₦airaland Forum

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!

E so na ife uwa nike, soro ya nwayo nwayo ka odiri anyi n'ma

ABUMONYE:
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!

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.

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:
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'?

Amarom makana aburom onye onicha ado n'idu

oboy3:
Amarom makana aburom onye onicha ado n'idu

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

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

Yea, e.g O ya-afukwa ife n'aka m, and in cases of personal future tense, i.e. 'I will'/'M ga', it is 'M ma' instead. e.g. M ma-eje afia.

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

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.

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

Onicha also use "ga" ,"nya" and "ya".

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!