odumchi:

The term "Igbo language" actually represents two types of speech forms: Igbo Izugbe (Standard written/spoken Igbo)and Olumba (pure unstandardized written/spoke Igbo). The first was "manufactured" by linguists who sought to create a means for the Igbo peoples to communicate with each other unhindered by the constraints of intelligibility. Speaking any one of these two technically counts as "speaking Igbo", even though the former was constructed as an amalgam of various dialects from the latter. As a result of this, most Igbo people actually speak two forms of Igbo: the centralized one (which is said to be intelligible to every Igbo person) and the un-centralized one (which varies greatly).

I think the thing that makes Igbo seem difficult is the sheer variety of variations (in tonalit, nasalization, and lexicon) within it. Take the word ehihe (evening) for example. It is the centralized form of the word evening. However in the un-centralized realm, others say mgbe anyasi, mgbe abali, mgbe abani, and evivie. I also don't think that the Igbo language is so related to another language (maybe aside from Idoma) that a speaker of that language would have a considerable learning advantage over a speaker from another when learning it (this is all within the southern Nigerian context).

afam4eva:
I actually learnt Igbo by learning Ikwerre first. I actually helped. But now i can't speak Ikwerre any longer except for a few phrase like "Bia Mbra bra", "e zega pele?" etc

Eze Promoe:
I learnt Ikwerre under pressure from my maternal relations but i hate speaking it though it infilterates my Igbo tongue.

davidugotex:

Did u say that 'ehihie' means evening? O boy, no be dis same Igbo Izugbe wey dey teach me for schl? Abi u learn ur own for Singapore? Abeg ehihie is/and still remains noon, also check ur spelling.
I agree with other things u said earlier though.

Thanks for correcting me there. I had one thing in mind and wrote another. What I meant to write was mgbede instead of ehihe. But at the same time, even ehihe has its own variations which are ukori and ukorli.

In Imo, some call evening udirishi while in parts of Anambra some call it uchichi. So far, that's seven names for the same word...

ChinenyeN: The orthodox understanding of 'Igbo language' is a weird one. According to the understanding, the various "dialects" of 'Igbo language' stand as a testimony of 'Igbo language'. So, as long as you speak any "dialect", you are claimed to be speaking 'Igbo language'. At the same time the idea of 'Igbo language' does not exist outside of its "dialects". Devoid 'Igbo' of its speech forms and you no longer have 'Igbo language'. So, in a simplified and contradictory explanation, all Igbo people speak Igbo, but no Igbo person really speaks Igbo language. It's weird.

Jah Man: I do not understand where you and Chinenye are getting your confusion from.
Like any other major language,there is what we call 'central Igbo' which is what is taught in Igbo Language in colleges.It is an amalgam of different local dialects in the geographical entity called Igboland.It is also expected that every Igbo indigene that has average education understands that.
Can Chinenye explain to me what is meant by 'artificial'?
Ehihie is not the same as evening odumchi.Ehihie(central Igbo) is rather afternoon.
Evening is 'anyasi' or 'mgbede'(central igbo), abani or abali(central igbo)=night.ututu(central igbo)=morning.
I have tried as much as possible to understand most local dialects in igboland excpet the 'okpoto' language in Ebonyi state which is extremely difficult.If you listen to those hawkers on 3rd mainland bridge,you may not know they are discussing in igbo.I know that because I lived around that area for 2 years.

Andre Uweh: Igbo language.
Akwa-egg, akwa-cry, akwa-wrapper.
Nrubeisi-obedience, nrubeisi-overgrown hair.

Jarus: Hausa easiest, followed by Yoruba, and Igbo the hardest.

lecturerdabo:
AKWA-NMIRRI = TOWEL

nekaa: Igbo is the hardest with yoruba being the easiest. I had an igbo teacher(for extar lessons at home, when i didnt av for regular subjects) back then buh I still find it hard to understand it (nobody is talking about speaking yet o), buh juss listening to ma mum speak yoruba I learnt it.

ChinenyeN: The hardest would have to be Igbo. Aside from the artificial dialect, there is no generally accepted standard. Then, even after learning the artificial dialect, you come to find out that it is practically useless to you, since most native speakers don't actively communicate in it. Instead, you hear tongues, accents, phonemes and even lexicon that are simply divergent.

Example; You learn 'ihere' (shame), based on the artificial dialect, only to come across a speaker saying 'whnuwhnerne'. This is just one of countless examples.

Don't get me wrong, each language has its selling points for difficulty, but the fact that Igbo can attest to such high degree of divergence, in such a comparatively close proximity, puts it a step or so above the rest (in my opinion), because learning 'Igbo' (the artificial dialect, doesn't mean you can speak with others, and that is the point of learning a language to begin with.

afam4eva:
I actually want to know if the average Ikwerre person can converse with a central Igbo person. I mean can the average Ikwerre person speak Igbo or something close?

Jah Man: I do not understand where you and Chinenye are getting your confusion from.
Like any other major language,there is what we call 'central Igbo' which is what is taught in Igbo Language in colleges.It is an amalgam of different local dialects in the geographical entity called Igboland.It is also expected that every Igbo indigene that has average education understands that.
Can Chinenye explain to me what is meant by 'artificial'?
Ehihie is not the same as evening odumchi.Ehihie(central Igbo) is rather afternoon.
Evening is 'anyasi' or 'mgbede'(central igbo), abani or abali(central igbo)=night.ututu(central igbo)=morning.
I have tried as much as possible to understand most local dialects in igboland excpet the 'okpoto' language in Ebonyi state which is extremely difficult.If you listen to those hawkers on 3rd mainland bridge,you may not know they are discussing in igbo.I know that because I lived around that area for 2 years.

Frostyzone: Anambra Igbo and Lagos Yoruba are both easy to learn.