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ÓKWU IGBO
ÍHE ỌMỤMỤ NKÉ MBỤ: LESSON 1


by

Ònyémà Nwázùé

(ónye ńkụzị)



Ìgbo today, has no alphabets of its own.  It is written, like English, with 36 Latin alphabets made up of the following eight vowels (nine in some dialects) and 28 consonants:

 

a          b          ch         d          e          f

g          gb        gh        gw       h          i

ị           j           k          kp        kw        l

m         n          nw       ny        ñ          o

ọ          p          r           s          sh        t

u          ụ          v          w         y          z

 

The easiest way to master the alphabets is to memorize them the way Igbos do, that is, not in traditional alphabetical order as above, but in the following groups of give characters:

 

a          b          gb        d          e

f           g          gh        h          i

j           k          l           m         n

ñ          o          ọ          p          kp

r           s          sh        t           u

v          w         y          z          ch

gw       kw        nw       ny

 

The latter, as you can see, is indeed easier to memorize than the former.  As a matter of fact, it is indicative of one of the well-known characteristics of Igbos.  As a people, they often have a peculiar way of doing their things.  And they have no one way of doing anything under the sun because their world is a world of dualities rather than absolutes.  For example, while it may be convenient to count from one to ten sequentially, they believe that it is sometimes desirable or even preferable to do so in a disjointed fashion, as evidenced by the two groups of alphabets.

 

Once you have mastered the above 34 characters fairly well, and are able to recite them effortlessly, you will just have to remember the two variant forms of “i” and “u”, namely “ị” (with a dot underneath) and “ụ” (also with a dot underneath).  The purpose of the dots will be explained later.  For now, just know that they distinguish the latter from the former.

 

Let us now look at the pronunciation of the characters, that is, the way they sound when pronounced by native speakers of the Igbo language.  Generally speaking, sounds and letters in Ìgbo, as in English, do not always correspond; however, there are more consistent spelling patterns in Ìgbo than in English.  In other words, Ìgbo words are almost always written the way they are pronounced.  The following comparison to English vowels and consonants are only rough approximations.  The key to an authentic native pronunciation lies in mimicry of a native speaker.  Here is the way they sound:

 

LETTER VOWELS        ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS        EXAMPLE(S)

 

a                                  animal                                      áka ákwụkwọ “handwriting”

e                                  elephant                                  ényì “friend”

i                                   ink                                            ìte ája “clay pot”

i                                   equality                                    ịbịa “to come”

o                                  oath                                         ókwu onu “word of mouth”

o                                  aunt/umbrella                          ọkụkọ “chicken”

u                                  universe                                   ùdu mmiri “water pot”

u                                  no exact equivalent                 ụdarà “kind of fruit”

 

CONSONANTS

 

b                                  baby or bell                              ụbá égo “richness”

gb                                no exact equivalent                 égbè éluigwe”thunder”

d                                  day                                          édemede “writing”

f                                   finger                                       fụlịfụlị “soft and tender”

g                                  girl                                           gámgàmgám “perambulation”

gh                                no exact equivalent                 ígha mghịgha “turn in bed”

h                                  height                                      àhụ ényi “kind of fruit”

j                                   jail                                            njem “journey”

k                                  kite                                          ákụ ńkwụ “palm kernel”

l                                   light                                         léelè! “see”

m                                 man                                         mbára ámà “village square”

n                                  nail                                           nà “and”

n                                  singing                                     áñàra “garden egg”

p                                  prison                                      pọtọpọtọ “mud”

kp                                no exact equivalent                 àkpa nseláka “handbag”

r                                   red                                           úrè “pride”

s                                  sand                                        ọsọ ńdụ “race for life”

sh                                shock/sheet                             shịshị “six pence”

t                                   teacher                                    tógholu “nine”

v                                  voice                                        ụvụrụ íshì “brain”

w                                 week                                        wèré! “take”

y                                  year                                         àyịyà “crawfish”

z                                  zebra                                       íze gìrigiri “stampede”

ch                                 church                                      úchè óbì “thought”

gw                               no exact equivalent                 gwámgwàmgwám “conumdrum”

kw                                queen                                      nkwọ “market day”

nw                               wine                                         nwánne “brother/sister”

ny                                Russian “no”                            nwá nwányị “female child”

 

If you have Ìgbo parents, Ìgbo brothers and sisters, Ìgbo relatives, Ìgbo friends, or live near Ìgbo native speakers, ask them to pronounce the above alphabets for you.  We, as a people, are always approachable and favourably disposed to help learners of our language in any way we can.  Please feel free to ask them for help.  You will make their day.

 

In lesson II, we will examine other interesting aspects and peculiarities of the Ìgbo language.  In the meantime, memorize the above alphabets and practice pronouncing them as often as you can.  Again, thank you for your interest in Ìgbo language and culture, and remember to visit our website again for subsequent lessons.

 

ASSIGNMENT

 

If you can, please do the following assignments before our next Ìgbo lesson.

1.      What Latin alphabets used in English language do you find missing from the 36 characters used by Ìgbo?

2.      How would you abbreviate the following names?

 

a.      Nwannebụíhe

b.      Ńnàbụkò

c.       Chúkwukère

d.      Gwámokwu

 

3.      Find out from your Ìgbo parents, brothers, sisters, relatives, and friends the composition, pronunciation, and meaning of the following Ìgbo words:

 

a.      ényi mmiri

b.      uri ákwụkwọ

c.       ízu ukà

d.      ónye ńkụzị

e.      ńdi Ìgbo

f.        mmai mmiri

g.      ụlọ mkpọrọ

h.      ézè nwányị

i.         áka àhụ

 

 

 

 

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