Nigerians assemble!!!!

OP

Original post by Student-95

Buy a book or talk to your relatives

It's not that simple, there are a few books, I know, I've looked them up but they all teach it differently. The network for texting and calling is really bad too and asking them, if you think about it, wouldn't be that great of an idea; They want me to learn some before I talk to them. So I thought, why not just ask here?

Bing.

I only know basic words like kedu and odima. So i’m not really useful there.

Reply 7

OP

Original post by Your Local Cat

Bing.

That. Does not help me any better than google. if you're going to help with speaking then help.

Reply 8

OP

Original post by ProRoadman

I only know basic words like kedu and odima. So i’m not really useful there.

Welp. You definitely know far more than me then :colondollar:

.

Reply 9

Original post by ShantelleLuis

Right, if any of you know how to speak or write Igbo, help. It's less than a month until I see my relatives and they're expectant of me to have learnt some. I've learnt the dirt basics like 'kedu?' and 'odinma' but I want to learn more so that I can have a full-fledged conversation.. so.. teach me.

What kind of help do you need exactly? I doubt a month would be enough to achieve your objectives if you are still struggling with the basics.
Google is not the the best place to learn how to write or speak Igbo.

Reply 10

fred2002

14

this might help

1.

Naija – slang for Nigeria. Also written as 9ja

2.

Oga/Ma – sir/madam; Oga is Yoruba for chief or big boss. Oftentimes Madam is shortened to “Ma” and I’m still not used to having Nigerians older than me saying, “yes, Ma,”

3.

Go slow – traffic jam

4.

Okada – motorcycle for hire, bane among Lagos motorists but usually the best way to get through the go-slow

5.

Wahala – originally a Hausa word now commonly used for “trouble” or “problem”

6.

Dash – bribe or tip; has negative and neutral connotation, i.e. “I saw the driver dash the policeman,” and “Let’s give the waiter a big dash”

7.

No Shakin – slang for “no problem”

8.

Wetin dey – term used in place of “what’s up” or “what’s there.” Essentially wetin means “what” while “dey” means are, i.e. Where them dey go means “where are they going”

9.

Chop – to eat, i.e. “You wan chop?”

10.

Oyibo – originally Youruba word for “foreigner,” more specifically fair-skinned people; sometimes also applied to light-skinned Nigerians

Reply 11

The above are not Igbo words and would be of no benefits to someone trying to polish his/her Igbo language speaking skills.
You not only need to know the right words but how to pronounce them. Igbo, like many languages is a tonal one. How you pronounce some words can alter the meaning.

Reply 12

OP

Original post by 0g3

What kind of help do you need exactly? I doubt a month would be enough to achieve your objectives if you are still struggling with the basics.
Google is not the the best place to learn how to write or speak Igbo.

help? Some phrases like 'good evening sir' and 'I've missed you' etc would be nice. Basically phrases relevant to seeing family.

Original post by fred2002

this might help

1.

Naija – slang for Nigeria. Also written as 9ja

2.

Oga/Ma – sir/madam; Oga is Yoruba for chief or big boss. Oftentimes Madam is shortened to “Ma” and I’m still not used to having Nigerians older than me saying, “yes, Ma,”

3.

Go slow – traffic jam

4.

Okada – motorcycle for hire, bane among Lagos motorists but usually the best way to get through the go-slow

5.

Wahala – originally a Hausa word now commonly used for “trouble” or “problem”

6.

Dash – bribe or tip; has negative and neutral connotation, i.e. “I saw the driver dash the policeman,” and “Let’s give the waiter a big dash”

7.

No Shakin – slang for “no problem”

8.

Wetin dey – term used in place of “what’s up” or “what’s there.” Essentially wetin means “what” while “dey” means are, i.e. Where them dey go means “where are they going”

9.

Chop – to eat, i.e. “You wan chop?”

10.

Oyibo – originally Youruba word for “foreigner,” more specifically fair-skinned people; sometimes also applied to light-skinned Nigerians

Oh yes! This is helpful! I only knew like 2 or 3 of those but I'll try to use more. Thanks! 👌

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 13

OP

Original post by 0g3

The above are not Igbo words and would be of no benefits to someone trying to polish his/her Igbo language speaking skills.
You not only need to know the right words but how to pronounce them. Igbo, like many languages is a tonal one. How you pronounce some words can alter the meaning.

yeah.. my mum told me five different meanings 'aqua' could have by changing the tonal markings 😞

Reply 14

Original post by ShantelleLuis

help? Some phrases like 'good evening sir' and 'I've missed you' etc would be nice. Basically phrases relevant to seeing family.

Oh yes! This is helpful! I only knew like 2 or 3 of those but I'll try to use more. Thanks! 👌

Igbo would normally say Good morning, Good afternoon and Good evening ma/sir, however depending on your part of Igboland, greetings can change.

Some people would say..Iputasia/iputakwalu or 'ututu oma' literally means 'morning=ututu, oma=good....as good morning and this would be followed by How are you= Kedu ka imele...this can vary. some would say kedu ka imelu

Kedu ka imelu/imele?...some parts of Anambra state
Ndi one imele/imelu

I,ve missed you...would not translate very well with google translate.

The usual phrase would be....Otekwaa/ It's been long...Anambra

The best way to learn is by listening and trying speaking with a fluent speaker of the language. This post would not be of much benefit unless you hear the words and attempt speaking them.

Reply 15