₦airaland Forum

Learn Igbo and the the central Igbo I mean

Olu20090:
Smells like an Afonja unity beggar aka One Nigerian deceiving you. Biafrans, how could you people not sense this? My people why, SMH! I have known these people all my life, so I know when I read their post. This is a certified afonja! No sensible Igbo man believes in this country. I said none if they are honest with themselves and Chukwu Okike Abiama (God of Abraham)

among smart people there would always be a slowpoke

DonGtoG1:
Whichever language you choose to learn depends on what you want to use it for! .

He's just having identity issues – goes beyond language.

The Igbo we sabi, who e epp?

Shawncavendish:
"Áchọ̀rọ̀ m" (Igbo izugbe) and "Áchọ̀lụ m" (Onitsha dialect) mean "I want", while "Àchọ́rọ̄ m" (Onitsha dialect) and ("Àchọ́ghị m" (izugbe) mean "I don't want". Take note of the tone marks. Some words are spelt the same but have different tones. If you understand the difference in tone, you'll realise that "Áchọ̀rọ̀ m" and "Àchọ́rọ̄ m" are different sentences with different meanings.

Kill me already.

I understand your plight. This is what many children born in the diaspora are coping with.
I will suggest you learn Nigerian/West African Pidgin. Then Igbo, Yoruba or any other tongue. With Pidgin, you'll be able to connect with any Nigerian.

bigfrancis21:
This is really a sad situation regarding the Igbo language. It is dying a gradual death honestly, and with each passing generation the number of fluent speakers keep reducing. Igbo parents are repeating the same mistake each passing year. There is a gradual switch to English and were as a tribe are on this gradual journey of switching to English language. Something needs to be done about the Igbo language honestly. The attitude of our people towards the language is disheartening. On my father's side, they were about 8 surviving adults out of 9 children of which only one family raised their children in Igbo. All other 7 adults raised their kids in English and 90% of them/us (28 in total) do not speak Igbo as young adults today. In my own family (my dad is the 3rd son), I am the only one who speaks Igbo fluently, my 3 siblings do not speak and do not care to put effort into speaking, so do most of my cousins. We lost our grandmother last year and one of my pains was losing a matriarch who was so versed in the Igbo language who passed down the language to her children but her children failed to do the same to their own children. Learning Igbo as an adult is not easy and this is what many Igbo parents who speak Igbo do not understand because it comes easy to them as they were raised with it. However, if you put in efforts you will be solid in the language in about 2 to 3 years.

While I understand the sentiment...

Languages die.

Even more distinguished languages have vanished, and are understood only by a handful of academics.

Language is utilitarian, and if something easier, more widely spoken, or more upwardly mobile comes along, the one of lesser utility gets dumped.

uchefefe:
Could you clarify on this? I'm not sure exactly what you mean.

Yoruba, for most people, is the easiest major Nigerian language to learn but since you are Igbo I'll advice you learn both. Yoruba if you learn it as easy as I project, will help you to feel/stay connected to your Nigerian roots and learning Igbo will help you connect to your real tribal/cultural history. I haven't gone through the comments but regardless of whatsoever you read, not all Nigerians are tribal bigots. cheers!

uchefefe:
I know Nigerian Pidgin fairly well actually.



I do plan on learning all of them someday. I don't want to just scratch the surface with them though; I want to learn them deeply and fluently. It is difficult to balance that with also working on my doctorate. I will take what you said into account thought, that may be a good approach!



See I really do want to, but it feels as though it has so many more obstacles than the other languages. Learning in the U.S. I have to use books and dictionaries that use Izugbe. Because Izugbe isn't a real dialect I've learned Igbo that no one actually uses to speak. The first time I went to Nigeria and tried talking with my aunts and uncles, none of them understood what I was trying to say becuase Izugbe is so different compared to their dialect. There's also olilo uduame which makes it incredible difficult for me to understand what people are saying. On top of that, Igbo people seem really reluctant to help or even speak the language (at least abroad). I grew up outside of Ala Igbo, but I did belong to a small Igbo community with around 30 adults. I asked all of them and only one was actually willing to help me after my father refused to teach me, the rest just dismissed me. In addition, all the Igbo people in my generation I've met at colleges can't speak Igbo. Even many of my cousins don't speak the language despite being born and raised in Ala Igbo. My experience is limited, so I ask is the language really thiving and worth learning like the other two?

l can teach you.

lgbo ain't that hard..

uchefefe:
In your personal experience, do Igbo people in Nigeria often speak their language the way Yoruba people do

Contrary to what you might think, even this Forum is littered with plenty of folks who are passionate about Igbo language, culture, existence and very many of us would be willing to help in our own little ways. Feel free to ask questions and you'll definitely get the answers you seek.

I know how it is I have been in Chicago for 7yrs now and it's embarrassing but being able to speak your language of heritage I am Igbo but spent most of my life in a Yoruba environment

uchefefe:
I know Nigerian Pidgin fairly well actually.



I do plan on learning all of them someday. I don't want to just scratch the surface with them though; I want to learn them deeply and fluently. It is difficult to balance that with also working on my doctorate. I will take what you said into account thought, that may be a good approach!



See I really do want to, but it feels as though it has so many more obstacles than the other languages. Learning in the U.S. I have to use books and dictionaries that use Izugbe. Because Izugbe isn't a real dialect I've learned Igbo that no one actually uses to speak. The first time I went to Nigeria and tried talking with my aunts and uncles, none of them understood what I was trying to say becuase Izugbe is so different compared to their dialect. There's also olilo uduame which makes it incredible difficult for me to understand what people are saying. On top of that, Igbo people seem really reluctant to help or even speak the language (at least abroad). I grew up outside of Ala Igbo, but I did belong to a small Igbo community with around 30 adults. I asked all of them and only one was actually willing to help me after my father refused to teach me, the rest just dismissed me. In addition, all the Igbo people in my generation I've met at colleges can't speak Igbo. Even many of my cousins don't speak the language despite being born and raised in Ala Igbo. My experience is limited, so I ask is the language really thiving and worth learning like the other two?

l can teach you.

lgbo ain't that hard..l have rubbed shoulders with native Americans and they couldn't help admitting that lgbo is magically beautiful. You have lgbo blood running in your veins so you can do better.

Have you ever wooed a lady, mixing up lgbo and English..? so surreal!!

l once called my friend on the phone- a 70years old American woman:

Me: Nne kedu ka imere?
Her: obi di m mma......

bigfrancis21:
The attitude of we Igbos ourselves towards our language needs to change. One of my paternal aunts (1 of 8 surviving adults) who herself speaks Igbo fluently said she prefers Peter Okoye to Paul Okoye because, 'Paul is local and uses more Igbo in his songs, but Peter is more refined' (ever noticed how Peter Okoye nearly never uses Igbo in his songs?)

Peter Okoye's problem is pyschological and is as a result of acute inferiority complex. He is married to an over-bearing Yoruba woman. The only way he can get validation from his Yoruba wife and in-laws is to discard all vestiges of Igbo from his person. That is a precondition for accepting him into the Yoruba commonwealth. The same thing applies to so many other Igbos born and living in Lagos. Losing that civil war damaged the Igbo psyche alot.

sonofthunder:
Yoruba, for most people, is the easiest major Nigerian language to learn but since you are Igbo I'll advice you learn both. Yoruba if you learn it as easy as I project, will help you to feel/stay connected to your Nigerian roots and learning Igbo will help you connect to your real tribal/cultural history. I haven't gone through the comments but regardless of whatsoever you read, not all Nigerians are tribal bigots. cheers!

Instead of encouraging him to learn the language of his roots, you're telling him to learn Yoruba firstly and Igbo as an optional choice. Quite clever of you and yet you're not a 'tribal bigot'. Tribal bigotry must have a different kind of meaning in these parts.

Bros,
Just calm down first
If you are truly interested in learning IGBO LANGUAGE just create a private account on Whatsapp or Messenger and holla at your new Tutor

@uchefefe. Hi, I kind of understand what you going through. Even though I have lived in Nigeria all my life, I am not fluent in Igbo. Unlike your case I had a willing father but I was an unwilling student. I only just realised the importance of knowing how to speak my language. Luckily for me, my grandma lives with me and this has helped my Igbo a lot. I suggest you get yourself some Igbo speaking friends and tell them to communicate with you in Igbo. It may seem difficult but you'll be surprised that there are many around you. I know some people from my village that were born and bred in the US but speak fluent Igbo and they definitely won't be the only ones.
One thing I've noticed with Igbo folk is that once they realise that you can't speak Igbo, they won't speak speak the language to you. You have to tell them that you want them to speak the language to you and even then sometimes they will still revert to English. I wish you good luck in learning the language.

Heyzee5:
Learn your language.....Very important. As for other languages, learn Yoruba. I believe Yoruba is one of the easiest languages to learn (Note: Am a Yoruba person)......i am sure others can tell you this. Hausa Language too is also fun to learn. Now contrary to your opinion that Igbos do not speak their language to each other, I believe they do because when I was serving in 2017, at the corper's lodge, we had people from the three tribes there and the Igbos among us rarely spoke english just so we can't hear what they were saying. Even the Hausa's did thesame. We the Yorubas seem to be the only ones attempting to include everyone in our conversation by speaking English anytime people from other tribes were around. That they don't speak abroad may just be something with the environment in the US. Maybe they are too ashamed of speaking their language or they don't want to be perceived as wierd!

So my point being learn in this order: Igbo...Yoruba.....Hausa.

There is one language I will love to learn though.....that Language they speak in Naruto Shippuden.....don't know if its Japanese or Korean.....damn I just love the stress of that language and the overall sound of it

Naruto is a Japanese anime, they speak Japanese

The official language of Nigeria is English, stop wasting your time with anything else!

African Americans cannot speak English coherently but want to learn other languages


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qr_FYf2jma0

uchefefe:
Hello!

For background, I was born to a Igbo father and a black American mother. I grew up in the U.S., and because my father didn't teach me anything about Nigeria, for the first part of my life I didn't even know I belonged to another culture. As I got a bit older I would question him about things pertaining to Nigeria; his response was "that's not important" or "don't ask such questions, focus on your book instead". At some point I asked him if he spoke another language. He confirmed that he did, but when I asked him to teach me he told me "no one speaks it, instead we just use English" and I accepted that answer.

I had a revelation one day in middle school when eating lunch with one of my friends. Like me she was born in the U.S., but had Chinese parents. We had gone to school together for nearly 10 years, so I was shocked when one day she picked up a phone call from her grandmother and spoke to her in fluent Chinese. When I questioned her on how she learned, she told me that her parents had been teaching her. That way, if she ever goes to China she won't struggle to communicate with her people, and if she chooses not to go she'll at least be able to talk with her grandparents that don't know English.

This impassioned me and that evening when my father came home from work I begged him to teach me Igbo, even though "no one speaks it". He agreed and taught me simple phrases like "kedu", "afa m bu", and "o di mma". The thing is, which it was nice to know these things I could not actually use them to communicate. I didn't understand Igbo grammar and my vocabulary was limited to basic greetings. When I began asking him the name of household items and chores he became angry with me. He told me I was focusing on Igbo and not my books (even though my grades were great), and that he'll punish me if I keep asking so I stopped.

Getting more so to the point, I'm now a graduate student in my early 20's. While I have tried my best to study Igbo, I have met many frustrations that have led me to investigate Hausa and Yoruba. At this point, it simply pains me that when I meet people from my country, I have no means of communicating with people from my country besides English. I plan on moving to Nigeria in the not-so-distant future, and when I go I want to be fluent is something.

Between the three major languages, the arguments I have for each are:

Igbo
As an Igbo person, it makes sense for me to prioritize my language. I don't want to just sit there confused and lost during family gatherings, I also want to be able to speak to my grandparents who don't understand English well. That's really the only positives of Igbo though, even excluding the past experiences mention above, I've over all become disheartened by the idea of learning the language for a variety of reasons.

Yoruba
One thing I like about Yoruba language is that Yoruba people seem to have put a lot of effort into developing it and teaching it. Most Nigerians I've met in the U.S. that speak a Nigerian language speak Yoruba, despite the fact that I've met mostly Igbo people. In addition, of Nigerians I've met also born in the U.S., only the Yoruba's are able to speak their language. Despite that, my family roots are in the South East. I may be able to speak with more Nigerians by learning Yoruba, but I'll still be disconnected from my family. Yoruba people might seem to have less of a "complex" when it comes to their language than Igbo people, but I have observed it's still there.

Hausa
I've only ever met one Hausa family in the U.S., but from what I've observed in Nigeria they seem to practice their language the most. In addition, it seems like Hausa is a lingua franca for most of the country, and many non-Hausas are fluent in the language. Hausa is one of the few sources I can find unadulterated practice of the language. It's also West Africa's most spoken indigenous languages. It still has the same problems a Yoruba though when it comes to connecting with my family. I also don't know how realistic it is to expect to live in the Northern Part of Nigeria as I have limited experience there.

Like I said, I want to move to Nigeria at some point and that's where I want to raise a family and start a career. When I have children I don't want them to grow up like me. I want them to be connected to their people and be able to communicate with them on a level no other group in the world can. I can tell my children to love and embrace African culture and languages when I know none myself.

I decided to come here for insight from other Nigerians as I have no one to talk to about this in real life. Given everything I've said what do you think I should do? At the end of the day I just want a sense connectivity and belonging among my people. I want to put my efforts into learning a language its speakers wholly embrace so I can pass it on to my children.

Also, I don't intend for this to be tribalistic at all. I would also appreciate if responses avoided tribalistic sentiments.

When the time come i suggest u should live in my state; Sokoto, its among the most peaceful states in Nigeria, Very cheap to live and there is no much competition in business and govt estanlishments

fx45:
Instead of encouraging him to learn the language of his roots, you're telling him to learn Yoruba firstly and Igbo as an optional choice. Quite clever of you and yet you're not a 'tribal bigot'. Tribal bigotry must have a different kind of meaning in these parts.

go back and point out where I asked him to learn Yoruba first. Its unwise to jump into conclusions on something you were impatient to properly comprehend with a desire to respond to. You don't even know which tribe I happen to be. Please keep you hatred and bitterness to yourself.

uchefefe:
Hello!

For background, I was born to a Igbo father and a black American mother. I grew up in the U.S., and because my father didn't teach me anything about Nigeria, for the first part of my life I didn't even know I belonged to another culture. As I got a bit older I would question him about things pertaining to Nigeria; his response was "that's not important" or "don't ask such questions, focus on your book instead". At some point I asked him if he spoke another language. He confirmed that he did, but when I asked him to teach me he told me "no one speaks it, instead we just use English" and I accepted that answer.

I had a revelation one day in middle school when eating lunch with one of my friends. Like me she was born in the U.S., but had Chinese parents. We had gone to school together for nearly 10 years, so I was shocked when one day she picked up a phone call from her grandmother and spoke to her in fluent Chinese. When I questioned her on how she learned, she told me that her parents had been teaching her. That way, if she ever goes to China she won't struggle to communicate with her people, and if she chooses not to go she'll at least be able to talk with her grandparents that don't know English.

This impassioned me and that evening when my father came home from work I begged him to teach me Igbo, even though "no one speaks it". He agreed and taught me simple phrases like "kedu", "afa m bu", and "o di mma". The thing is, which it was nice to know these things I could not actually use them to communicate. I didn't understand Igbo grammar and my vocabulary was limited to basic greetings. When I began asking him the name of household items and chores he became angry with me. He told me I was focusing on Igbo and not my books (even though my grades were great), and that he'll punish me if I keep asking so I stopped.

Getting more so to the point, I'm now a graduate student in my early 20's. While I have tried my best to study Igbo, I have met many frustrations that have led me to investigate Hausa and Yoruba. At this point, it simply pains me that when I meet people from my country, I have no means of communicating with people from my country besides English. I plan on moving to Nigeria in the not-so-distant future, and when I go I want to be fluent is something.

Between the three major languages, the arguments I have for each are:

Igbo
As an Igbo person, it makes sense for me to prioritize my language. I don't want to just sit there confused and lost during family gatherings, I also want to be able to speak to my grandparents who don't understand English well. That's really the only positives of Igbo though, even excluding the past experiences mention above, I've over all become disheartened by the idea of learning the language for a variety of reasons.

Yoruba
One thing I like about Yoruba language is that Yoruba people seem to have put a lot of effort into developing it and teaching it. Most Nigerians I've met in the U.S. that speak a Nigerian language speak Yoruba, despite the fact that I've met mostly Igbo people. In addition, of Nigerians I've met also born in the U.S., only the Yoruba's are able to speak their language. Despite that, my family roots are in the South East. I may be able to speak with more Nigerians by learning Yoruba, but I'll still be disconnected from my family. Yoruba people might seem to have less of a "complex" when it comes to their language than Igbo people, but I have observed it's still there.

Hausa
I've only ever met one Hausa family in the U.S., but from what I've observed in Nigeria they seem to practice their language the most. In addition, it seems like Hausa is a lingua franca for most of the country, and many non-Hausas are fluent in the language. Hausa is one of the few sources I can find unadulterated practice of the language. It's also West Africa's most spoken indigenous languages. It still has the same problems a Yoruba though when it comes to connecting with my family. I also don't know how realistic it is to expect to live in the Northern Part of Nigeria as I have limited experience there.

Like I said, I want to move to Nigeria at some point and that's where I want to raise a family and start a career. When I have children I don't want them to grow up like me. I want them to be connected to their people and be able to communicate with them on a level no other group in the world can. I can tell my children to love and embrace African culture and languages when I know none myself.

I decided to come here for insight from other Nigerians as I have no one to talk to about this in real life. Given everything I've said what do you think I should do? At the end of the day I just want a sense connectivity and belonging among my people. I want to put my efforts into learning a language its speakers wholly embrace so I can pass it on to my children.

Also, I don't intend for this to be tribalistic at all. I would also appreciate if responses avoided tribalistic sentiments.

I want to be brief on my suggestions. I will advise you look around you and see, the population of Nigeria tribe that surround you. Learning all the language give you edge as a Nigerian, but be precise on which one you can grab, and the most needed for communication when you come down here. Thank You

Your father may not be fluent in the Igbo language have you considered that?


As for which language to learn, learn your own language first, remember you'll be carrying your famuoy name forward. Beat the challengings and go all out of learn Igbo...

Who knows, maybe you'll end up a professor in Igbo

Good luck

Mr. Uche spend one year in your village you'll learn your language automatically I assure you. That's how I learnt Igbo cause I didn't grow up in Igbo land but I developed interest in learning it I went there and I learnt.

bigfrancis21:
This is really a sad situation regarding the Igbo language. It is dying a gradual death honestly, and with each passing generation the number of fluent speakers keep reducing. Igbo parents are repeating the same mistake each passing year. There is a gradual switch to English and were as a tribe are on this gradual journey of switching to English language. Something needs to be done about the Igbo language honestly. The attitude of our people towards the language is disheartening. On my father's side, they were about 8 surviving adults out of 9 children of which only one family raised their children in Igbo. All other 7 adults raised their kids in English and 90% of them/us (28 in total) do not speak Igbo as young adults today. In my own family (my dad is the 3rd son), I am the only one who speaks Igbo fluently, my 3 siblings do not speak and do not care to put effort into speaking, so do most of my cousins. We lost our grandmother last year and one of my pains was losing a matriarch who was so versed in the Igbo language who passed down the language to her children but her children failed to do the same to their own children. Learning Igbo as an adult is not easy and this is what many Igbo parents who speak Igbo do not understand because it comes easy to them as they were raised with it. However, if you put in efforts you will be solid in the language in about 2 to 3 years.

I've been to Igbo gatherings here in the US where I spoke Igbo and my peers and even the elderly ones looked at me like seeing a Nigerian-born and raised speaking Chinese. Why is it such a surprise among Igbos to see an Igbo speaking their language? It is starting to get common seeing Igbos in their 30s who can't speak Igbo and this was very rare about 20 to 30 years ago. The massive shift towards raising kids in English started around the 80s/90s and spread very quickly in the 2000s. These kids are now young adults in their 30s to 40s and some are non-Igbo speakers. Igbos abroad do not do a good job at all as regards the language and your father's attitude is quite sad. Seeing a US-born Igbo who speaks Igbo is like finding a needle in a sack of sand. Maybe these parents forget that they won't live forever and someday most of them would be gone and we would be left with non-Igbo speaking adults in their 40s and 50s. This can be likened to how African languages phased out among educated first-generation slaves from West Africa in Freetown, Sierra Leone and amongst slaves generally in the US. Freed slaves who settled in Freetown, Sierra Leone obtained education and by their next generation (2nd generation), probably less than 40% (born in Sierra Leone) could speak their mother tongue, the other 60% being raised in English. Come 50 years after, the educated first-generation African ex-slaves were gone leaving behind a generation with passable command of their mother tongues. By the third generation, all traces of spoken African languages were gone and the switch to English language was completed. This was not done by no one but by we Africans ourselves.

The attitude of we Igbos ourselves towards our language needs to change. One of my paternal aunts (1 of 8 surviving adults) who herself speaks Igbo fluently said she prefers Peter Okoye to Paul Okoye because, 'Paul is local and uses more Igbo in his songs, but Peter is more refined' (ever noticed how Peter Okoye nearly never uses Igbo in his songs?)

As regards the language to learn, you should learn Igbo, being an Igbo person yourself. If you relocate to Nigeria you could learn Igbo faster and better, especially if you spend some time in your village or hire an Igbo tutor to teach and practice the language with you. Unlike the Yorubas, I've noticed that Igbo speakers are not usually keen on teaching others the language. Back in my university days, I had a few non-Igbo classmates who were excited about learning/practicing their Igbo skills and majority of my classmates were not interested in practicing with them except me. You will find people like this in Nigeria but do not be discouraged. You would find some people who would give you the 'are you crazy' looks that you (an American) is trying to speak Igbo 'when you should be speaking Americana/American English instead'. But do not be discouraged.

Igbo grammar is quite tonal, like other West African languages, and uses a different set of stress glands compared to English so you would need to pay attention to it when learning the language. There are plenty of Igbo language movies online (Youtube etc) and they can be helpful. If you haven't yet, join Umu Igbo Unite (a US-based organization for Igbo people in the diaspora, mostly US-born) and they often hold Igbo language classes where you can learn Igbo. I've been to one of their events and saw several US-born Igbos who learned fluent Igbo from those classes - they do a good job.

If you believe you can do it, you will do it.

I don't agree... however I don't disagree.

It's not only Igbo

I've started noticing this with Hausas. Anytime they enter city they tend to want to form English. I have many idoma friends... anytime I ask them regarding their language they just shove it off. It's the attitude of "Civilization"


English men committed the greatest sin on earth. See what they've done to Africa.

fx45:
Peter Okoye's problem is pyschological and is as a result of acute inferiority complex. He is married to an over-bearing Yoruba woman. The only way he can get validation from his Yoruba wife and in-laws is to discard all vestiges of Igbo from his person. That is a precondition for accepting him into the Yoruba commonwealth. The same thing applies to so many other Igbos born and living in Lagos. Losing that civil war damaged the Igbo psyche alot.

If I had seen this first, I doubt I would have responded to your mention.

Hausa or Yoruba will be perfect...learning any other language will be a waste of your time.

.

sonofthunder:
go back and point out where I asked him to learn Yoruba first. Its unwise to jump into conclusions on something you were impatient to properly comprehend with a desire to respond to. You don't even know which tribe I happen to be. Please keep you hatred and bitterness to yourself.

My friend you stated it clearly you're Yoruba. Stop trying to be clever by half

Even though I am a Yoruba man living in the USA myself, I think learning your father's language should be paramount because it can help fill a lot of gaps in your life and also the Igbo are very successful and take pride in their culture . Learn it and connect with your father's people. Plus i think they will disown you if you said you could speak Yoruba and not igbo.

But do not partake in all the tribalism that you might come across because no one tribe is better than the other..We are all Nigerians and one day we will realize that.

It is a pity that your father does not want to teach you the Igbo language.
This may be due to a conclusion that your family, especially you, is going to spend eternity in the U.S. so no need for the language.
Or he does not know much about the language and is using your study as an excuse.

It is ironic because there are Igbo families in the diaspora who send their kids home so they can learn the language and culture of their people.
In today's World, where everyone understands English, what sets you and your children, kinsmen, etc apart and gives you some measure of privacy/secrecy is your vernacular.

Now to your question; you should learn Igbo because you have Igbo root and most of your interactions when you come home will be with people of your root. Start with the language closest to you. You can pick up Hausa and/or Yoruba along the way. In fact, virtually every Igbo person living in Lagos speaks Yoruba. My relatives lived in the North and they speak fluent Hausa. Their kids also speak Hausa and Igbo.

Igbo is a very interesting language if you know it. Many shy away from teaching you because they do not know how to do it.
When I was working in the North, I bought a book titled "Teach Yourself Hausa," which, incidentally, was written by a white man!

Central Igbo (Igbo Izugbe) is the unifying spoken and written Igbo. It will not be difficult for the Onitsha man to understand the Owerri, Nnewi, Ohafia, Afikpo, or Mgboo man.

Regarding your confusion with "achoro m" (meaning both 'I want" and "I don't want", the usage is contextual.
Also the tone makes a difference. In high school in those days, we did it under the topic called Tone Marking (flat, rising, and falling).
The "achoro m" that means "I want" is soft and has flat tone markings all through.
Compare with the opposite ("I don't want), which has a rebellious, rising tone, just as saying to someone "Leave me alone!"

Make use of those who are willing to help you. Also there are Nigerian movies on YouTube with English on-screen translations you can watch.
You can actually visit your people and by the time you spend a few weeks with them, you will have learnt a lot.

I encourage you in your effort. It may not be easy but you will not regret it in the end.

learn chinese instead. Chinese taking over the word.

Opiletool:
Op, as for your future questions, one step at a time is all I can tell you. Learn igbo first, since you say you often find yoruba speakers willing to teach you yoruba, you can also pick one or two words during a conversation. However, devote more time to learning Igbo. Who knows, your kids might even be more passionate than you in their time. And I believe the Igbo language is not gonna die. Stop worrying about future events, when you get to that bridge, you will cross it.

Another suggestion I would like to make is, listen to Igbo songs, then ask any igbo person around you for the meaning of some expressions. That will also help.

or watch african magic igbo.they translate .

uchefefe:
I know Nigerian Pidgin fairly well actually.



I do plan on learning all of them someday. I don't want to just scratch the surface with them though; I want to learn them deeply and fluently. It is difficult to balance that with also working on my doctorate. I will take what you said into account thought, that may be a good approach!



See I really do want to, but it feels as though it has so many more obstacles than the other languages. Learning in the U.S. I have to use books and dictionaries that use Izugbe. Because Izugbe isn't a real dialect I've learned Igbo that no one actually uses to speak. The first time I went to Nigeria and tried talking with my aunts and uncles, none of them understood what I was trying to say becuase Izugbe is so different compared to their dialect. There's also olilo uduame which makes it incredible difficult for me to understand what people are saying. On top of that, Igbo people seem really reluctant to help or even speak the language (at least abroad). I grew up outside of Ala Igbo, but I did belong to a small Igbo community with around 30 adults. I asked all of them and only one was actually willing to help me after my father refused to teach me, the rest just dismissed me. In addition, all the Igbo people in my generation I've met at colleges can't speak Igbo. Even many of my cousins don't speak the language despite being born and raised in Ala Igbo. My experience is limited, so I ask is the language really thiving and worth learning like the other two?

U fit learn any language bro not only one we get dem plenti. Me I sabi like 10, so try learn dem boku.

Our languages are unique, if you can speak at least 5, you've tried bu