Academic literature on the topic 'Igbo language'

The aim of a Contrastive study is to examine the differences that exist between languages, as well as to ascertain the challenges they pose to second language learners. This paper focuses on a contrastive analysis of the segmental features of the Igbo and the English languages with emphasis on the implication of the differences in the learning of English as a second language by people whose first language is Igbo. The study reveals that while the Igbo language has more consonants than the English language, the English language has more vowels than the Igbo language. Here lies the problem of the Igbo learner of the English language. The study ends with some suggestions on how to eradicate or, at least, grossly minimize the resultant interference.

The study seeks to find out the linguistic adulteration of the Igbo language through a sociolinguistic process known as multilingualism. Many scholars are lamenting that the Igbo language is going into extinction just because it is losing its original linguistic structures via multilingualism. Such alteration brings to the limelight of the study in order to address these issues on Nigerian indigenous languages in general and the Igbo language in particular. A descriptive approach is used to harvest some of these language contact issues among the Igbo populace and language. A random sampling is used to ascertain the population of the five Igbo states: Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States on how communication and written aspects of the language have been dealt with negatively. Participant observation and students’ essay writing in the Igbo language are used to collate these sub-standard Igbo grammar structures. The study expounds at a length the intricacy of the proper Igbo written forms and as well as pulling the Igbo language away from the effects of multilingualism. The findings of the study prove that the different types of multilingualism abound among the Igbo language native users. They also exemplify some linguistic related issues on the bold face of multilingualism among the Igbo interlocutors and how they vary among the Igbo speech communities in Nigeria. The study also finds out the effects of multilingualism on the standard Igbo teaching. The study goes further in suggesting some quintessential solutions to recuperate the status quo of the Igbo language.

The study examines the socioeconomic, ethnographic and political integrations and challenges of Igbo migrants in Lafia. Quantitative and qualitative techniques were adopted to collect data on integration variables via the administration of questionnaires to groups of Igbos from the five states of the Southeast region, and the conduct of In-depth Interviews (IDIs) with Igbo elders. Fifty copies of questionnaires were distributed to each group, totaling 250. Data were analysed by SPSS version 25, and tables and charts were generated and the qualitative data were content analysed. On socioeconomic integration, the results showed that the majority (88.1%) of Igbos were first generation migrants, who arrived to start business in Lafia over 40 years ago, whereby, almost three-fifths (59.5%) of them started their current occupation. Majority (37.6%) of Igbo migrants’ present occupation was facilitated by ‘master’, ‘family’ (66.8%) facilitated their accommodation, close to 70 per cent of them possessed their personal houses, and over two-fifths (43.1%) of them got landed property through ‘friend’ while close to three-quarters (74.8%) got married to Lafia indigenes. On ethnographic integration, three-quarters were proficient in Hausa language, with half rated their proficiency in Hausa language ‘excellent,’ while Gwandara language became the best secondary proficient language. As par political integration, over half (52.0%) of Igbo migrants held political office within their association politics but few with the wider politics. In summary, Igbo migrants have been experiencing dynamic and positive integrations but facing challenges of ethnic divide and nepotism.

Starting from Benedict Anderson’s notion that nationalism evolves around a vernacular readership, this article explores the relation between a nation or ethnic group and ‘its’ language. It analyses the link between ideas about Igbo language and the rise of Igbo ethnic identity in twentieth-century Nigeria. It focuses, first, on how language was introduced as an important marker for ethnic identity, and, second, on how the notion of the existence of an ‘Igbo language’ was successfully employed in debates by Igbo ethnic nationalists and others. Early efforts to standardize the Igbo language were initiated by missionaries and the colonial government, who had also decided upon the boundaries of the Igbo language and the Igbo ethnic group. Most Igbo people preferred literacy in English and were not interested in these efforts. This situation changed after 1940, when the growing influence of the Nigerian anti-colonial movement began to make an impact on the perception of the Igbo language. This does not mean that Igbo became more widely used as a written language. Nearly all articles and pamphlets on the Igbo language and its role continued to be written in English. Also, all attempts to standardize Igbo failed. Thus, the notion of the existence of one shared Igbo language was important and not the existence of a vernacular readership in that language.

The broadcast media use indigenous languages in presenting some programmes in south east Nigeria yet, the level of patronage of some of these languages by indigenes or inhabitants of the regions where these languages operate especially the Igbo indigenous language remains grossly low. Worrisome also is the fact that UNESCO has enlisted the Igbo language as one of the Nigerian languages that is endangered. This study examines the use of educational broadcasting as a virile tool in safeguarding and developing the Igbo indigenous languages in south east Nigeria. The objectives of this study are to: determine the extent to which the broadcast media programmes on indigenous language have contributed in the awareness level of endangered language in southeast states Nigeria, find out if there are broadcast media programmes that educate the audience on how to speak, read and write the Igbo Language and ascertain other factors responsible for the poor usage of the Igbo language in the south east Nigeria. Survey research design was used with 379 copies of questionnaire as the major instrument of data collection. Two theories were used for the study; the development media and the Agenda setting theories. Enugu Metropolis was used as the case study. Data generated were analyzed using simple percentages and frequency distribution tables. Chi- square was used to test the hypothesis. Findings from the study are discussed within the context of much larger body of knowledge on educational broadcasting and the link with endangered Igbo language.

AbstractThe literature of ethnicity in Africa indicates a major role for Christian missionaries in the creation of languages in Africa. It has been argued that certain African ethnic groups owe their existence to the ‘invention’ of their language by missionaries who created a written dialect—based on one or more vernacular(s)—into which they translated the Bible. This language came to be used for education in mission schools and later also in government schools. The Bible dialect consequently became the accepted standard language of the ethnic group and acquired the function of one of the group's prime identity markers.In the case of the Igbo language, the history of the CMS missionaries' efforts at creating a written standard Igbo shows that the process was not always straightforward. The article describes the problematic process of creating a written language. The missionaries undertook continual attempts on the basis of several dialects, but it was half a century before they produced the first translation of the Bible. They complicated matters by working in different dialects, but eventually created a standard dialect which they named Union Ibo, a mixture based on several Igbo dialects.The missionaries were also confronted with resistance from at least part of the Igbo population, who contested their choice of dialect. However, it appears that the majority of the Igbo were simply not interested. The Igbo population were far more interested in education in English, and although the CMS missionaries forced some vernacular education upon the people, actual interest remained limited. It is thus not surprising that the Bible language did not become the accepted standard language of the Igbo ethnic group. The spoken Igbo language does nevertheless function as one of the prime identity markers of the group. The article argues that the importance of the Igbo language to Igbo identity is partly the result of the missionary activity.

Abstract This treatise assesses the pragmatic implicature derived during the use of postproverbials in Igbo language and culture. Igbo proverbs have been so much studied that it would certainly be monotonous for a paroemiographer to resume making belated significance of Igbo speculations on the meaning and essence of a proverb. It is a glaring fact that that there is virtually no substantial controversy about the importance of proverbs in culture and the significance of proverbs in Igbo traditional society as a repository and verbal effulgence of wisdom is indeed proverbial. This study relies on Austin’s pragmatic theory of speech acts, conversational implicature and presupposition. The data is drawn from oral interview conducted by the researchers on ten Igbo elders with the aim of unraveling the linguistic idiosyncrasies associated with the connotation of postproverbials as it relates to different contextual usages. The paper will look at the development of this threat to the fixability of Igbo proverbs, the normative rapture and by extension establish the presence of “new” proverbs with new syntactic forms, new meanings and perhaps, new values. The analytic emphasis is based on the type of transformation, the shift in the construction of users. This paper concludes that postproverbiality is situated in the dynamic space of informal speech of a younger and adventurous generation.

Historically, many languages of the world evolved their standard forms through centralized control or political unity. Considering the decentralized natured of the Igbo unity, the dream evolving a standard form through much means, remains a mirage and unrealistic. Therefore, Igbo scholars are forced with the task of achieved this goal, we must used what we have to get what we want. In other words, we cannot enrich the evolving standard Igbo by using the dialectal variants in the language. Igbo dialectal variation and the dialect variants as synonyms, with comparative study of five dialects: Owerri, oguuta, Afikpo, Nnewi and Ngwa (ibeme) at the phonological, morphological and syntactic levels. The paper discuss the standard Igbo vis-a- vis dialects and meta-language as the tool for its enrichment which consist of the effect of dialectal variation, including the conclusion and recommendations made that rather than being a conclusive linguistic study on dialectal variation for the enrichment of standard Igbo, would serve as a stimulus for further intensive researches.

The aim of this study is to find out the possible ways of domesticating knowledge gained through western education by the Igbo through sustainable language development. It also aims to make the knowledge accessible in the Igbo language for empowerment at the grassroots and ultimately for societal and national development. The need for this work is born out of the observation that the Igbo, as well as other tribes in Nigeria are rich with internationally acclaimed learned personalities. These personalities have distinguished themselves in various fields of human endeavor. Also, these achievements are made in foreign languages. Subsequently, these achievements have led to an increase in the relevance of such languages to the relegation of the scholars’ own mother tongues and invariably their own people. By using the descriptive and inferential methods, the paper presents some neologism processes which non linguists can apply in their various academic fields. Also, they can come up with terminologies in the Igbo language for presenting relevant academic materials for use in teaching and learning the Igbo language. The use of these terminologies could be formal or informal as the need arises. Thus, these processes include extra-language borrowing, loan translations, intra-language borrowing, and specialization of dialectal phonological variants. Previously, metalanguage development efforts by governments had bypassed these professionals. Also, they have focused on developing the terminologies through linguists and selected professionals alone. This has resulted to the terminologies not being accessible to the intended end users. Among other things, this paper suggests that the call for the acculturation of knowledge and the processes of embarking on it should be made public in all institutions of higher education. This is carried out in the Igbo culture area and later extended to the Igbo in diaspora. However, the co-ordination of the process of the formalization of the terminologies should be left in the hands of the Igbo Studies Association (ISA). This official regulating body ensures the maintenance of professional standards and uniformity of usage.