₦airaland Forum

Gini bu ngen lol

tpia@:
Odumchi

i could be in my 70s but i have about four years to go.

Never knew you were an elder. I always pictured you much younger lol. You learn new things everyday.

jamace:
Umu nna, ekene mu unu o o!

I ma Igbo?

No more right to peaceful protest.

ezeagu:
Ọ wu ugbua wụrụ mgbe ndi Igbo juchara na ugwu awusa, naa kpa ngwonwo ahia ha, wụ mgbe ndi Igbo gi make-ise moves?

Ndakwan mgbe ay ga eme ukporo? O mgbe ndi nile bichagba na ugwu Awusa losara tam anyi asi ndi ive na guma "anyi choro ido ochichi?"

Mo ihe mu n'ekwu wu na ay bido osiso jikerewe. A na si "mgbe e mere, mgbe e mere" ay ga eme ihe a agafere ay aka. Abu odo amana abu ana wuru "2019, 2019". Igbo si na onye tesara osiso na aranhukwa osiso.

PAGAN 9JA:
then you take it with a stick and put it out or somewhere far away in a bag. snakes do not bite humans unless harmed or felt threatened. there is no point in killing it if you already know it is there in your home. that is senseless.

Wow, very interesting. Where I come from, you'll be praised for killing a snake.

ChinenyeN:
Who says udushi?

I think he means uchuchi or I may be wrong. Uchuchi is spoken in Anambra.

PAGAN  9JA:
yes yes. but in my place we are forbidden to kill snakes.

Why? So what if a snake crawled into someone's house?

Thread moved.

Chyz*:
Reviving or retaining is the most important thing.

Translate to Igbo/your dialect:

Girl                              Boy


Woman                        Man


Female                        Male
And please, lets not take to obvious words and mash them together. I chose this words because lots of time the same word is used for them all which means the originals are being slowly frustrated out.

Girl:                              Boy:
Agbogho.                     Okorobia

Woman:                       Man:
Inyom.                         Ikom

Female:                      Male:
Nwanyi                         Nwoke/Oke

Is this what you mean? I'm guessing you're trying to see if we use the same words for everything or if certain words have phased out.

Thread moved.

ifyalways:
^yeah right, I also remember the warning of never to respond to a call @ night until you see the face of the caller even if the voice sounds like ya mommas own.

Lol the good old days.

There is no doubt that Yoruba has gained some popularity among Western linguists but you might want to consider some of your points.

You said: "Most Nigerian songs that use our native language use Yoruba language."
Does this mean that Ibibio songs use Yoruba or Igbo songs are sung in Yoruba? Every ethnic group has it's own entertainment giants and artists. It's a thing to say that there are many songs in Yoruba but to say that most Nigerian songs are sung in Yoruba is something else. Until you have listened to an extensive collection of music from every ethnic group, you can't make this statement. 'Till then, it's merely a thing of opinion.

You also said: "Yoruba people seem to travel outside of Nigeria more than any other Nigerian tribe (this is based on anectodal evidence, so don't crucify me)." This can also be an opinion because until you've lived in every Nigerian-diaspora community you can't find out. And what anecdotal evidence was this?

As for the part about Yoruba language, you're correct. The Yoruba civilisation is studied by Afrologists and archaeologists so it's natural for the language to also be studied.

I'm guessing some of you might be from Edo state?  

OutlukBabe:
Language diversity is part of evolutionary trends, and the benefit of the language is specific to the period between evolutionary transition, unless if they are hindered by political decisions. Nigerian languages, together with most African languages, are lagging behind, if not completely stagnant in terms of development when compared to other European languages. We no longer develop new words for new items, process, procedures, disease, etc. However, European languages, are continuously developing. Countries as small Croatia, Albania, Czech, Hungary, etc uses their mother language as official language.

This is the reason why I am a strong believer of the need to restructure Nigeria into more federating units with independent political mandate so that our people can decide their destiny, and be proud of their languages and culture.

I see sense in what you're saying. The more states there are, the greater the amount of development that will come to an individual area, group, or people. However, it would be difficult for everyone to choose one language to replace English due to our diversity. English is our language of documentation but we do have three official languages which are each used in broadcasting, literature, speech, and in government. The other languages are used on the state/local government level. For example in the capital of Edo State, the state government can converse and work in Edo but let's say in a non-Edo local government the officials can work in whatever their local language is. However, in the federal level all proceedings can only be done in English, Igbo, Hausa, or Yoruba. So to an extent, people have control over their langauges.
Another thing to consider us that the amount if development a language receives depends upon the number of speakers it has. All of those European languages you listed have millions of speakers as opposed to the average Nigerian language (excluding Igbo, Hausa, Ibibio, Efik, Yoruba, Edo, Fulfude, and Ijaw) which has anywhere from 100 - 1 million speakers.

Reference:
Cannot understand how that kind of diversity can ever be a blessing or project any kind of advantage when the scriptural origins portend a curse by God on inappropriate ambition.  Can't we see that the most linguistically and culturally diverse nation - Nigeria struggles to weld her peoples together.

The cost of our diversity is very high and I think reducing not increasing the languages we learn and use is the better way to go.

You're not looking at the positives. How interesting would life be if everyone spoke the same language as you, dressed as you, thought as you thought and etc? Besides, look at nations like Singapore. Singapore is a very ethnically diverse country yet it is prospering.

tpia@:
my grandpa was about 17 or 20 when benin was sacked, but i dont know where exactly he was at the time.

@ Tpia
Doesn't that mean you should be in your 70s?

@ General
I'm guessing that the Nri social structure which is said to have been replaced by the Edo kind in Ikaland is characterized by a community ruled by a priest-king and a council of elders whereas the Edo version is ruled by an powerful monarchial type figure?

Thread moved.

This is interesting, but don't you think the etymology of these words should be considered when determining their relationship with each other? I understand the word "Negro" means "black" but it didn't originally carry a negative connotation. I think this change occurred mainly during the Atlantic Slave Trading era when black-skinned Africans were seen as people "ripe" for enslavement.

In response to your question, this thread seems to talk more about the cultural evolution of these words rather than their racist side. So I think it will fit best here.

Thread moved.

StarFlux:
That's the thing. If I were to learn Edo, I'd have no way of getting my hand on dictionaries and teaching books (if they even exist). I'd have to stay in Benin City for a long time to even get something out of it. My father's a busy man, so while he could be able to teach me the basics, he's no teacher, and without books it would be very hard to to learn something. As I mentioned earlier, my family is spread all over the world, Europe, Africa and America. And I don't have frequent contant with most of them, so the only one I'd be speaking Edo with would be my father and a very few others. So, very limited use overall.

While in Nigeria, Yoruba would also be much more convinient than Edo and I would be able to purchase books to study here in Norway more easily.

While I do want to learn Edo, I think I will have more use for Yoruba.
Hmm, decisions.

Based on this, it seems you are leaning towards Yoruba and that's great since it will be more useful to you and also satisfies your interest. Remember you can always learn Edo after Yoruba or vise versa.

Hey Starflux,

I think I can render some help. There seems to be several factors that can influence which language you choose to learn.
You said your father was Edo, so if you want to learn Edo to communicate with him or your people in Nigeria it seems like a good idea. Or if you want to learn Edo to make up for that part of your past which you never got, it seems also like a good idea. You might also want to consider things like:

How available are the resources for learning this language?
How often will I use it?

You said you're interested in learning Yoruba and it can also be a fine choice along with Igbo. However, remember to learn a language that will benefit you and one that you will be using often. At the end of the day it all boils down to what makes you happier.

Good luck with whichever one you decide to learn!

Hewu!

Nna, Dem_People imara aga aza etu ava o! Ekelere diri gi iwu ezigbo nwa avo Igbo, agu!

Umunnem nochagba na thread a, owu inyi kachasi me o!
Inyi nile wu ngozi Chukwu nyerere ali Igbo,
Inyi wu ndi m'ji aga mba,
Inyi wu anya na agbara oha aka ebe,
Inyi wu ndi m'ji akpa nganga!

Chukwu ga agozi ay dum na Ava ovuru ay na abai. O ga ewgara ay oganivu, azi ike, umumaihe, yana mkpa obi ay za na ike na amara Chineke. Iseee.

5. O'boy - friend
6. Abi - Right (as in "exactly, right?"
7. Chop - eat
8. Wahalla - trouble
9. Sabi - to know
10. Waka - travel/go/walk

It's still 2011 for us folks in the US. But Happy New Year to all!

^^^
I wish all the blessings of God upon you during this new year.

Revolutionary.