₦airaland Forum

New song by Nigerian-American hip hop artist Obinna, currently my favorite song.

https://soundcloud.com/obinnaz/likesmystyle

New song by Nigerian American artist Obinna! Check it out!

https://soundcloud.com/obinnaz/likesmystyle

[quote author=marinxxx post=34127695][/quote]And how exactly will you help him?

.

I have lived in America most of my life, and some of the things that I see and hear confuse me. From what I have noticed, most African Americans not only know nothing about their African heritage, but they also resent the fact that they are - or were - Africans. I have been in heated arguments with African Americans telling them that being African isn't a curse, but a blessing. Yet they continue to be the main people belittling Africa's culture and people by using an unimaginable amount of stereotypes. The sad part is that plenty of them genuinely believe the nonsense that they are spewing from their mouths.

For example, one time I was in school and somebody asked me how it was riding it Rhino's to school and hunting lions to feed the starving chlidren in our villages. I, of course, laughed as I thought that the person was joking. However, the person's face told me that he was more serious than he has been in awhile. I then asked if he was serious, and he told me that he was. I went on to explain to him that there are plenty of cars in Africa and while, yes, there are starving children (As there is throughout the rest of the world), it is not as widespread throughout the continent as he would think. After that, the unimaginable happened; he blatantly called me a liar, and demanded the truth.

There are plenty of other stories that I have about the ignorance of some African Americans, but that's enough for now. My question is: are African Americans still Africans? Or have generations of slavery made them forget where they're truly from? Yes, of course I want to say that they are due to our strict patrilineal system, but I'm afraid that the ignorant ones are making me think otherwise. Opinions?

I am in no way condemning all African Americans (I, too am an African American due to having a duel citizenship), so I hope that nobody gets offended. I'm just asking a question based on what I have seen for myself.

ChinenyeN:
Alright.

Generalized Ngwa

What is your name?
-- Ndighi ahna ghi?

How are you?
-- Ndighi otu i nu?

Where are you from?
-- Ndighi obe i hie?

You are a thief.
-- I bu onye ohnii.

Thank you.
-- Nmanma/I memala.

You are my good friend.
-- I bu ezi enyi m.

Daalu nwanne!

ChinenyeN:
Is there a particular dialect of Ngwa that you want them translated in, or just some form of generalized Ngwa?

I'd like more of a generalized dialect that most Ngwa people could understand.

I'm very interested in the Ngwa dialect, however I hardly know anything in it.

What is your name?
How are you?
Where are you from?
You are a thief.
Thank you.
You are my good friend.


Daalu nu.

bigfrancis21:
Amalunweze - Who knows the King's child?

Agbatulenye - Correction - Agbatuluenyi The Elephant was knocked down. A name often given to one who accomplishes/is known for accomplishing great feats.

Igwenagu - King of the forest.

Oseloka - God thinks greatly (for me). Other similar Igbo names are Chinecherem, Uchechukwu/Elochukwu.
Idei - Pillar.

Dakwasienyi - Lean/fall on the elephant.

Akukalia - Excess of riches.

Akupueome - Riches that has roots/came out from somewhere. 'Ome' is the new tender growth of plants.

Mmilililienyi - The water that drowned the elephant.

By virtue of its size, the elephant is used to symbolize one in Igboland who is great in his endeavours and accomplishes feats worthy of recognition.

Yes, sorry it was a typo. Daalu nwanne m. Do you know of any names that are not commonly found outside of Onitsha?

abiki:
Onitsha ado n' idu.

Proud daughter of Onitsha.

Nwando

Ukecha

Mbanefo

Ofodile

Nwanyibuife

The names your mentioned above are for ozo title holders or Odu title holders in Onitsha.

I can translate few though. Mmilililienyi means "water that swallowed an elephant"

Akukalia - Plenty wealth.

Amalunweze - A king's child is known.

Oseloka - God is lord.

Akupoeme --- Your money has roots

Dakwasienyi --------- Someone that falls on an elephant. Lol

Agbatulenyi ---------------- Someone that killed an elephant.

Daalu nwanne m nwanyi

I really love all Igbo names, but I barely see any that come from Onitsha. Help me out with that!

Also, could somebody translate the following? I have ideas, I just want to confirm to see if I'm right.

Amalunweze
Agbatulenye
Igwenagu
Oseloka
Idei
Dakwasienyi
Akukalia
Akupueome
Mmilililienyi

Daalu!

We all know that Nigeria is a very corrupt country. At times, it may feel like there is no hope to "save" our nation.

However, I know that many Nigerians have an undying love for Nigeria, and do hope that one day things will possibly change for the betterment of this nation.

I would like to ask you all what you think would need to be done to make Nigeria a better country and why. I know that there are many brilliant Nairalanders out there that can possibly give stunning ideas that may be used in the future to help reform our country.

Pleas don't include post about a certain ethnic group to succeed from Nigeria, this is strictly for the betterment of "one Nigeria".

Go ahead, tell me! I'm dying to find out what you guys think would fix Nigeria.

bigfrancis21:
Actually, Onicha lect barely makes use of past tense markers, and present verbs and past verbs are the same. For example,
O mee ya? O mee ya.
Nwoke afu bia ebe a taa.
Kee mama yi? O jee afia nkwo.
Okolo a ka abiaro. Kee ebe o no kwanu? A fu m nya n'uzo ka m na-anata. (Notice the verb isn't 'a fulu m' or compare with 'a huru m' in central Igbo).
Onye nwee ife a? (Kee onye nwere ife a?)
O nwe efe m nwe di ka nke yi (O nwere efe m nwere di ka nke gi - central Igbo)
Chinwendu (Chi nwere ndu in central Igbo)

Thus, your response in proper Onitsha would be:
O di mma, maka bigfrancis21 mee ya. Daalu nwanne mu.

However, some other Anambra dialects make use of the 'lu' suffix that indicates past tense. Due to intermingling of Anambra dialects, modern Onicha people might switch between suffix-less verbs and 'lu'-attached verbs.

Thank you! Are there any other major differences that the Onitsha dialect has in comparison to many other Igbo dialects? I'd love to know!

oboy3:
Amarom makana aburom onye onicha ado n'idu

O di mma, maka bigfrancis21 melu ya. Daalu nwanne mu.

bigfrancis21:
The spelling was actually correct. Onicha is quite easy to speak. The music line in Onitsha would be:

Ka ayi solu uwa jee jee, solu uwa jee jee, o ya-adili yi mma.

So I'm guessing that pure Onitsha dialect, we use 'ya' instead of 'ga'?

bigfrancis21:
The spelling was actually correct. Onicha is quite easy to speak. The music line in Onitsha would be:

Ka ayi solu uwa jee jee, solu uwa jee jee, o ya-adili yi mma.

Daaluso ooo. Chukwu gozie yi nwanne m!

bigfrancis21:
Onyeoma Zoro by Prince Ralph Madu.

http://www.mp3cool.eu/index.php?q=onyeoma+zoro+by+ralph+madu

Daalu nwanne mu nwoke.

I don't know if this is the place to post this, but I'd love to hear some Igbo music in the Onitsha dialect with decent quality? Any suggestions?

The purpose of this is to get closer to my culture and my people, because I wasn't raised in Onitsha.

Daalu

Ke ka unu mee?

I posted this before, bit nobody answered. I guess that it was too early in the morning...

I'm from Onitsha, and can't even fluently speak my own dialect, it's sad.

Anyway, many people know of Chimuanya Okere, there is something that he says in one of his songs that I desperately want translated into Onitsha dialect.

He says, "Ka anyi soro uwa je je, soro uwa je je, o ga diri gi nma."

Sorry if the spelling was off, I wasn't raised in Igboland.

Please, I need this translated! Thank you, and God bless!

Ke ka unu mee?

I'm from Onitsha, and can't even fluently speak my own dialect, it's sad.

Anyway, many people know of Chimuanya Okere, there is something that he says in one of his songs that I desperately want translated into Onitsha dialect.

He says, "Ka anyi soro uwa je je, soro uwa je je, o ga diri gi nma."

Sorry if the spelling was off, I wasn't raised in Igboland.

Please, I need this translated! Thank you, and God bless!

Please let this information be true. He's committed many atrocities against Nigerians, and it is good to know that he may actually be stopped. May God judge him for his ruthlessness against many Northeastern Nigerians.


I would like to warn you people though. While this news may actually be true, remember that Nigeria is the only country where anything can happen.

bigfrancis21: Watch this movie, Nneka the Pretty Serpent:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeIg6jtFxCY

The lead actress, Nneka, spoke fluent Onitsha dialect all through. You will also learn a lot of Onitsha Igbo from her in the movie.

The opening scene of the movie by an elderly woman, Nneka's mother, was in fluent Onitsha too.

I'll make sure that I watch this movie, daalu!

bigfrancis21: Nnoo Abumonye, nwa onitsha.

Kee ka ndi bee yi mee?

I speak Anambra Igbo fluently and Onitsha dialect fluently to a proficient extent. It is actually the pleasant of all Igbo dialects and commonly used in Igbo language movies.

The best way to learn Onitsha dialect and/or Igbo in general will be to watching Igbo language movies where the Anambra Igbo dialect of Anambra is spoken. One notable actresses from Onitsha who speaks fluent onitsha in Igbo language movies without dilution is Rita Edochie. Watch Igbo language movies she acted and listen to her specifically for the Onitsha dialect. One of her Igbo language movies is:

Onye eze part 1 and 2:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX0sU5DIV18

Onitsha Igbo was spoken well here by Camilia Mberekpe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzK66MVSxw4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHzmWJO2JPA listen closely to Patience Ozokwor and the average height boy who was her son in the movie, he's from Onitsha and speaks fluent onitsha.


Also watch this video on the basic differences between Onitsha Igbo and Central Igbo(Igbo Izugbe) which is a conglomerate dilution of several Igbo dialects:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ahymgSXnvQ

Daalu nwanne m. I'll be sure to watch all of those movies! I can't thank you enough for all of this!

successking401: kedu ka anyi ga-esi bido? How do we start?

I guess some common differences that this dialect has with other dialects. Maybe some words that are used in this dialect that aren't in most others.

Daalu.

Ndi nairaland, ke ka unu mee?

Basically, my story is that I was born in Nigeria, but moved to America at a very young age. I'm half naija, half white. My father passed away about two years ago, and he (we) are from Onitsha. Since I wasn't raised in Igboland, I only got to learn my language through the Internet. While I would consider it successful, I never really learned MY dialect. I learned bits and pieces from other dialects, but I can neverify find anything on Onitsha dialect. I hope that you guys can help me, my father would be very proud.

Daalu.