups follow according to the alphabetical order of the second partners e.g. gw follows gh because h comes after b and w comes after h kw follows kp because w comes after “p” Each of the double consonants except “ch” is a combination to two original symbols or consonants to produce more sounds as a result of the various dialects in Igbo language. These combinations thus yields sounds which are completely different from those of their component parts. e.g g + b = gb g + h = gh g + w = gw k + p = kp k + w = kw n + w = nw n + y = ny s + h = sh c + h = ch The “ch” in Igbo is the same sound as the English counterpart e.g. “church”, (English), (place of worship) “chọta” (Igbo) (find out).

Udaimi (Nasals)

In Igbo language, the nasals (ụdaimi) are the letters that sound as though they are being pronounced through the nose. There are five of such letters. Nasals Equivalent English Sound Examples Nw Wine nwoke (boy/man) Ny Kenya nye (give) M Mine mmiri (water) Ṅ no exact equivalence ṅụọ (drink) N no exact equivalence nne (mother) Note: and each represent two phonemes: a nasal consonant and a syllabic nasal.

Abichidi (Alphabet)

(a) A a Aka B b Be Ch ch chi D d Daa [animal] Hand [baby] Home [church] god [day] Fall E e Eze F f Fee (b) G g gọrọ (i) Gb gb (ii) Gbeda [elephant] Teeth [finger] Wave [girl] denied (iii) No equivalence (iv) Crawl down Gh gh Ghee (v) Gw gw (vi) Gwee H h hụ (c) I i Imi No equivalence Fry (i) [Gwen] (ii) Grind [height] see [ink] Nose (d) Ị ị ịmụ J j (e) Jụ K k kee (f) Kp kp kpọọ [equality] to learn [jail] Refuse [kite] share No equivalence Call Kw kw Kwapụ (g) L l Lee (h) M m mmadụ N n Nedo Kwame [name] pack & move [light] Look [man] human [nail] Look after Ṅ ṅ Ṅụọ (i) Nw nw Nwa (j) Ny nye O o Oge [no equivalent] Drink [wine] Child [Kenya] give [oath] Time Ọ ọ ọzọ P p pụta R r rie S s sị [aunt] again/another [prison] Come out [ring] eat [sing] Say (i) Sh sh Nshịsha (k) T t Taa U u ududo Ụ ụ ụgbọ [shock] Food [teacher] Chew [rude] spider [put] Boat (l) V v Vọpụta W w Were Y y ya Z z zụọ [voice] (scratch out) [week] take/took [year] him/her/it [zebra] Buy

Ndakorita Ụdaume (Vowel Harmony)

This simply means dividing the Igbo vowels into 2 groups, the “dot” and the “dotless” vowels. “a” and “e”, each becomes the leader of a group. The rule is that in Igbo word formation, words must be formed using vowels of the same group. A word would not have its complete meaning if formed from both groups. “Ndakọrita ụdaume na asụsụ Igbo ga esiriri na otu mpakala were nweta ụdaume ya. Ọ bụrụ na esighi etu a, ọ gaghi enwekwa ndakọrita ụdaume”. 2 Groups of Igbo Vowels: Otu A (Group A) These are the light vowels (ụdaume mfe). A: akụ, anya, akpị, akpa ụ: ụkwa, ụzọ, ụdara ọ: ọkụ, ọchị, ọkpa, ọkpọ ị: ịma, ịmụ, ịṅọ Otu B (Group B) These are the heavy vowels (ụdaume arọ). e: egbe, eju, edo, ewi i: igbe, ikwu, ibe, ibi o: onye, obi, odu u: uwe, udo, ugwu, uri Nevertheless, there are some words in Igbo that are not bound by this rule. 1. Borrowed words e.g. ashawo, agboro 2. Dialectical words e.g. akupe, Ekuma, Agbo, enya 3. Adding suffixes e.g. ebela, soronu, eyighị 4. Words joined together to form another word, as in most Igbo names e.g. Chukwuemeka, Amaechi, Ndubisi, Ndukaku Myiriụdaume (Vowel Resemblance) The English vowels are A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes “Y.” This is also the case for Igbo vowels, where particular letters are vowels in certain cases. Analogous to the “Y” in the English case, “M” and “N” are also considered Igbo vowels. They are called “myiriụdaume,” vowel look- alike.” These two letters act like vowesl in a word, especially if their sounds are prominent in that word. Examples M : mkpumkpu, mgbede, mma, mmiri N: nchọpụta, nna, ntutu, ndị, ndidi, nku

Lesson Exercise

    Let’s practice:

    1. Spell your names in Igbo (oral in–class exercise). Example Question: Kedu aha gi? (What is your name?) Answer: Aha m bu Nneka Agba. (N–n–e–k–a A–gb–a)

    2. Say and record all the letters of the alphabet. (single consonants and vowels)

    3. Say and record the double consonants.

    4. Based on the alphabet, the Igbo phonemes, and the encountered words; please pronounce and then translate the following words:

    a. Nne

    b. Eze

    c. Imi

    d. ọzọ

    e. chi

    f. pụtara

    g. aka

    h. ụgbọ

    i. kpọọ

    j. gbada

    k. gọrọ

     

    5. Write ten words that begin with the vowels, Use all of the vowels.

    6.Write ten words that end with the vowels,use all of the vowels.

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