LKO:


Is Afieki and Udumowori not Ekpan? It seems u are not even getting my point. Anyway, thanks.

got it bro.. was just trying to say that those speaking the uvwie dialect are more concentrated in those Area / Street unlike area like New layout, Agadaga e.t.c those place re been inhabited by non indigene .so you won't find any native speaker there that was why i made reference to those particular place cous that's the core place in ekpan and we have more than 2thousand speaker alone in those area.

Hope u got wat am trying to say ?

bigfrancis21:


From my observation, deep Igbo dialects are harder to learn than the Onitsha or central Igbo which is way simpler in sentence structure and vocabulary. Just as Lagos Yoruba (simple in structure) is easier to pick up than more concentrated Yoruba dialects such as Ijebu. It is often easier for deep Igbo speakers to switch to central/Onitsha Igbo than vice versa. Such dialects are best learnt at childhood or during one's teenage years. I am surprised at how you are still not fluent at it despite starting at 12 to learn Ukwuani.

My dear, I've not been steady. I spent a couple of years in core Yoruba land serving my fatherland and working. That period my grasp of Uwkuani drastically declined while I began speaking Yoruba like a pro.

When I moved back to Lagos, I began relearning the language and now Yoruba has taken the backburner and ukwuani is at the forefront. I'm trying small small.

Efewestern:


got it bro.. was just trying to say that those speaking the uvwie dialect are more concentrated in those Area / Street unlike area like New layout, Agadaga e.t.c those place re been inhabited by non indigene .so you won't find any native speaker there that was why i made reference to those particular place cous that's the core place in ekpan and we have more than 2thousand speaker alone in those area.

Hope u got wat am trying to say ?

OK sir. Points well noted. What area are u from?

Igboid:


There is no pampering this people. Even if you kill yourself for them.

Those who love you will always love you.

How many times do you see these hatred towards the Igbo that emanate from Urhobo/Isoko/Ijaws towards the Igbo from the group's in Akwa Ibom and Cross River?
The answer is rarely.

The hate is ingrained in them. Trying to change it is waste of time better spent at planning on how to nullify their hatred and making sure they get consumed by it without harming you.

Who are these people and what are they called, which local government do they recide in?

LKO:

OK sir. Points well noted. What area are u from?

Actually from Ethiope east but grew up Here.. And u ?

bigfrancis21:


From my observation, deep Igbo dialects are harder to learn than the Onitsha or central Igbo which is way simpler in sentence structure and vocabulary. Just as Lagos Yoruba (simple in structure) is easier to pick up than more concentrated Yoruba dialects such as Ijebu. It is often easier for deep Igbo speakers to switch to central/Onitsha Igbo than vice versa. Such dialects are best learnt at childhood or during one's teenage years. I am surprised at how you are still not fluent at it despite starting at 12 to learn Ukwuani.

Deep igbo ?.. to me i see all Igbo languages to b easy o.. except those Ebonyi Dialect.. those ones en.. there igbo is like Chinese

Efewestern:

Actually from Ethiope east but grew up Here.. And u ?

Udu, Ughelli South and Uvwie (Udumowhori, Ekpan).

Elijahrona2:


Am isoko n have nothing to do with Igbo. Thank you

bt u understand igbo to sm extent, ryt?

LKO:


Udu, Ughelli South and Uvwie (Udumowhori, Ekpan).

Hmmm.. So whats your contribution ?.. how can we preserve our language.. especially the Uvwie and okpe dialect

Efewestern:


Hmmm.. So whats your contribution ?.. how can we preserve our language.. especially the Uvwie and okpe dialect

Contributors including you, have provided worthwhile solutions to the issue already. The challenge to ensure every one of us is to strive to learn the language and make sure our kids learn and speak our challenge.

victons:
bt u understand igbo to sm extent, ryt?

Nna eh

Nice post op, I have been thinking about this issue for something now, we have to take the message to everyone around us. By the way anyone with an idea of urhobo name that start with letter " J". I need suggestions. I have a plan to create a association for URHOBO living in Ghana, if interested contact me on +233248209704 or orsoft2489@gmail.com

fratermathy:


You are correct in many ways. The Edoid tribes need to unite and become a macro-ethnic group with our various languages as dialects. That is what Ijaws did and it is favouring them today. But the truth is that Urhobos are far too proud and disorganised for this to be dreamt of.

Your other position on minority studies is apt. We need centres devoted to the documentation of our languages in universities, not just in Nigeria but the whole world. In this regards, Diffre Akpobome has done much. He has presented proposals to various institutions and has engaged in Urhobo language documentation. Sadly, he is not encouraged by enough Urhobos in terms of finance.

Very true. Sadly it is not just the Urhobos alone. The quest for political relevance in the kill & divide system of Nigeria encourages every hamlet highlighting how different from others they are. Everyone wants a share of national cake.

Even the Yoruba we see today, time was when the Oyos, Aworis, Ijebus, Egbas, Ekitis spoke related dialects that were not necessarily mutually intelligible.

Partly the problem I can foresee in forming a macro-ethnic group will be the issue of fear dominance by one or the other tribe. In my part of Edo, we do not really consider non-Benin Edoid people as strangers. We have always believed that we're branches of same family tree. But sadly, this view is not widespread. Many Edoid people I discuss with are very surprised to hear me say so. Most quickly say they have no idea of our history.

But this is not even about history now: it is about sheer survival.

The shortsightedness of refusal to support Diffre Akpobome is that perhaps only Urhobos have been expected to chip in morally, academically or financially. Rather, it should be expected of all Edoid people and beyond. That's where an overarching body would be imperative, with various specialists for various related dialects.

It is a travesty that Niger Delta Cultural & Linguistic Foundation still does not exist. At least to the best of my knowledge.

If you have ever made any efforts to document the history of just your own village/town & publish it, you will appreciate the massive challenges and obstacles, some deliberately put in your way, that will frustrate you. So creating a macro-ethnicity in the current highly polarised & "money talks" circumstances of Nigeria would be monumental. But that is no reason to give up already.

amenuveve:
Nice post op, I have been thinking about this issue for something now, we have to take the message to everyone around us. By the way anyone with an idea of urhobo name that start with letter " J". I need suggestions. I have a plan to create a association for URHOBO living in Ghana, if interested contact me on +233248209704 or orsoft2489@gmail.com

I only know of Jaife (from Ejaife).

Good initiative. But if you cannot get enough Urhobo people around you, try to form an Edoid People association. This is the same issue of collective effort we are partly discussing here.

Efewestern:


Deep igbo ?.. to me i see all Igbo languages to b easy o.. except those Ebonyi Dialect.. those ones en.. there igbo is like Chinese

Hahahahaha u re so funny, nd u re right...

I swear this matter weak me. But I thank God for my roots; grew up in Warri and can speak Urhobo fluently.
I still do my best to transmit my own small knowledge of the Urhobo culture and language as I can.



May God not let our culture and language go extinct.

Urhobo ce ghwru-u.

amenuveve:
Nice post op, I have been thinking about this issue for something now, we have to take the message to everyone around us. By the way anyone with an idea of urhobo name that start with letter " J". I need suggestions. I have a plan to create a association for URHOBO living in Ghana, if interested contact me on +233248209704 or orsoft2489@gmail.com

The Urhobo progress Union (UPU) have branches all over including Europe a day America. I believe there's a good population of Urhobos in Ghana. Just try to connect. God bless you as you do.
Urhobo wadoo .

fratermathy:


The truth is Urhobos never claimed to be a major language or a political bloc as Igbos do. So I am not pained that we may not have acquired any high ranking positions. Our time will eventually come.

Like someone rightly said, you've only done more harm than good on this thread. You've further spoilt my perception of Igbos and I'm sure other Urhobos are in the same boat with me.

The greatness of a people does not lie in boasting... Always remember that.

u forced him into it by saying dey couldnt produce a common Vice president..... My opinion though

fratermathy:


Some people are trying to fix the problem. If you goto YouTube, you can search for Urhobo Cartoons and learn Urhobo from the basics very well. After that, you can proceed to watch Urhobo films (with English subtitles). The films are on YouTube too and they are quite good. Then we should befriend ourselves and enforce Urhobo as the only means of communication except on official terms. Someone even mailed me that he wants to develop an application for PCs, Android, etc, to learn Urhobo. Our children should be made to learn Urhobo as well. If we do this, we can complement the efforts of Urhobo Historical Society and Urhobo Progress Union so that Urhobo will not go extinct.

Bros. You dey try o, in your promotion of the Urhobo language and culture generally.
Oghene bruphiyo kewe Oniovo .

fratermathy:
The Dearth of Urhobo and Other Niger Deltan Languages

By Mathias Orhero

It's a pity that I have to code-mix English, Pidgin and my native Urhobo language as well as code-switch between them in any lengthy conversation with a kinsman. I am a product of the "wasted" generation, and my case is far better than what obtains for 90% of my peers. One of the things that I admire about Igbos, Yorubas and Hausas is their commitment to speaking their mother tongue. Sadly, for those of us in the Niger Delta, multi-ethnicity is our undoing. We have developed a very negative attitude towards our native Urhobo, Itsekiri, Ijaw, Isoko, Okpe (Urhobo dialect), Uvwie (Urhobo dialect), Bini, Esan, etc. We prefer to converse in Pidgin, which most of us have adopted as our first language. Some would rather speak English when they encounter people of their ethnic extraction instead of conversing in Urhobo for fear of being perceived as local.

Typical Urhobo interlocutors begin conversations with "Guy, how far na?" instead of "Oshare, mavor?". When the latter is said, they will call you an "Ogburhobo". This negative attitude is killing our language. The linguist, Macaulay Mowarin, has predicted the dearth of Urhobo language. Already, Okpe and Uvwie have less than a thousand speakers. Urhobo is in free fall and in about 30 years times, native speakers will be too insignificant for Urhobo to be called an ethnic group. Urhobos pride themselves as the 5th largest ethnic group in Nigeria. The irony is that only a little above 50% of Urhobos can speak the language fluently. Same goes for Isoko, our sister language.

One of the primary sources of this trend is that the colonial masters wanted to anglicise all of us. They knew our languages were diverse and unintelligible to them and one another. They reckoned that if they anglicised us, we would all merge into one people. However good their plans were, it was to our detriment. The Nigerian Pidgin evolved and filled the void between English and our native languages, and the Europeans hailed and encouraged it. The people of the Niger Delta took English a little bit too far when we began to see those who speak English as successful people. We associated aristocracy with the English language, and our native languages started dying...

Today, I am a product of the culminating effects of the preceding. However, I have been able to remedy my situation before it snowballed into a personal disaster and an existential crisis. Others still have the negative attitude and will prefer to learn Spanish, French, German, and worse, Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa. Many of the "wasted generation" individuals grew up in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and other cities in Nigeria, as well as other countries, and instead of showing interest in and learning their mother tongue, they'll actively learn the language of others who WILL NOT even acknowledge their language. I often encounter individuals of the two Nigerian largest tribes who believe all Niger Deltans are Igbos. They don't even recognise that most of these tribes are not linguistically similar to Igbo! Even with their bad attitude towards the minority languages, you still find the brainwashed individuals of the lost generation learning the languages of the big three and developing positive attitudes towards them while the negative attitude towards their mother tongue persists. It is not bad to be a polyglot or to speak many languages. However, charity must begin at home. I cannot learn Hausa, Igbo or Yoruba unless I have thoroughly mastered Urhobo. We must learn to put ours first. This microcosmic issue is what influences the "Cain-Abel" effect. This effect manifests when Nigerians believe anything Nigerian is bad and fake and everything European is perfect and right. We betray ourselves to keep capitalist societies that don't add to our economy running.

Having observed the trend, I decided to devote my scholarship to the documentation of Urhobo language, literature and culture. I may not be able to do much in changing our negative attitudes towards our native languages, but I'll be able to preserve our cherished language and culture, in case we snowball into extinction. God forbids it ever gets to that point!

Mathias Orhero writes from Okpara-Inland, Nigeria. He is a literary scholar and writer. Reach him on literarymathy[at]gmail.com.

I love this article. I really hope your drop of water will one day make a mighty ocean. I can relate because I'm always pained that I'm not fluent in my local Akoko dialect (I understand but can't speak) so I wonder what it feels like not to understand the mother language.

Parents must as a matter of urgency start teaching their children our languages and dialects and not this modern trend of speaking English (usually half baked) to them right from when they are still babies. Otherwise, even the so-called big languages bar Hausa will soon be lost.

amenuveve:
Nice post op, I have been thinking about this issue for something now, we have to take the message to everyone around us. By the way anyone with an idea of urhobo name that start with letter " J". I need suggestions. I have a plan to create a association for URHOBO living in Ghana, if interested contact me on +233248209704 or orsoft2489@gmail.com

Jiro from Ejiro.

Jeroghene.

fratermathy:


We have dictionaries but they are not very comprehensive. A Bible is even better but many Urhobos who are expert speakers can't read Urhobo. That is even another problem entirely. 80% of Urhobos who are expert speakers can't process a written Urhobo sentence.


We really have a long way, I tell you. My prayer is that our youths should show a little interest and dedication so that we won't lose our heritage. If it misses our generation, we will never get it again. We will have only names as relics of our culture.

Yeah you're correct. One thing I've observed is that the highest concentration of expert Urhobo speakers who are also literate are in our Churches. (dem plenty die for Warri.). So we have to work with them. I for one am self-taught in Urhobo writing though I'm still learning. I've been interpreting Urhobo in my local church in Warri for about 5 years now since my teenage years. By the grace of God, I can also call myself an "expert speaker" of the language.
God dey.

Where do I even start from?

Thing is, I'll see a thread like this, feel bad about myself, forget the next minute because life goes on. Can't speak jack but understand well enough to gett the main message of what is being said.

In my head it's like I can string sentences together but speak na, problem. Liife goes on I guess. I'm trying hard not to blame my parents even though both were/are from same LGA and spoke/speak it fluently. Thought of starting a YouTube channel dedicated to the language, thought of a whole lot of other things.

There's an Urhobo bible in the house. It's pretty beat up but most of it is still complete. I barely look at it.

Fratermathy, I like your passion and what you do. You can do much more as Onegai has said and I believe, there are those who will supoort you.

Onegai, I don't know if you've seen it before but there is a free Urhobo audio bible on Amazon. Google it if you're interested. I just hope it's still there 'cause I hope to download it one of these days before something happens to it.

There's also this pdf Urhobo basic grammar course I picked off the internet. It's 114 pages long and looks decent. Below is a screenshort of it. I've forgotten where I got it from so can't give links. I can send to anyone who wants it.

.

It is the boundary thing. I know their history very well. The founding father of the town is from benin, it is even in the bini history. Your friend is just trying to be funny.

ogorwyne:

Thank you. The boundary thing is what I have in mind. Calling Orogun a language is what seems funny to me.

Broda na true talk if we continue lyk dis our language go just extinction.

Pidggin:
Lol, OP deal with it. I need a language that I can speak and understand when I enter Delta, Cross River, Edo, Akwa ibom , etc. Which one should I pick out of all the languages spoken in these states? PIDGIN wins

Imagine someone above saying Akwa ibom and Cross River have Igbo affiliation. I don't know why you guys are so insecure, it seems your five States are not okay for you hence you want to encroach, it will never happen.

this educated illiterate learnt no history in school,well kids of nowadays knows nothing but fake human hairs and iphone,deal with it,what the guy said was a fact.

Elijahrona2:


Am isoko n have nothing to do with Igbo. Thank you

God bless you jare.... I wan begin dey confused