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Gbam! - Who Invented It? - Culture - Nairaland

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Gbam! - Who Invented It? by jydux(m): 4:47pm On Aug 18, 2011
Alot of people on here use the word 'gbam' when they are trying to show support for, or agreement to a statement made by another poster. Any ideas as to the first person to use it? And does it have anythin to do with the loud thud you hear when you slam a door shut?

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Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by Nobody: 5:35pm On Aug 18, 2011
'Gbam!' is an igbo word [slang] for acceptance or concur of a statement made by another person.

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Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by Afam4eva(m): 7:28am On Aug 19, 2011
Gbam is 100% Igbo.

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Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by Nobody: 7:30am On Aug 19, 2011
Its a Yoruba word for "slamming the door", which means " conversation over" o "case closed".

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Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by Afam4eva(m): 11:50am On Aug 19, 2011
Ileke-IdI:

Its a Yoruba word for "slamming the door", which means " conversation over" o "case closed".

lmao
Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by tpia5: 2:16pm On Aug 19, 2011
Gbam, gba be, e gba mi, etc all indicate finality so the phrase looks yoruba.

imo
Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by odumchi: 3:09pm On Aug 19, 2011
Gbam is an Igbo speech article symbolizing concordance or support.

Example: "Igakwuriri ugwogi (you must pay your bills)" "Gbam! (Yes!)"

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Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by tpia5: 4:52pm On Aug 19, 2011
^It could be a loan word though i doubt your explanation is correct and neither do i know why you're developing hives at the thought of the word being yoruba.

Fact remains the phoneme gb is more prominently featured in yoruba language and that's why igbos derisively call them Yoruba.
Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by tpia5: 4:54pm On Aug 19, 2011
If its the word akata now everybody is quick to jump up and point fingers saying its of yoruba origin.
Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by ChinenyeN(m): 5:28pm On Aug 19, 2011
I don't get what all the contention is about. "Gbam" could have easily come from any West African language. It's use and construction is all too recognizable. In fact, I wouldn't even be surprised if "Gbam" developed independently in our different languages, but yet carried the same/similar meaning.
Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by odumchi: 6:29pm On Aug 19, 2011
tpia@:

^It could be a loan word though i doubt your explanation is correct and neither do i know why you're developing hives at the thought of the word being yoruba.

Fact remains the phoneme gb is more prominently featured in yoruba language and that's why igbos derisively call them Yoruba.


How am I developing hives? I didnt even say "Yoruba" or anything about them in my post so why are you insinuating such. Your fantasies exist only in your head. And you say that my explanation isn't correct. I as an Igbo have given you the explanation on how it works in Igbo and you as an outsider are saying that im not correct? The nerve of some people. Please Tpia since you know Igbo more than I do please come and explain it to us.

Also I don't see it feasible that the word could have been transferred from Yoruba to Igbo since the two groups didn't have much contact prior to the colonial era. It might be a universal thing such as the smile. After all iT connotes the same idea as shutting or slamming something, making it official much like in English we say "Period" or "Final".

3 Likes

Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by aljharem3: 6:38pm On Aug 19, 2011
Gbam is an igbo iconic word to signify expression such as

supported

comfimed

well said etc

One would think it originalted for igboland but that is wrong and false to a larger extent

1 Like

Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by aljharem3: 6:40pm On Aug 19, 2011
but them again

hausas/kanuri have been using it for years before igbos

and so did yoruba and edo people

so the first to use it would be yorubas, igbos just adopted it just like other words they use today

yorubas use it for shocking expression or supportive words

hausa/kanuri use it for supportive words as well

2 Likes

Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by tpia5: 6:46pm On Aug 19, 2011
@ al harem

can you give examples of hausa or kanuri words with gb in them.

I've already mentioned at least three yoruba words with those phonemes and there are even more.

Like i said, yoruba language is known for having an abundance on the gb sound and its used heavily in yoruba.

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Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by tpia5: 6:50pm On Aug 19, 2011
You have gbo (listen), gba, gbe, gbagaun, Yoruba, igbimo, gbin (to plant), gbi (eg agidingbi which means hard or something like that), igboya (hope?), igbe (shout, shat or bush, lol), etc etc.

And many more.

2 Likes

Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by dempeople(m): 7:22pm On Aug 19, 2011
"Gbam" is an Igbo word used to signify an agreeable word, phrase, statement, conversation etc. It was never a word copied from any other language.

There're a lot of gb-connector words in Igbo such as; Gbakwute, gbanye, gbata, gbajie, gbaka, gbaba etc.

There're no words copied from Yoruba since we hardly interacted as a people before the colonial times. If there's ever Igbo borrowed words, it would be from Cross River (Arochukwu border axis) since there has indeed been interactions way before slavery and colonialism. Even Ijaw language has Igbo words.

Alj harem, for you who can't even speak your own Kanuri language or even Hausa or Yoruba, is now telling us which words belong to which language?

SMH.

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Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by tpia5: 7:45pm On Aug 19, 2011
^Do me a favour- go to the yoruba thread and count the number of times gb appeared in various words.

Then go to the igbo thread and do the same.

The point i'm making here is gbam is more likely to be of yoruba origin ie chances are higher.

Gb is commonly used in yoruba and the only vowel it doesnt seem to be combined with in the language is u. Gbu however can be found in other languages to the east eg ogbuefi in igbo.

But when you have gb with a as in gba, na conk yoruba be that.

My opinion.

1 Like

Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by tpia5: 7:49pm On Aug 19, 2011
As per there being no interaction between yoruba and igbo in ancient times, dont know about that.

Clearly there was interaction between ife and benin and benin and igbo.

There are also the lukumi people who are anioma, and aniomas surely had interaction with igbos back then.
Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by dempeople(m): 7:59pm On Aug 19, 2011
^^^

My dear, my style has always been to respect peoples' opinions  though I always try to present facts.

Just cos according to you, more "gb" is used in Yoruba, doesn't mean "gbam" is a Yoruba word. If it was, I would've admitted it.

I've already listed some of the many words with "gb" in Igbo language. Even "Igbo" itself has the connotation.

In Igbo, the letter "m" when used independently, is used to refer to the person e.g. Gwam gwam gwam = Tell me, tell me, tell me. "Gwa" on its own, means "Tell". "m" means "me".

A word like "Gba" means sort of "agreed". If we add "m" to it, it would mean "I agree".

Similarly, "Ekwem" means "I agree" in Igbo and can be used interchangeably with "Gbam", depending on the speaker's preference. Again, notice the "m" at the end of these two words and, in every word used to refer to the word of the user.

But like I said, its your prerogative to think otherwise. My views still remain unchanged and sacrosanct.

6 Likes

Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by dempeople(m): 8:05pm On Aug 19, 2011
tpia@:

As per there be no interaction between yoruba and igbo in ancient times, dont know about that.

Clearly was interaction between ife and benin and benin and igbo.

There are also the lukumi people who are anioma, and aniomas surely had interaction with igbos back then.


Then the interactions would've been indirectly than directly - not enough to influence the word usages of whole languages.

Benin and Anioma had their own languages which are Bini and Igbo. The lukumi probably speak a dialect of Yoruba but not Igbo. Even at that, Anioma Igbo couldn't have influenced the wider Igbo to the extent of noticeable Anioma Igbo words in the lexicon of the Igbo language.

2 Likes

Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by tpia5: 8:17pm On Aug 19, 2011
^It doesnt work like that, dear.

Pardon the expression.

Loan words in a language arent necessarily only influenced by the popularity of the loaner language.

There are other factors at work which are also varied.
Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by tpia5: 8:20pm On Aug 19, 2011
Yes, gbam in igbo can be broken down as gba and 'm' which means me, ours or first person.

However, that in no way eliminates yoruba as the source of the word gba, theoretically speaking.

Igbo/ibo is the main bone of contention here no doubt but that is another discussion and a different context.
Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by dempeople(m): 8:35pm On Aug 19, 2011
^^

My views are still sacrosanct. Your views are welcome! wink
Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by odumchi: 11:02pm On Aug 19, 2011
tpia@:

As per there being no interaction between yoruba and igbo in ancient times, dont know about that.

Clearly there was interaction between ife and benin and benin and igbo.

There are also the lukumi people who are anioma, and aniomas surely had interaction with igbos back then.


Anioma people are Igbos. They did not have much contact with the Edo people, rather Igbos traded eastward with Ijaws, Ibibios, Efiks and etc. Lukumi people were not significant neither are they Anioma. Their population today Is less than 1000 so what would it be 300 years ago? Probably they were not founded. Anioma are an Igbo people west of the Niger.

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Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by tpia5: 12:39am On Aug 20, 2011
^^i'm sure you get my point. Lets not split hairs.

the main thing is benin and anioma region had direct contact with yorubas.
Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by odumchi: 12:43am On Aug 20, 2011
A few Anioma towns like Agbor had contact with Binis but with the Yorubas, no.
No Igbo group had direct contact with the Yorubas.

1 Like

Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by aljharem3: 1:05am On Aug 20, 2011
odumchi:

A few Anioma towns like Agbor had contact with Binis but with the Yorubas, no.
No Igbo group had direct contact with the Yorubas.

yes u are right maybe because they were not igbos at the first place

Anioma people as noted earlier do not share similar origins, histories, ancestries and linguistics for obvious reasons; in fact, about 13 languages are spoken by the people and include Igbo (Enuani,) Ozzara, Olukunmi (an extinct old Yoruba Language,) Igara, Ika, Ukwuani, Edo, Odiani, Utagba, Aboh etc still the Anioma have been woven by oneness which has uniquely manifested into a globe of one community.

An Ukwuani man however as Monn Olodu remarks

“The culture, food, dressing, names, market days are basically the same. An Ukwuani woman does not need an interpreter to trade at Asaba or Abavo markets” Please note that the culture and languages of Igbo, Edo and Yoruba may have started diverged at a period as postulated here by sanders in his studies of “who are the Nigerian?”:

He wrote that:

“Ibo, Anioma, Yoruba and Edo languages and culture may have started diverging about five thousand years ago; this claim is further strengthened by the archaeological discoveries of the Bronze in Ezerra, by Dr. Hertle.
http://www.ibusa.net/mysite/anioma.htm
Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by tpia5: 1:10am On Aug 20, 2011
btw, gba in yoruba means to agree

or

a request to receive/accept/take something being offered by another person.

forgot to mention that.
Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by odumchi: 1:12am On Aug 20, 2011
alj_harem:

yes u are right maybe because they were not igbos at the first place



Speaking with you is a waste of time.

1 Like

Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by Obiagu1(m): 2:14am On Aug 20, 2011
This is a silly argument.
What does 'gbam' mean in Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba?

If in any of these languages it does not mean agreement, complete, then it does not belong to that language.
Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by Nobody: 2:14am On Aug 20, 2011
Ileke-IdI:

[size=28pt]Its a Yoruba word for "slamming the door", which means " conversation over" o "case closed". [/size]
Re: Gbam! - Who Invented It? by Chyz2: 6:15am On Aug 20, 2011
It's british.

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