I have heard and seen so many people addressing the igbo people as "IBOS" .It also occur among igbos.Some gave their reasons based on what they think leaving the fact behind.It is widely known that the word "IBO" came to exist as a result of the early european missionaries and colonists inability to pronounce the word "IGBO" correctly. They end up calling us "IBOS".Today so many people of igbo and non-igbo extractions have been using this wrong term to refer to the igbos.we may forgive those outsiders because maybe they could not pronounce "IGBO" very well. The most painful one is the igbos who uses that wrong term.some of them think that they are too educated to pronounce it just the same way people in the villages do.some say that the people are "IBOS"while the language is "IGBO".This claim is totally lie and have no support.If that is the case,why did our anscestors make use of "igbo" and not "ibo".They answer names like igboanugo,igboananike,igboamaka etc so these our anscestors using igbo as prefix in their name are refering to the language and not the people? Ikemba odumegwu ojukwu had the tittle of ezeigbo gburu gburug,so the igbo he was governing is the language and not the people?There are communities like igboukwu,igbouzo,igboariam etc,so these communities are refering to the only the language with their names? I always blame the parents who failed to teach their children the truth about things.portuguese is a language and the people are portuguese,spanish is a language and the people are spanish/spaniard,french,english are languages and the people are french and english respectively.SO WHY IS THE IGBO CASE DIFFERENT?lets wisen up my fellow IGBOS!

Your continous usage of Igbos in this thread is wrong. The plural form of Igbo is NdiIgbo (Ndigbo. You may also use Igbo people or the Igbo as plural. The Igbos is wrong just as a people from England are called the English not Englands or Englishs.
Ibo===wrong.
Igbos==wrong
Ndigbo===correct.

I feel you guys. It just reaks of ignorance when someone (especially an Nigerian) in today's world writes 'Ibo' instead of 'Igbo'. I support Andre's statement. Igbo is not an English word, therefore the rules of the English language don't apply to it. The singular form of 'Igbo' is 'Igbo' and the plural form is also 'Igbo' or 'Ndi Igbo' just as the plural form of 'Indus' (a Latin word) is 'Indies' and not 'Induses'.

For example:
"There are many Igbo here" is "Ndi Igbo do otutu ebe a".
"We are all Igbo" is "Anyi dum wucha ndi Igbo".

Andre Uweh: Your continous usage of Igbos in this thread is wrong. The plural form of Igbo is NdiIgbo (Ndigbo. You may also use Igbo people or the Igbo as plural. The Igbos is wrong just as a people from England are called the English not Englands or Englishs.
Ibo===wrong.
Igbos==wrong
Ndigbo===correct.

thanks bros for ur correction.i do appreciate.

@Antivirus92 and Odumchi, thanks a lot.
The other day, I couldn't help laughing when one Igbo chap wrote ''we ndigbos will fight to finish''. It's so funny.

odumchi: I feel you guys. It just reaks of ignorance when someone (especially an Nigerian) in today's world writes 'Ibo' instead of 'Igbo'. I support Andre's statement. Igbo is not an English word, therefore the rules of the English language don't apply to it. The singular form of 'Igbo' is 'Igbo' and the plural form is also 'Igbo' or 'Ndi Igbo' just as the plural form of 'Indus' (a Latin word) is 'Indies' and not 'Induses'.

For example:
"There are many Igbo here" is "Ndi Igbo do otutu ebe a".
"We are all Igbo" is "Anyi dum wucha ndi Igbo".

well why is it always pronounced as "EEBO"
and not IG-BO? in documentaries

*Kails*:


well why is it always pronounced as "EEBO"
and not IG-BO? in documentaries

The proper pronunciation isn't "eebo", it's pronounced "I-gbò". The 'gb' is a diphthong and it produces a sound that is alien to English.

People (especially non-Africans) sometimes fail to pronounce that 'gb' sometimes out of sheer ignorance, most times because they can't (or atleast find it hard to).

odumchi:

It isn't pronounced "eebo", it's pronounced "I-gbò". The 'gb' is a diphthong and it produces a sound that is alien to English.

So basically for us English speakers "gb" is just silent?
I want to hear someone who is Igbo say it, so I would know the proper way to.

*Kails*:




So basically for us English speakers "gb" is just silent?
I want to hear someone who is Igbo say it, so I would know the proper way to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6yYLxcPJiA&feature=youtube_gdata_player

The Igbo language has a host of sounds that don't exist in English (kw, kp, nw, gb, and zh). In the intro, she pronounces the word 'Igbo' but you can also go to 1:50 to hear how 'gb' is pronounced.

Im still watching the video but OOOOOMG!!!

Your word for bug is the same as our in Jamaica!!

we say "chink"!!!!

and we also say "poto-poto" for sloppy/muddy!!

Ok, so I have watched the video and have realized that the "g" is more so for stressing and is not to be pronounced as a separate syllable...to say I-gggg-bo is just as wrong as EEbo.


It's simply I-gbo.

Thanks a million Odumchi!

Lol no problem.

Odumchi nnukwu onye nkuzi! Daalu nnukwu. I wish many people could be like you.

Andre Uweh: Your continous usage of Igbos in this thread is wrong. The plural form of Igbo is NdiIgbo (Ndigbo. You may also use Igbo people or the Igbo as plural. The Igbos is wrong just as a people from England are called the English not Englands or Englishs.
Ibo===wrong.
Igbos==wrong
Ndigbo===correct.

Noted
I made that mistake on several occasions, but thanks for the correction.

Antivirus92: Odumchi nnukwu onye nkuzi! Daalu nnukwu. I wish many people could be like you.

Ndeeeewo oo.

I always say Igbo and how my husband say it...it sounds like he is say eg bo. I have hear many nigerians say it differently.

Does 'Nd' in 'Ndigbo' mean 'breed'? I ask because chino11 mentioned in another thread that "Anambrans are hardworking and industrious breeds of igbos", and prior to that I hadn't come across such. Is that term appropriate?

amor4ce: Does 'Nd' in 'Ndigbo' mean 'breed'? I ask because chino11 mentioned in another thread that "Anambrans are hardworking and industrious breeds of igbos", and prior to that I hadn't come across such. Is that term appropriate?

'Ndi' means either a collection of persons (people) or a collection of objects.

For example:

Ndi Igbo means the Igbo people

Ndi Nigeria means Nigerian people

Komputa ndi a means these computers.

interesting.

Thanks odumchi!