Stats: 3,191,667 members, 7,945,049 topics. Date: Tuesday, 10 September 2024 at 10:19 AM |
Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Culture / Delta (and Rivers) Igbos (60958 Views)
If Nigeria Divide Today, Does Delta And Edo State Has A Place With Yoruba/igbo / Is Oba Of Benin The Paramount Traditional Ruler Of Niger Delta and Igbos? (2) (3) (4)
(1) (2) (3) ... (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) ... (25) (Reply) (Go Down)
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by Eke40seven(m): 1:47pm On Mar 11, 2017 |
ehikwe22:Your example is everything but apt in this case. Names like Alexandra have variants of the pronunciation in European countries but it's greek origin cannot be disputed. In the etymology of the name, it would mean nothing if I were to trace the meaning of Aleksandr basically from the Russian language simply because the origin is NOT Russian. In this case, we were able to break down this name particularly in the respective languages used i.e. Igbo and Bini to derive the meaning and we arrived at a similar translation. |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by Cire80: 2:19pm On Mar 11, 2017 |
blues2022:This is also my impression of him. Someone must not agree with you on all occasions. If someone does that, I would suspect he's playing to the gallery and doesn't have enough courage to air his opinion and that's one of my turn offs. We should learn to respond to people's message instead of attacking his person. When I newly came on this site, I was being very diplomatic. |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by cheruv: 2:26pm On Mar 11, 2017 |
ehikwe22:You've just been told ika smells of archaic Igbo and yet you're still arguing ![]() Ike gwuru oo 1 Like |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by ehikwe22: 3:40pm On Mar 11, 2017 |
Eke40seven:I'm aware of the Greek origin of Alexander. I'm also aware that all parts of Europe have their own variant of the name. I'm also aware that the name doesn't have any direct meaning in most of these European languages, but I went ahead and used it just as an instance believing that you'll get the message I was trying to pass. I also expected such response from someone and I'm not condemning you for pointing it out |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by bigfrancis21: 6:51pm On Mar 11, 2017 |
RedboneSmith: These extra explanations you're giving are unnecessary. Dia/Di ya are the same thing, one being the shortened form of the other. Such feature if I remember correctly is called olilo udaume in Igbo classes in secondary school. Such feature is common in Anambra Igbo speech. 'Nke ya' becomes 'Nkie' (nke anwa bu nkie), 'unu e nwelu mmanya? ehh o dia'. 'Bee ya ka anyi na-eje' in standard Igbo becomes 'Bie ka ayi na-eje' in Onitsha/Enuani. Or 'Nnia na-akpo gi' If you speak Enuani then this should not be new to you. You made a blunder there, accept it and move on rather than giving futile explanations for your mistake. We ain't fighting here bro, just doing some high-level debate. So, nwanne m onye illah....deeme ![]() 1 Like 1 Share |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by bigfrancis21: 6:59pm On Mar 11, 2017 |
cheruv: Somehow, by virtue of its location or distance on the extreme fringe of the Igbo-speaking area, this was possibly the reason it was able to retain archaic Igbo words here and there, and for some reason it didn't experience the flow of linguistic modernism the 'general' Igbo experienced. 1 Like |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by cheruv: 7:57pm On Mar 11, 2017 |
bigfrancis21:Yes... Currently am working on an Igbo wordlist...which I intend to use to write an Igbo bible whose language would be contemporary and also use that same wordlist to produce an Igbo/Chinese dictionary or should I say use of hanzi for writing Igbo language.. A document chinenyen posted here about proto-igbo and various Igbo dialect comparisons has been extremely helpful... Like seriously For an example it has helped me find out shorter names for stuffs which in general Igbo are long or sort of repetitive eg 1]center which is "etiti" in general Igbo is called "echì" among the Izì 2]rainbow which is "egwurugwu" in general Igbo is called "èvù" among the eza or mgbo(can't remember the particular tribe in Ebonyi) Ika, Ækpæyæ and Izii have a big role to play in reconnecting modern Igbo to its past and it'd be good if our linguists take note of that. 1 Like |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by Nobody: 8:17pm On Mar 11, 2017 |
cheruv:....a very noble project I must say. Do well to reserch into my Akaeze dialect as well. Its one unique dialect in ivo that still retains ancient Igbo words. e.g, tomorrow in general Igbo is echile, in my tongue, its Mbohoru.... Akaeze ni Ivo vu'nani. Mahu. ![]() 1 Like |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by ChinenyeN(m): 9:00pm On Mar 11, 2017 |
cheruv: Not really. All of the three speech forms you mentioned are just as much "innovated" from proto-Igbo as say, the Isu lects. The roles that each play are no more significant than the other. The sheer amount of dialectal diversity and innovation balances each other out. For example, in context of proto-Igbo, linguistic studies seem to favor an older p sound in place of the f, h, y that exists today. Take the word for "thing" for example (Izugbe: ihe). If one follows the linguistic favoring for an ancient p -> f -> v -> h -> y, one would get the following generalized innovations: iphe (Northeastern Igbo) ife, ibve (Northern/Western Igbo) ive, ife (Eastern Igbo) ihe, ihye, ihwe (Central/Southern Igbo) iye (Ekpeye) From the above, it can be ascertained that the Northeastern region likely retains the much more older aspects of the word for "thing", and Ekpeye has the most recent innovation weakening that /p/ sound all the way to a /y/. The Northern and Eastern Igbo-speaking regions seem to retain an aspect closer to proto-Igbo than the Central and Southern Igbo-speaking regions. Looking at the distribution, Ika also falls in with the Central/Southern Igbo-speaking regions. So, Ika also has innovated and their word for "thing" is farther from proto-Igbo than the Eastern Igbo usages. If one follows another linguistic favoring for an ancient l -> n, one would get the following generalized innovations: ele, eli (Ekpeye and parts of Ikwerre) ala, ali (Central, Southern, Northeastern, Eastern Igbo) ana, ani (Northern, Western Igbo) From the above, it can be ascertained that Ekpeye likely retains the much older aspect of the word for "ground" and the Northern and Western Igbo-speaking region has the most recent innovations, weakening the /l/ sound to an /n/. In this context, they are the farthest away from the proto-Igbo form. Looking at the distribution, Ika yet again falls in with the Central/Southern Igbo-speaking region, showing that it too has innovated farther away from proto-Igbo than other speech forms in the Igbo language family. What you may perceive as a big role for Ekpeye, Ika and Izii, is actually not a big role at all. They are just as innovated as any other Igbo speech form that survived to modern day. As a case in point, Ekpeye (which some would like to think of as the older speech form) is practically devoid of nasal consonants and vowels, much like the generalized Northern Igbo speech form. In this respect, Ekpeye has lost a major component of proto-Igbo speech which was retained primarily by Southern, Central, Eastern, some Northeastern and Ika. This puts Ekpeye's innovation farther away from proto-Igbo than other speech forms. So, you see, the innovations balance themselves out, and this is possible due to the extreme dialectal diversity that exists. Not a single speech form today is "closer" to proto-Igbo than any of the others. They are all equally far away. 2 Likes |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by cheruv: 9:34pm On Mar 11, 2017 |
blues2022:Your eastern Igbo dialects usually throws up surprises... Can you help me do something... Look for an Izii dictionary for me,especially one in e format or if not possible an Izii wordlist. It'd be very helpful Concerning the bold...the current ones suit perfectly into the type of vocabulary am planning to use Yesterday = Unya [VCV] Today = Taa [CV] Tomorrow = Echi [VCV] I need terms not having more than two syllables that's something like VCV or CV not CVCV or VCVCV. On a side note, is there any other igbo dialectal term for language aside asusu ? 1 Like |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by cheruv: 9:44pm On Mar 11, 2017 |
ChinenyeN:Thanks for the lecture...that doc you posted sometime ago was quite useful to me as regards the project am currently running 1 Like |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by bigfrancis21: 12:51am On Mar 12, 2017 |
cheruv: Another Igbo dialectical term would be onu. |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by ChinenyeN(m): 3:54am On Mar 12, 2017 |
I need to correct one thing I stated. Apparently, the proto-Igbo reconstruction for the word "thing" is ipuye. The reconstruction makes an argument for Ekpeye having completely dropped the /pu/ leaving only iye. If we follow the logic in the reconstruction we can probably deduce the following. Other dialects dropped /uy/ to create: ipe -> iphe -> ife -> ive -> ihe Other dialects retained the full ipuye but weakened both the /p/ and /y/ sounds to create: ipuye -> ihuye -> ihye/ihwe Or, in the case of Awka and related lects.. ipuye -> ibve/ifve If the we evaluate this based on which innovation retained the most proto-Igbo features (judging by sound shifts), it would be Awka and related lects, followed by the Central/Southern region, then Ekpeye and Northeastern and then Northern/Western/Eastern. 1 Like |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by ChinenyeN(m): 3:55am On Mar 12, 2017 |
cheruv: The Ngwa/Asa/Ndoki/Echie axis uses "okwu" for "language". 2 Likes |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by obuus: 4:38pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
bigfrancis21: @bifrancis21, the word "ebo" means family. It is the primary word for family in the whole of west Igbo, Onitsha inclusive. The central ohuhu word for that is umunna but as an Ukwuani person the first word that comes to mind when describing the extended family is ebo. That is where you get the name, Eboka, from; which means family is supreme. Other synonyms are Umuiku(kins), umuisu( offspring with same face(isu/iru/ihu)) becuase people of same descendants are expected to possess similar facial attributes! As for wife, Ika dialect primarily uses mgba. But your analogy that its from the root word for female does not look correct in my dialect. I think the word you wanted to refer to is "mgbo". Mgbo is feminine just as okolo is masculine, hence you get names as Mgboeke=Mgbeke, Mgboafor=Mgbafor, etc. Mgborie would refer to a female born on an Orie day just as Okolonkwo(Okonkwo) would be for male born on an Nkwo day. One of the meanings of the word "gba" is " to breed", this meaning infers some element of force, like a forceful insertion. These meanings are in order when remember we can use the word "gba" with run as in" i gba oso"; and to wrestle as in" i gba mgba", or "i gba ose"( to forcefully rub or introduce pepper on somebody's skin as a form of punishment). These three actions require considerable action and application of force. So those days in the village at the market square when you see two dogs copulating, we would say , nkita na a gba. The two dogs will get stuck and even when you throw stones at them they will not easily dis-entangle. In Ukwuani, we do laugh and say,"nde(ndi) Agbor na gba nwuye we" Translation: Agbor people "gba" their wives. The "we" is the Ukwuani alternate form of wa/fa/ha, depending on your dialect. It is the English possessive form of "they" (their). If it were English "gba" would be a verb, and the noun would be mgba. Have you ever wondered what the word "dimgba" means? Hahahaha, never thought of what that word meant in this context until i started keyboarding this! i bet it should properly refer to a man who has many children! Of course the other probable meaning of an expert wrestler cannot be ruled out, and by extension a great a thoroughly accomplished man. As an aside, the "di" introduces the attribute of skill, or expertise in the particular act. Hence, you have di ike=dike(a man of great strenght, diji(an expert in cultivating yam), diochi(an expert (wine) tapper), dinka, dimkpa, dinta, diokpa, nnadi, etc. Honestly, i think most of us are Igbo illiterates. We only speak our dialects and get clannish thinking its a separate language. For us that were not in the former East Central state, we didnt even get a chance to study the central ohuhu dialect Igbo in schools at all. But i had always known that there is no way under the sun, when somebody will claim to migrate from Bini and end up in Ukwuani, Enuani or Ika and forget his Bini language! 5 Likes |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by obuus: 4:41pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
ChinenyeN: @Cheruv, in Ukwuani asusu is language, onu will approximate to dialect. 1 Like |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by ChinenyeN(m): 4:59pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
Obuus, what is the tone structure for Ika's "mgba" for wife? obuus: I agree. |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by Ikechu10: 6:19pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
Sigh!!!! This is Why I don't even check culture section anymore. I don't get SE Igbo anymore nowadays. Is it every time you have to argue about anioma.....like it's getting ridiculous. Yes there are igbo deniers within anioma; yes there are non-igbo settlers within anioma; yes Bini influenced some anioma settlers; yes there are some bini words in some anioma lands. Not everything is all about Igbo. but don't you people ever get tired of arguing the same shit repeatedly. Why do you lots focus so much on anioma. Don't SE have internal problems to focus on. Last i checked don't onitsha ppl claim they are Bini descended? Aren't there some onitsha peeps that claim they aren't Igbo. Why not focus on that instead of arguing daily about anioma. It's getting ridiculous. 3 Likes |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by bigfrancis21: 6:27pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
obuus: You gave a nice rendition up here. Good one. Ebo meaning 'family' or 'tribe', still refers to the same thing. I gave the meaning based on how it is used in the east or even in Igbo bible. In one of the earliest Igbo bibles, 'tribe' was consistently translated as 'ebo', and you could also hear it in some Igbo Christian songs. That is, ebo refers to a close-knit related set of people, it could be a tribe, family etc. In Igbo there are just so many words that could be used for 'tribe'/'family' etc. such as ngwulu, ezinauno (the modern term for it now), etc. I would say that the usage of ebo is not restrictive and could have several meanings. You could even see this song, Odum Ebo Judea, by a Christian gospel singer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcCGBiW9Afk The same goes for 'mgba'. In ancient Igboland, mgba referred to a female and oko referred to a male. Studying the etymology behind Mgbaeke/Okoeke, Mgbaorie/Okorie, Mgbafor/Okoafor and Mgbankwo/Okonkwo...they are all names given to females/males born on each Igbo native day in order respectively. Today in general Igbo speech, 'mgba' is hardly ever used to refer to women or females, however Ika seemed to retain this ancient Igbo word and possibly adopted its usage/meaning to mean wife (a wife is still a female). Oko is not frequently used also, but nwoke, okolobia etc. Dimgba I know refers to a wrestler, 'mgba' meaning wrestling. Like you said, 'di' is attached to a specific activity and used to describe a man accomplished in what he does. Dinta, Dimgba, Dike, Diochi etc. @bold...this is absolutely correct. There should still be traces of Bini language in Ukwuani that would support such migratory story, but as we know there is none. |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by Cire80: 6:31pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
ChinenyeN:Mgba has three meanings in Ika each pronounced differently. Wife, Stove/local fire place and wrestling. It also commonly used for lovemaking between couples, mating in animals, has started breeding or has reached maturity. |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by Ishilove: 6:34pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
obuus:In Ukwuani we don't say 'nkita'. We say 'ekite'. In addition, family in my side of Ukwuani is 'imusu', not 'ebo'. Utagba, Emu and co are the ones who use 'ebo'. Gbegemaster come and learn o ![]() |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by gbegemaster(m): 6:46pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
Ishilove:Is too long! ![]() |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by Ishilove: 7:04pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by ChinenyeN(m): 7:22pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
Cire80: Thanks for the response, but I asked for the tone structure in particular. I would like to know how Ika pronounces it. Is it a low then high structure or a high then low structure or a fall then rise structure, or rise then fall or high then step, etc. I asked so I could speculate on the word's relation to mgba (copulation) vs mgba (denoting female in some dialects) or a possible lack of relationship to either. |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by gbegemaster(m): 7:43pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
Ishilove:pinging av spoil us |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by Ishilove: 7:47pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
gbegemaster:I ping a lot but that hasn't stopped me from reading long posts. This particular one I quoted is not even long sef |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by Ngozi123(f): 8:52pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
Favor99: Coming from the Benin Kingdom and having Benin- I'm assuming that you mean Edoid- ancestry are not the same thing. My ancestors once lived under the Benin Empire but they were Igbo. I believe that certain Ika communities have some Edo ancestry but that is not the case for Onitsha/Ogbaru people. 3 Likes |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by gbegemaster(m): 9:23pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
Ishilove:You don't spoil easy. You are a good girl. Awa ti baje gan |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by Ishilove: 9:34pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
gbegemaster:Black man, go back to reading ![]() |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by Ngozi123(f): 9:42pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
RedboneSmith: Your wording suggests that there's an ongoing dispute over your people's ethnicity. What are your reasons for identifying yourself as Igbo and do some Illah people disagree? 1 Like |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by Afam4eva(m): 9:49pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
Ngozi123:Very good question. I think Redbonesmith is one of those Delta Igbos, particularly people from the Aniocha/Oshimili axis who have lived a reasonable amount of the time in the South East and really see that there's not much difference between the SE and where they come from. But he also seems as an objective and politically correct person, who doesn't believe that his opinion should drown those of others. One trend i have noticed is that an Enuani person who has mixed a lot with SE Igbos tend to be more accepting of their Igboness than one who has never lived in the SE before. 4 Likes |
Re: Delta (and Rivers) Igbos by Ngozi123(f): 10:00pm On Mar 12, 2017 |
Afam4eva: Ikwuru ofuma. 1 Like |
(1) (2) (3) ... (13) (14) (15) (16) (17) (18) (19) ... (25) (Reply)
40 American Students Take Igbo Names After Tracing Ancestry To Igboland / "Why I Beat Up Another Monarch At Peace Meeting" - Oluwo Of Iwo / Yoruba Words That Mean The Same In Edo
(Go Up)
Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 3 |