I've been hearing oyinbo and oyibo..which of them is correct and which tribe language is it?

Both are correct.
Oyinbo is yoruba while oyibo is igbo.

I prefer "oyibo" as opposed to "oyinbo" simply because it maintains the original feel of the word. The word "oyibo" itself was a nickname given to Europeans by Igbo people since they found it difficult to pronounce "onye Igbo" and instead said "oyi ibo" when referring to Igbos.

Oyinbo just sounds weird to me but I guess it's a matter of preference.

odumchi: I prefer "oyibo" as opposed to "oyinbo" simply because it maintains the original feel of the word. The word "oyibo" itself was a nickname given to Europeans by Igbo people since they found it difficult to pronounce "onye Igbo" and instead said "oyi ibo" when referring to Igbos.

Oyinbo just sounds weird to me but I guess it's a matter of preference.

Oyinbo is two words joined together that's rooted in Yoruba language hence makes more sense than your onye igbo story but your story is funny though
. lol
Yin=scratch bo=peel. I think the first yorubas who saw the white men thot they have peeled skin that's why they looked reddish hence Oyinbo

I guess Oyibo is Igbo, and Oyinbo is Yoruba

http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyibo

Ufeolorun:
Oyinbo is two words joined together that's rooted in Yoruba language hence makes more sense than your onye igbo story but your story is funny though
. lol
Yin=scratch bo=peel. I think the first yorubas who saw the white men thot they have peeled skin that's why they looked reddish hence Oyinbo

You should take a look at Mbatuku's link.

[quote author=odumchi]

You should take a look at Mbatuku
wiki-page? abegi.Yooba meaning,glaringly plausible but you can pick your choice and maybe your nose as well

Oyibo does not refer to Igbos. Whoever made up that stuff on wiki is just deceiving themselves.

There is actually written evidence of the word "oyibo" being used to refer to a white man from Richard Burton's 1863 article: "My Wanderings in West Africa: A Visit to the Renowned Cities of Warri and Benin". Fraser's Magazine, 67.

Oyibo is also cognate with the Edo word ebo, also referring to a white man. The Edo word for the Igbo is Igbon and there is no confusion between the two.

PhysicsQED: Oyibo does not refer to Igbos. Whoever made up that stuff on wiki is just deceiving themselves.

There is actually written evidence of the word "oyibo" being used to refer to a white man from Richard Burton's 1863 article: "My Wanderings in West Africa: A Visit to the Renowned Cities of Warri and Benin". Fraser's Magazine, 67.

Oyibo is also cognate with the Edo word ebo, also referring to a white man. The Edo word for the Igbo is Igbon and there is no confusion between the two.

Sometimes you come across as a 'attention-crazed' wiseacre. lol.

Correcting a conjecture with another conjecture. You should know that europeans had been on nigerian waters much more earlier than 1863.

I did not in any way suggest that the word originated in 1863 or that Europeans only came to Nigeria in 1863. I don't see how one could extract that from what I posted.

My point is that this word did not refer to Igbos. By the way, I am extremely skeptical of the claim that any Europeans at any time in the pre-colonial era or even in the colonial era (except possibly for anthropologists like Basden, Jeffreys, etc.) would even have attempted to pronounce "onye Igbo" or that they would have had any reason to refer to anything other than the single name of the group (Igbo, which they usually wrote as Ibo).

By the way, what is the literal meaning of "onye bekee"?

As for the "attention-crazed wiseacre", I don't know what you're talking about.


@ Ufeolorun, is there an etymology in Yoruba that could be constructed for "oyinbo" that means "stranger" or "foreigner" rather than referring to peeled skin? I ask because I came across a book where someone had assumed that oyinbo meant stranger and put stranger in parentheses after oyinbo as if that were the definition, but the author of the book was an oyibo (or if the vowel i is nasalized, an oyinbo) so I was in doubt as to whether the assertion was actually accurate.

I wonder when Oyibo became Igbo word Why would you call a foreigner Onye Igbo/Ibo. [size=14pt]That is a big fat lie[/size]. Please Odumchi and co, Know your history and culture well before discussion in cultural issues because an ignoramus would actually believe you all.

The closest was ufeolorun

Oyinbo literal meaning is pealed back honey/ Peeled skinned people which is the termed by yorubas to address light skin forienger According to Debra L. Klein

http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&sugexp=frgbld&gs_nf=1&cp=13&gs_id=1e&xhr=t&q=oyinbo+yoruba&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbm=bks&source=og&sa=N&tab=wp&ei=Ke5lT8b3GubN0QWbt8ybCA&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=83eff03ccb2cc236&biw=1043&bih=558

This word Oyinbo is not only used in Nigeria but also by Crelos people in Serri leano and according to them, they got it from the yoruba word

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nAQIcqwGqTEC&pg=PA80&dq=oyinbo+yoruba&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5e9lT6aKNtK10QW75qWSCA&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=oyinbo%20yoruba&f=false

Oyibo is an Igbo way of saying Oyinbo which was originally never an Igbo word. Lets get our facts right here.

Oye ebeo is what Igbos call white (red) people before they adopted Oyibo

An Igbo writer called Ugo Nwokeji even claims the word Oyibo was borrowed from the yorubas and NEVER AN IGBO WORD. Link below

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tjLjoC6ScKYC&pg=PA218&dq=oyibo+igbo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0PBlT9--AqLK0QXww7CgCA&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=oyibo%20igbo&f=false

it is just like saying the word "na" is orginally hausa or so, we all know that "na" is a corrupt version of "nna" thus of Igbo origin.

PhysicsQED: I did not in any way suggest that the word originated in 1863 or that Europeans only came to Nigeria in 1863. I don't see how one could extract that from what I posted.

My point is that this word did not refer to Igbos. By the way, I am extremely skeptical of the claim that any Europeans at any time in the pre-colonial era or even in the colonial era (except possibly for anthropologists like Basden, Jeffreys, etc.) would even have attempted to pronounce "onye Igbo" or that they would have had any reason to refer to anything other than the single name of the group (Igbo, which they usually wrote as Ibo).

By the way, what is the literal meaning of "onye bekee"?

As for the "attention-crazed wiseacre", I don't know what you're talking about.


@ Ufeolorun, is there an etymology in Yoruba that could be constructed for "oyinbo" that means "stranger" or "foreigner" rather than referring to peeled skin? I ask because I came across a book where someone had assumed that oyinbo meant stranger and put stranger in parentheses after oyinbo as if that were the definition, but the author of the book was an oyibo (or if the vowel i is nasalized, an oyinbo) so I was in doubt as to whether the assertion was actually accurate.

I am not an expert when it comes to History or even language but my comment above stands on me little knowledge and then plausibility
People with bleached skin are referred to as BO-ra BO-ra(ra refers to skin and BO=peeled)
You want to make moimoi you got to BO ewa(beans)
YIN: Scratch the corn from the corn cob goes:
YIN Agbado(corn)
Whites are strangers in Africa hence it makes sense for people to trnslate Oyinbo as stranger though stranger in Yooba = Ajoji. OYINBO means scratched and peeled,and I think it refers to their skin.
Lol!

Try make sense of my blabs,remember am a learner,lol.

Just to clear things up finally,

I wonder what Onye Acha means in Igbo if Oyibo is for white people

Onye Acha literal meaning is person white. How did that turn to Oyibo. Funny

Words like Egusi, Oyibo, Orobo, lepa, potopoto, Eba, Osa, mire, etc are yoruba words borrowed due to influence of Nigeria

Words like Edikaikong etc are calabar words but borrowed by others

Words like Na, etc are igbo words

Alubosa (yoruba) Haruna (hausa) etc are all arabic words.

John, Paul etc are all Jewish/English words but these words are used by everyone today.

Ufeolorun:
I am not an expert when it comes to History or even language but my comment above stands on me little knowledge and then plausibility
People with bleached skin are referred to as BO-ra BO-ra(ra refers to skin and BO=peeled)
You want to make moimoi you got to BO ewa(beans)
YIN: Scratch the corn from the corn cob goes:
YIN Agbado(corn)
Whites are strangers in Africa hence it makes sense for people to trnslate Oyinbo as stranger though stranger in Yooba = Ajoji. OYINBO means scratched and peeled,and I think it refers to their skin.
Lol!

Try make sense of my blabs,remember am a learner,lol.

You have made your point, and you are very correct, i hope Physics can go read up on it

alj harem: I wonder when Oyibo became Igbo word Why would you call a foreigner Onye Igbo/Ibo. [size=14pt]That is a big fat lie[/size]. Please Odumchi and co, Know your history and culture well before discussion in cultural issues because an ignoramus would actually believe you all.

The closest was ufeolorun

Oyinbo literal meaning is pealed back honey/ Peeled skinned people which is the termed by yorubas to address light skin forienger According to Debra L. Klein

http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&sugexp=frgbld&gs_nf=1&cp=13&gs_id=1e&xhr=t&q=oyinbo+yoruba&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbm=bks&source=og&sa=N&tab=wp&ei=Ke5lT8b3GubN0QWbt8ybCA&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=83eff03ccb2cc236&biw=1043&bih=558

This word Oyinbo is not only used in Nigeria but also by Crelos people in Serri leano and according to them, they got it from the yoruba word

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nAQIcqwGqTEC&pg=PA80&dq=oyinbo+yoruba&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5e9lT6aKNtK10QW75qWSCA&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=oyinbo%20yoruba&f=false

Oyibo is an Igbo way of saying Oyinbo which was originally never an Igbo word. Lets get our facts right here.

Oye ebeo is what Igbos call white (red) people before they adopted Oyibo

An Igbo writer called Ugo Nwokeji even claims the word Oyibo was borrowed from the yorubas and NEVER AN IGBO WORD. Link below

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tjLjoC6ScKYC&pg=PA218&dq=oyibo+igbo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0PBlT9--AqLK0QXww7CgCA&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=oyibo%20igbo&f=false

it is just like saying the word "na" is orginally hausa or so, we all know that "na" is a corrupt version of "nna" thus of Igbo origin.

Odumchi and co, Know your history and culture well before discussion in cultural issues

What kind of statement is this? Honestly this is the most insulting thing that i have come across. Why should you address someone like that simply because their opinion or view on something differs from yours? A statement like that only ticks people off.

I never said 'oyibo' was an Igbo word. As far as I know, the word exists in Pidgin. Igbo has it's own name for the white men which is 'ndi bekee'. As far as I know, 'oyibo' and 'oyinbo' are different in pronunciation and are spoken by mainly two different people. If your ideas on the words origin do not correlate with mine, fine. No need to insult anyone's intelligence.

^^^^^^

How can you consider that as an insult ?

If you felt insulted by my words, I truly and sincerely apologise. It is quite difficult to show emotions in writing thus you considered it an Insult. Once again I am truly sorry

Please accept my apologise.

odumchi:



I never said 'oyibo' was an Igbo word. As far as I know, the word exists in Pidgin. Igbo has it's own name for the white men which is 'ndi bekee'. As far as I know, 'oyibo' and 'oyinbo' are different in pronunciation and are spoken by mainly two different people.

No sir, Oyibo and Oyinbi are not different in pronunciation.

The words are spoken by by the same people, I spell Oyinbo as Oyibo at times, It makes no difference in the way it is pronounced

alj harem: I wonder when Oyibo became Igbo word Why would you call a foreigner Onye Igbo/Ibo. [size=14pt]That is a big fat lie[/size]. Please Odumchi and co, Know your history and culture well before discussion in cultural issues because an ignoramus would actually believe you all.

The closest was ufeolorun

Oyinbo literal meaning is pealed back honey/ Peeled skinned people which is the termed by yorubas to address light skin forienger According to Debra L. Klein

http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&sugexp=frgbld&gs_nf=1&cp=13&gs_id=1e&xhr=t&q=oyinbo+yoruba&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbm=bks&source=og&sa=N&tab=wp&ei=Ke5lT8b3GubN0QWbt8ybCA&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=83eff03ccb2cc236&biw=1043&bih=558

This word Oyinbo is not only used in Nigeria but also by Crelos people in Serri leano and according to them, they got it from the yoruba word

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nAQIcqwGqTEC&pg=PA80&dq=oyinbo+yoruba&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5e9lT6aKNtK10QW75qWSCA&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=oyinbo%20yoruba&f=false

Oyibo is an Igbo way of saying Oyinbo which was originally never an Igbo word. Lets get our facts right here.

Oye ebeo is what Igbos call white (red) people before they adopted Oyibo

An Igbo writer called Ugo Nwokeji even claims the word Oyibo was borrowed from the yorubas and NEVER AN IGBO WORD. Link below

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tjLjoC6ScKYC&pg=PA218&dq=oyibo+igbo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0PBlT9--AqLK0QXww7CgCA&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=oyibo%20igbo&f=false

it is just like saying the word "na" is orginally hausa or so, we all know that "na" is a corrupt version of "nna" thus of Igbo origin.

Well actually every language is full of modified words from other languages into their own. I know that a large chunk of Igbos refer to things as "Oyibo", "Oyibe" and "Oyime" as foreign. Other Igbos use "Bekee" in its place. Igbos called whiteman "Onyeocha" and it even shows in such names as "Nkwocha", "Okocha" and "Nwokocha" . Bekee is a corruption of the name of a Portuguese who visited Aboh around 15th century and Igbos called him and his followers "Nde Bekee".

alj harem: I wonder when Oyibo became Igbo word Why would you call a foreigner Onye Igbo/Ibo. [size=14pt]That is a big fat lie[/size]. Please Odumchi and co, Know your history and culture well before discussion in cultural issues because an ignoramus would actually believe you all.

The closest was ufeolorun

Oyinbo literal meaning is pealed back honey/ Peeled skinned people which is the termed by yorubas to address light skin forienger According to Debra L. Klein

http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&sugexp=frgbld&gs_nf=1&cp=13&gs_id=1e&xhr=t&q=oyinbo+yoruba&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbo=u&tbm=bks&source=og&sa=N&tab=wp&ei=Ke5lT8b3GubN0QWbt8ybCA&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=83eff03ccb2cc236&biw=1043&bih=558

This word Oyinbo is not only used in Nigeria but also by Crelos people in Serri leano and according to them, they got it from the yoruba word

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=nAQIcqwGqTEC&pg=PA80&dq=oyinbo+yoruba&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5e9lT6aKNtK10QW75qWSCA&ved=0CDsQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=oyinbo%20yoruba&f=false

Oyibo is an Igbo way of saying Oyinbo which was originally never an Igbo word. Lets get our facts right here.

Oye ebeo is what Igbos call white (red) people before they adopted Oyibo

An Igbo writer called Ugo Nwokeji even claims the word Oyibo was borrowed from the yorubas and NEVER AN IGBO WORD. Link below

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tjLjoC6ScKYC&pg=PA218&dq=oyibo+igbo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0PBlT9--AqLK0QXww7CgCA&ved=0CE0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=oyibo%20igbo&f=false

it is just like saying the word "na" is orginally hausa or so, we all know that "na" is a corrupt version of "nna" thus of Igbo origin.

Well actually every language is full of modified words from other languages into their own. I know that a large chunk of Igbos refer to things as "Oyibo", "Oyibe" and "Oyime" as foreign. Other Igbos use "Bekee" in its place. Igbos called whiteman "Onyeocha" and it even shows in such names as "Nkwocha", "Okocha" and "Nwokocha" . Bekee is a corruption of the name of a Portuguese who visited Aboh around 15th century and Igbos called him and his followers "Nde Bekee".

As far as I know Igbos bear that name "Oyibo" and its quite common and is not recent. You can search on facebook for Oyibo, Egoyibo , Nwoyibo, Nwabekee, Bekee etc.

alj harem: ^^^^^^

How can you consider that as an insult ?

If you felt insulted by my words, I truly and sincerely apologise. It is quite difficult to show emotions in writing thus you considered it an Insult. Once again I am truly sorry

Please accept my apologise.

No need to apologize. I am not offended by your statement but I said that because others can easily take what you said as an offense. It's good to disagree but try to do so without directly or indirectly insulting the other person.

It's very possible that there are many ways that 'oyibo' in it's various forms entered into the pidgin dictionary. Prior to this thread, I had never even known that Yoruba and Edo people had their own explanations of how it entered into our speech. Well, since there are a number of explanations, I think I'll continue to hold my belief.

oyibo/oyinbo is the corruption of the edo word ovbiebo.

ovbiebo is a combination of two edo words. ovbi is the edo word for child/or indigene while ebo is the edo word for caucasian.

"vbi" is difficult for people who are not edo to pronounce be them caucasian, negro, afro-asiatic, proto-semitic or whatever. so they corrupted “vbi” to "yi" to suit their tongue and that was how ovbiebo in edo language became oyibo in pidgin english. oyinbo is a wrong spelling of pidgin oyibo

Abagworo:

Well actually every language is full of modified words from other languages into their own. I know that a large chunk of Igbos refer to things as "Oyibo", "Oyibe" and "Oyime" as foreign. Other Igbos use "Bekee" in its place. Igbos called whiteman "Onyeocha" and it even shows in such names as "Nkwocha", "Okocha" and "Nwokocha" . Bekee is a corruption of the name of a Portuguese who visited Aboh around 15th century and Igbos called him and his followers "Nde Bekee".

As far as I know Igbos bear that name "Oyibo" and its quite common and is not recent. You can search on facebook for Oyibo, Egoyibo , Nwoyibo, Nwabekee, Bekee etc.

Quite right

Although it is quite strange for a word to mean the same thing by two different people. hmmmm

Thanks for the clarification.

odumchi:

No need to apologize. I am not offended by your statement but I said that because others can easily take what you said as an offense. It's good to disagree but try to do so without directly or indirectly insulting the other person.

It's very possible that there are many ways that 'oyibo' in it's various forms entered into the pidgin dictionary. Prior to this thread, I had never even known that Yoruba and Edo people had their own explanations of how it entered into our speech. Well, since there are a number of explanations, I think I'll continue to hold my belief.

Thanks

.

Ufeolorun:
Oyinbo is two words joined together that's rooted in Yoruba language hence makes more sense than your onye igbo story but your story is funny though
. lol
Yin=scratch bo=peel. I think the first yorubas who saw the white men thot they have peeled skin that's why they looked reddish hence Oyinbo

Nawa for you people. Oyinbo = Yin + bo. Where is the "O"?
By the way, how is "scratch" + "peel" = "peeled skin"

Obiagu1:

Nawa for you people. Oyinbo = Yin + bo. Where is the "O"?
By the way, how is "scratch" + "peel" = "peeled skin"

Abeg help me ask them again?

mbatuku2:

Abeg help me ask them again?

Theres no way i can help you guys cos it seems you dont speeak yoruba.You may have your own slant to the word fine,at least someone of up there just came up with an Edo version.like i said earlier,i am no historian or linguist but i will try


O/yinbo;hes/shes scratched and peeled.Yin and also Bo are words on their own.
O/tilo;hes/shes gone.tilo is a word on its own
O/jare;You please.Jare is a word on its own.
the O is used to refer to the person being described,talked to or talked-about.I can go on and on,people with basic knowledge of Yooba knows OOO features prominently in the lang.

Ufeolorun:
Theres no way i can help you guys cos it seems you dont speeak yoruba.You may have your own slant to the word fine,at least someone of up there just came up with an Edo version.like i said earlier,i am no historian or linguist but i will try


O/yinbo;hes/shes scratched and peeled.Yin and also Bo are words on their own.
O/tilo;hes/shes gone.tilo is a word on its own
O/jare;You please.Jare is a word on its own.
the O is used to refer to the person being described,talked to or talked-about.I can go on and on,people with basic knowledge of Yooba knows OOO features prominently in the lang.

So you mean that "Oyinbo" is a broken Yoruba "He scratched peeled". SMH!
By the way, scratched like tiger whiskers?

Someone please help me here, did the first Europeans to Yorubaland have scratched skins/face?

In Southern Igbo areas e.g Abia, Imo and Upland Rivers state including Bonny and Opobo, Oyibo is hardly used for Europeans. Bekee or Nwabeeke, onye ocha or Ndiocha is used instead of Oyibo. The Igbo groups that uses Oyibo are Western and northern Igbos.
The souther Igbo people were the first to encounter the Europeans and they did not call them Oyibos but Ndi ocha.
@Odumchi and Alh Uche, there is no winner or loser here.