At my church, I was chosen to write and deliver an address to the congregation in the Igbo language. Naturally, I would choose to write and speak in Igbo Izugbe (Standard Igbo), but knowing the circumstances and the situation at my church, I am having second thoughts.

First of all, my church is dominated (population-wise) by people from Anambra, Enugu, and Imo (especially Mbano). There are only two or three families from Abia, one from Ebonyi, and none from Rivers or Delta. My issue is that when these people (Anambra, Enugu, and Imo) speak, they speak in their dialects, forgetting that they are speaking to a diverse audience.

I suggested that I would give my address in my own dialect (Aro) since everyone else was basically doing the same. However, I was told that it wasn't the best idea since "not everyone would understand what I was saying" and that I should speak in Standard Igbo.

Now my question is this: why is it that a select group are given the liberty to speak "fa ncha, fa ncha" and "shi shi" while others must forsake this liberty in exchange for Standard Igbo? What do you Nairalanders think I should do? I have no problem speaking in Central Igbo while in the midst of a diverse crowd, but it feels like discrimination when others don't do the same.

You have to speak a dialect that majority of people will understand. Anambra and to a lesser extent Imo people can be forgiven in this regard because their dialects are easily understand by almost all Igbos. But it's not the same with some other dialects. I don't think the Enugu people in your church were actually speaking their dialects because a lot opf Enugu people include my family speak kinda like Anambra people. We only speak our dialect when we're speaking to our fellow Enugu people.

Afam4eva: You have to speak a dialect that majority of people will understand. Anambra and to a lesser extent Imo people can be forgiven in this regard because their dialects are easily understand by almost all Igbos. But it's not the same with some other dialects. I don't think the Enugu people in your church were actually speaking their dialects because a lot opf Enugu people include my family speak kinda like Anambra people. We only speak our dialect when we're speaking to our fellow Enugu people.

I don't believe that it's right. There's already a [manufactured] dialect that everyone can understand, so I don't see how it makes sense for a select group to forsake that dialect and speak freely while others are to strain themselves so as to avoid saying something that not everyone understands.

It's nothing but outright discrimination and hypocrisy, in my eyes. No matter how intelligible you're dialect is, when amongst others, you must speak Izugbe. If not, don't expect others to do so.

odumchi:

I don't believe that it's right. There's already a [manufactured] dialect that everyone can understand, so I don't see how it makes sense for a select group to forsake that dialect and speak freely while others are to strain themselves so as to avoid saying something that not everyone understands.

It's nothing but outright discrimination and hypocrisy, in my eyes. No matter how intelligible you're dialect is, when amongst others, you must speak Izugbe. If not, don't expect others to do so.

Not everybody can speak Izugbe. Some people including myself were brought up to speak their own dialects and they're used to it. If they understood Igbo Izugbe and are used to it, they'll definitely speak it. Some of my cousins from the village find it difficult speaking Igbo Izugbe as they grew up speaking Nkanu Dialect. It's like that in many other lamguages. If you've watched Yoruba movies, you'll noticed that people from Ibadan speak with a particular dialect.

Like i said before, their dialects are understandable by most Igbos but my dialects and maybe yours are not understandable by majority of Igbo, so we have to stick with what majority of people will understand. I have an Umuahia friend who speaks his dialect to me and sometimes i don't undertsand what he's saying word-for-word but i don't tell him because i know he doesn't know any better as he grew up in Umuahia. The keyword here is to be understood.

Afam4eva:
Not everybody can speak Izugbe. Some people including myself were brought up to speak their own dialects and they're used to it. If they understood Igbo Izugbe and are used to it, they'll definitely speak it. Some of my cousins from the village find it difficult speaking Igbo Izugbe as they grew up speaking Nkanu Dialect. It's like that in many other lamguages. If you've watched Yoruba movies, you'll noticed that people from Ibadan speak with a particular dialect.

Like i said before, their dialects are understandable by most Igbos but my dialects and maybe yours are not understandable by majority of Igbo, so we have to stick with what majority of people will understand. I have an Umuahia friend who speaks his dialect to me and sometimes i don't undertsand what he's saying word-for-word but i don't tell him because i know he doesn't know any better as he grew up in Umuahia. The keyword here is to be understood.

"Some people find it hard to speak Izugbe" is a poor excuse. These are full-grown adults that we are talking about here and not kids. Why should you be involved in public speaking if you can't speak a language that is widely accepted and understood? That's like saying the President should speak in Hausa since he finds it hard to speak English.

Secondly, I myself grew up in Arochukwu and have been exposed to Aro all my life and I'm still able to speak Izugbe, much less these full-grown adults that have been exposed to diversity all their lives. I still don't see a reason why full-grown adults can speak their "fa ncha, fa ncha" and "shi shi" while others are expected to speak standard Igbo.

odumchi:

"Some people find it hard to speak Izugbe" is a poor excuse. These are full-grown adults that we are talking about here and not kids. Why should you be involved in public speaking if you can't speak a language that is widely accepted and understood? That's like saying the President should speak in Hausa since he finds it hard to speak English.

Secondly, I myself grew up in Arochukwu and have been exposed to Aro all my life and I'm still able to speak Izugbe, much less these full-grown adults that have been exposed to diversity all their lives. I still don't see a reason why full-grown adults can speak their "fa ncha, fa ncha" and "shi shi" while others are expected to speak standard Igbo.

Not everyone in NIgeria can speak English and they're not obligated to do so and dialects are different from languages. The bottomline is that, as long as you're understood, then there's nothing wrong in speaking in whichever language or dialect you so choose. Those people that speak Anambra and Imo Igbo are not doing so because they want to advertise their dialect or prove that theirs is more superior than others but because that's only what they know like i posited earlier.

If you go ahead and speak Aro dialect to your church members and they don't understand what you're saying, won't the aim be defeated? On the other hand, you're not complaining that you can't understand their own dialect which could have been a good grouse but you don't just like the fact that they're speaking their and you can't speak yours which is not good enough a reason. I cannot even speak the Izugbe sef but i try hard to do so because other Igbos won't understand my dialect and there's nothing i wannt prove with my dialect. I'm an Igboist and more inclined for things that are Igbocentric rather than dialectic. It may be different for someone who's more dialectic than Igboistic.

Odumchi, the point of talking to someone is to get your point across. This means they have to understand you first. So, if that is what you really care about, then I would suggest doing your presentation in Izugbe. But in my opinion, I don't believe there is a "right" answer to the question.

Believe me, I understand how you feel about this unwritten rule that accords certain communities with certain liberties that are not available to other groups, but I have always been unapologetic in disobeying that convention. My motto, mahnuo we onu; ke m ke ole. That someone will not understand you is not a good enough reason to not speak your lect, because there is something intangible that comes with speaking your lect.

For example, if someone were to ask me to write poetry or to tell a story in Izugbe, I would swiftly decline. To me it is mechanical and ingenuine. With Ngwa though, there is something particular about the liberty I have when it comes to incorporating nuances, idioms and other kinds of expressions that I would otherwise would not have access to if regurgitating a manufactured speech form. If I had to guess, I'd say that this is at least partly where your concern lies. I don't want to put words in your mouth or make assumptions of any kind, but in a way, it is almost as if this unholy, unwritten rule of "liberty to few" simply robs you of that genuine feeling that comes with owning a language. And it hurts more when you hold that language close to your heart and as an integral aspect of your identity.

ChinenyeN:
Odumchi, the point of talking to someone is to get your point across. This means they have to understand you first. So, if that is what you really care about, then I would suggest doing your presentation in Izugbe. But in my opinion, I don't believe there is a "right" answer to the question.

Believe me, I understand how you feel about this unwritten rule that accords certain communities with certain liberties that are not available to other groups, but I have always been unapologetic in disobeying that convention. My motto, mahnuo we onu; ke m ke ole. That someone will not understand you is not a good enough reason to not speak your lect, because there is something intangible that comes with speaking your lect.

Going by your motto, you should also speak Ngwa to non-Igbos instead of English and if asked to write a poetry in English you would decline and write in Ngwa instead.

You hit the nail on your first paragraph. The key is about being understood. There's a reason why NIgerians who travel abroad try to change their accent so that foreigners will understand them.

ChinenyeN: Odumchi, the point of talking to someone is to get your point across. This means they have to understand you first. So, if that is what you really care about, then I would suggest doing your presentation in Izugbe. But in my opinion, I don't believe there is a "right" answer to the question.
.

I wanted to type this.
@Odumchi,when others (ndi Anambra,Imo) talk in their dialects, do you understand? If yes,why the fuss? If no, have u voiced u out?
Do you honestly think they'll understand u if u deliver ur speech in ur dialect?
I think you should use igbo izugbe.

i though standard igbo was inter woven from abia and imo dialects,why do you have problem speaking it,?

odumchi:

I don't believe that it's right. There's already a [manufactured] dialect that everyone can understand, so I don't see how it makes sense for a select group to forsake that dialect and speak freely while others are to strain themselves so as to avoid saying something that not everyone understands.

It's nothing but outright discrimination and hypocrisy, in my eyes. No matter how intelligible you're dialect is, when amongst others, you must speak Izugbe. If not, don't expect others to do so.

You are coming out,gradually....lol. I knew you were gonna create a thread about this issue. But this is just beyond your powers. Its just the way things are. For example,if I have my way I will ban Igbo Izugbo and have everybody study in their dialects. One of my cousin had a baby and named the child "Chizaram" and I can't help to notice how she has lost touch with our sweet Omanbala dialect and adopted a foreign dialect with which she name her daughter with. In Anambra we say "Chizalum" and it infuriates me each time I encounter Anambrarians who are nonchalant about the preservation of our culture. Igbo Izugbe,on its own was a selfish fabrication by the parasitic europeans to make people with certain cultural similarity one,so,they can control and manipulate them with ease.

Izugbe is the handwork of natives and not Europeans. What you're thinking of is Union Ibo, which is the handwork of missionaries, but that had nothing to do with colonial administration.

Afam4eva:
Going by your motto, you should also speak Ngwa to non-Igbos instead of English and if asked to write a poetry in English you would decline and write in Ngwa instead.

I'm not sure why you're taking my statement out of context here.

After serious pondering and consideration of your advice and that of others, I have decided to give my address in Igbo Izugbe. The main reason I made this decision is because I'm aiming for maximum clarity, not really because I believe it's the right thing to do in this situation.

In all honesty, speaking Igbo Izugbe feels like having a mental handicap, just like Chinenye described. There are certain ways that you can play around with language while speaking your dialect that can't be replicated in Izugbe. A dialect is the natural modus communicandi and speaking it just makes communication more enjoyable and interesting. Nevertheless, the Anambra-Enugu-Imo gang can continue exercising this liberty while the rest of us resort to mechanical speech. The pulpit is the only place they'll ever hear me speaking Izugbe.

o'boy:
i though standard igbo was inter woven from abia and imo dialects,why do you have problem speaking it,?

Igbo Izugbe is basically the Igbo spoken in northern Imo state. It sounds nothing like Ngwa, nor does it sound anything like the Old Bende dialects, so I don't know why people say it's from Abia. Izugbe sounds like the dialects from the Arondizuogu/Okigwe area of Imo state.

Odenigbo Aroli:

You are coming out,gradually....lol. I knew you were gonna create a thread about this issue. But this is just beyond your powers. Its just the way things are. For example,if I have my way I will ban Igbo Izugbo and have everybody study in their dialects. One of my cousin had a baby and named the child "Chizaram" and I can't help to notice how she has lost touch with our sweet Omanbala dialect and adopted a foreign dialect with which she name her daughter with. In Anambra we say "Chizalum" and it infuriates me each time I encounter Anambrarians who are nonchalant about the preservation of our culture. Igbo Izugbe,on its own was a selfish fabrication by the parasitic europeans to make people with certain cultural similarity one,so,they can control and manipulate them with ease.

The same is happening amongst Southern/Eastern Igbo. People from Ebonyi, Abia, Imo, and Rivers are now bearing names like 'Afamefuna, Ifeanyichukwu, Ifeoma, Ekenedilichukwu, Onuora, Obieze, and Odili' while their own names are lost to memory. I must revive the names of my people.

odumchi: Nevertheless, the Anambra-Enugu-Imo gang can continue exercising this liberty while the rest of us resort to mechanical speech. The pulpit is the only place they'll ever hear me speaking Izugbe.

I really don't know why Enugu is being included cos Enugu people are the last people that will speak their dialect in an all-Igbo meeting. We go the Anambra way when speaking. That's why our dialects are not popular outside Enugu.

Afam4eva:
I really don't know why Enugu is being included cos Enugu people are the last people that will speak their dialect in an all-Igbo meeting. We go the Anambra way when speaking. That's why our dialects are not popular outside Enugu.

I can somewhat differentiate the Enugu-speakers from the Anambra-speakers, but that's not the point. What I'm trying to say is that everyone speaks as if they are in their ancestral homes. Why speak anything apart from Standard Igbo?

odumchi:

I can somewhat differentiate the Enugu-speakers from the Anambra-speakers, but that's not the point. What I'm trying to say is that everyone speaks as if they are in their ancestral homes. Why speak anything apart from Standard Igbo?

A lot of Igbo people are brought up learning their dialect. Somebody like me was brought up with Anambra dialect and not until I got to the secondary school that I learn't the difference between my spoken igbo and written Igbo.
I can write the standard Igbo language well but may not be able to speak it perfectly... I will unconciously mix it with Anambra dialect. These things are very obvious in most Igbo Home Videos.
The bottom line is the ability for someone to communicate fluently and precise using Igbo language.

there is a population issue here that people are omitting.there is a particular belt in igboland that is densly populated even though most of the indigenes of that area are not based there.this belt is from onitsha to awka down to mbaitoli to mbaise axis except probably ogbaru in anambra and okigwe plus onuimo in imo.if you outside igbo land the possibility of the igbo person you meet is from that axis is very high.so people from that axis overtime have become used to the numerous dialects that exist around there which in turn makes the dialects been spoken around there more common than other igbo dialects.so there is always a possibilty of people in that axis speaking their own dialects to one another and still getting what each other is saying.however outside these axis the dialects become a bit harder to understand unless you grew up in such an area.if odumchi's arochukwu had such population i do not think he would be complaining.