Fast facts about Igbo:
- Igbo (pronounced ee-bo) is spoken by the Igbo people of Nigeria, who are usually located in the Southeast part of Nigeria.
- Igbo is one of the major languages spoken in Nigeria, the 2nd largest according to some sources. About 24 million people speak it.
- Igbo is spoken in other parts of the world including Brazil, Jamaica, USA, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, and Ghana
- Some Jamaican Patois came from Igbo words
- Igbo is in the Niger-Congo language family
- There is an Igbo alphabet with 36 letters (28 consonants, 8 vowels) and has nasal and syllabic tones. Keep watch on the GrioTees blog for links to Iearn Igbo and interviews with teachers of the Igbo language
- Igbo language has an ancient form Nsibidi, which has symbols.
- Igbo language is of course interconnected with Igbo culture and proverbs
- Special shout out to UMU IGBO UNITE, an organization that aims to prevent the extinction of Igbo language by sharing Igbo customs and traditions amongst the children of Igbo descent.
I’d love to invite some actual Griots for a Q and A one day so stay tuned! And maybe I'll also take you on my journey to learning to speak Igbo fluently. If you know of any good Igbo language learning resources, please share!
Shout out to my sister Chi, who helped compile all of this information. Image at right, courtesy of Wikimedia.
Resources to learn Igbo:
Umu Igbo Unite
@Igbopodcast
Igbo language-Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_language
Ibo-Language Information &Resources https://www.alsintl.com/resources/languages/Ibo
Igbo language, alphabet and pronunciation-Omniglot https://omniglot.com/writing/Igbo.htm
Igbo About World Languages
https://aboutworldlanguages.com/Igbo
Igbo Ethnologue
https:www.ethnologue.com/language/Igbo
Igbo- languagesgulper.com https:www.languagesgulper.com/eng/Igbo.html
Igbo culture and Igbo language
https://www.igboguide.org
Igbo People, Tribe, Language, Culture,Religion,Food,Women,Facts https://buzznigeria.com/5-things-everyone-should-should-know-about-Igbo-culture
Igbo-Introduction,Location,Language,Folklore,Religion,Major holidays, Rites of passage-World Culture Encyclopedia
https://www.everyculture.com/wc/Mauritania-to-Nigeria/Igbo.html
Igbo people
https://www.britanica.com/topic/Igbo