chukwudi01:

What's with the funky squiggles on your website?

It's a new writing system for Igbo with a completely new alphabet. If you want to learn Igbo off the website, you don't necessarily have to learn the new alphabet since all the lessons are in both the Ndebe script and the regular roman alphabet, but it is recommended that you do because the new writing system solves all the problems most people normally encounter with writing Igbo in the roman alphabet. Also it makes reading and understanding much easier.

A lot of this is explained in detail on the website.

Sorry, I've never seen or heard of it. Which group or organization is sponsoring this writing system; the Nigerian government? I don't want to waste my time on something that's highly unlikely to get adopted. I'll show to my parents to see what they think.

P.S. Is there another website with more details on Igbo grammar and vocab? The Ndebe site has some good stuff but most of it I already know. 

chukwudi01:

Sorry, I've never seen or heard of it. Which group or organization is sponsoring this writing system; the Nigerian government? I don't want to waste my time on something that's highly unlikely to get adopted. I'll show to my parents to see what they think.

P.S. Is there another website with more details on Igbo grammar and vocab? The Ndebe site has some good stuff but most of it I already know. 

First of all, no government in this world is in charge of or regulates language. Languages develop anthropologically with people, so the idea that the Nigerian government should or should not be behind it is ridiculous.

Second, The Ndebe Project is an ongoing effort from The Igbo Academy which is an organization whose goals are to expand the vocabulary of the Igbo language in order to make it relevant for modern daily use, to carry out research on Igbo grammatical structure in order to aid the formation of new authentically Igbo words, and to oversee the creation of an indigenous Igbo writing system specifically designed to meet all the reading, writing, and comprehension needs of Igbo speakers worldwide.

The Ndebe Project is the BEST, and the MOST COMPREHENSIVE Igbo language resource you will find out there. Right now on the blog (as you must have seen since you seem to have visited it already) the lessons are still in the process of being put up, but by the time all or most of the lessons have been uploaded it will be the number one and completely unrivaled source of the Igbo language on the Internet, so I seriously doubt that using the Ndebe Project is a waste of your time as you put it.

If you don't believe me, I challenge you to find a better equipped, and better informed resource of the Igbo language out there. There is NONE. And that is why we have stepped in to fill a gaping void in the development of our language that desperately needed filling. Also, I doubt you have very much insight concerning the number of people that have already adopted the Ndebe writing system for its superior characteristics, so while any official adoption by bodies like WAEC might be a while coming, that is no impediment to people using our far more accurate system in daily life. If you are searching for Nigerian governmental endorsement then I am afraid you won't find it here. That however, is completely inconsequential. When was the last time the Nigerian government ever endorsed anything good or beneficial anyway? Besides, the Igbo people have never needed the permission of a government to speak their language and it is unthinkable that we should require government permission or endorsement to improve upon it.

If you would still like to learn Igbo, our blog will always be an open resource to all who wish to learn, but if for any reason you do not wish to, then I wish you lots of good luck finding a better Igbo language resource or tutorial because you will definitely need it.

Alright, I spoke without understanding. Please don't be offended by the tone of my previous post. I'll tamp it down from here on  .

I've read through more of your(?) blog and have a few questions:

How many members comprise the Igbo Academy and how does one go about contributing to it? What is it's history?

The Readme states: "We shall not resort to the tomfoolery of borrowing words from English." What's wrong with doing so? Don't all languages have loanwords? Though it would be cool if I could translate "car engine" or "high-performance liquid chromatography" into pure Igbo. 

Is it your (or, um, the Igbo Academy's) goal that all non-native speakers learn Anambra Igbo, or is the blog only teaching in that dialect for convenience?

Lastly, you're right that I don't have much insight as to how many people have adopted the Ndebe writing system. What's your estimate on the number of people that have?

P.S. I don't mean to be overly pedantic, but my thought that some governmental body may be a regulator of the Igbo language isn't exactly ridiculous.  Some countries do have governmental organizations in place that deal with official usages, grammar, vocab, etc. of the state language. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_language_regulators

chukwudi01:

Alright, I spoke without understanding. Please don't be offended by the tone of my previous post. I'll tamp it down from here on  .

I've read through more of your(?) blog and have a few questions:

How many members comprise the Igbo Academy and how does one go about contributing to it? What is it's history?

The Igbo Academy currently comprises a little over 70 members (both Igbo and non-Igbo individuals) and is still growing. Membership is free and open to anyone who is interested in the Igbo language, and supports or contributes to the project. The Igbo Academy is a very new organisation and was set up in April/May of this year. Interested individuals can contribute to the Igbo Academy's work and the Ndebe Project by joining the facebook group and providing feedback on the project as well as carrying out research in any of the designated research areas and reporting the findings to the Academy which will then integrate these findings into the information that it puts out.

chukwudi01:

The Readme states: "We shall not resort to the tomfoolery of borrowing words from English." What's wrong with doing so? Don't all languages have loanwords? Though it would be cool if I could translate "car engine" or "high-performance liquid chromatography" into pure Igbo. 

Loanwords are not in of themselves bad, and loan words from other languages exist in almost all languages on Earth, however, an excess of loan words in any language is extremely dangerous as it dilutes the etymological purity of that language and lessens its authenticity. In effect, too many loanwords from Language A into Language B turns Language B into a pidgin of Language A.

Igbo is already suffering dangerously from an excess of loan words from English. What is even worse is that these loan words that are taken from English do not even conform to Igbo grammatical rules. Take for instance, the unit of weight measurement - the gram. According to an Igbo dictionary I purchased, the Igbo word for "gram" is: Gram.

What is wrong with this scenario? Igbo words ALWAYS end in vowels and never in consonants (with the exception of 'R' and 'M' - but in 'M's case only when it indicates possession of the object by the first person singular).

Just borrowing the word 'gram' from English (rather than inventing a new word for the term) breaks at least two different grammatical rules in Igbo, if not more.

It is so bad now that most Igbo speakers cannot describe a full day's activities without using numerous English or English-derived words and expressions. This often makes Igbo sound like an incomplete language. The Igbo Academy intends to correct this by coming up with new words for all the new things that exist today, words that conform to and are based entirely on Igbo grammatical rules and constructs.

chukwudi01:

Is it your (or, um, the Igbo Academy's) goal that all non-native speakers learn Anambra Igbo, or is the blog only teaching in that dialect for convenience?

No. The blog is written primarily in Anambra Igbo simply for convenience sake. However, in later lessons we will be introducing a unique learning system that has been developed by the Academy. It is still being researched and augmented but once perfected, users will be able to learn a conversion formula that once mastered should allow them to do semi-instantaneous dialectal conversions in their heads. Basically, by mastering the conversion formula you should be able to read Igbo written in ANY dialect and recognize the changes that differentiate it from your dialect, convert and understand it in your head as YOUR own dialect. We at the Igbo Academy believe that ALL Igbo dialects should be celebrated, spoken, written, read, and understood not just the two that formed the basis for Central Igbo.

As the lessons go along, comparison charts for all Igbo dialects will be included. Our goal is to get Igbo speakers as familiar as possible with as many Igbo dialects as we can so that making mental jumps from dialect to dialect becomes second nature.

chukwudi01:

Lastly, you're right that I don't have much insight as to how many people have adopted the Ndebe writing system. What's your estimate on the number of people that have?

Right now, members of the Igbo Academy are of course actively involved in using the Ndebe script as well as a growing number of non-Academy individuals. We are working with key parties specializing in typography and calligraphy and graphics to get the script standardised so that it can be converted for computer use which will of course, vastly open up the ease of adoption.

chukwudi01:

P.S. I don't mean to be overly pedantic, but my thought that some governmental body may be a regulator of the Igbo language isn't exactly ridiculous.  Some countries do have governmental organizations in place that deal with official usages, grammar, vocab, etc. of the state language. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_language_regulators

It is true that there are some bodies that do deal with official usages of various languages, but it is important to note that languages change and develop with the people that speak it, not by edicts from governmental bodies. Bodies can only include what the people speak. This is how verbs like 'to google' came to exist in the English language. Not because a governing body "allowed" it, but because it developed naturally among the people that speak the language and as such the regulatory bodies that deal with English had no choice but to include google as a verb in the next edition of the dictionary.

My point is, the rules of language rest with the people. Whatever the people choose, the governmental or regulatory bodies will follow, and not the other way around.

maybe we should take advantage of modern technology and begin converting
these languages to mp3 and dvds. that way more people will be encouraged to
learn their mother tongue as they walk along the road.

Interesting suggestion, George_D. It reminds me of an article I read last month: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/science/28prof.html

yes. mp3 is not all about listening to rap/hip hop music that does
nothing to educate the youths

NO IT'S NOT TOO LATE FOR SOMEONE TO LEARN IS LANGUAGE AT ALL. ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS TO FOCUS AND PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR NATIVE LANGUAGE TEACHER . ONE LOVE ALL BENNYBLANCO

never too late, find your people on nairaland (GENERAL/WELCOME, > CULTURE,) I am sure your people on this forum will help you out.

are you suggesting the thread be moved to the culture sub-directory?

@topic,

No. It's never too late.

of course not. we know that already.

Hmm, sugabelly,...still around?
Is the ndebe script supposed to replace the nsibidi any agaku alphabet being painstakingly developed, or are they meant to work together?