Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo Language Resources

[Ɔkyeame Kwame]

CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE

• LANGUAGES & INTRO
  • YORUBA ALPHABET & LANGUAGE
  • IBO ALPHABET & LANGUAGE
  • HAUSA ALPHABET & LANGUAGE
  • LINKS TO OTHERS
• LANGUAGE RESOURCES
  • GENERAL RESOURCES
  • YORUBA RESOURCES
  • IBO RESOURCES
  • HAUSA RESOURCES
  • OTHERS

If after going through the language of your choice on this page, you still feel like learning more on that language, you can check the more on language page on this site, and also of course, check out the language resources listed at the bottom of this page.



LANGUAGES & INTRO

English is the official language in Nigeria. We were colonized by the British, obtaining our independence on October 1, 1960.
Many other African countries were colonized by the French, so a lot of them have French as the official language, so if I plan to travel further around the continent, being able to understand and speak French will be a big plus. Being able to write it would be even nicer!

Also, there is also a variation of English called 'Pidgin English' or 'Broken English'. For instance, "I'm going" is "I de go", "I wont" is "I no", "what" is "wetin", and those are just a few examples. For more examples, check out this link. ,

Of course, we also have slangs, like any other country, and you can see some of them at this link.

Links to Nigerian Languages:

• Nigerian Galleria Guide to Nigerian Languages
• Ethnologue Database: Nigeria
• Ethnologue: Search: Nigeria
• Languages of Nigeria (Summer Institute)
• SOAS Guide to Asian and African Languages
• Some pidgin sayings and their translations
• Nigerian Slangs

There are three main language, named after the peoples they belong to. They are Yoruba (mine), Ibo (also spelled Igbo), and Hausa. There are however, over 300 dialects, both within the main languages, and across them. For instance, my parents speak a dialect of Yoruba that I can understand, but I can't speak. There are others that I can't even understand.

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YORUBA ALPHABET & LANGUAGE

Here is an introduction into the Yoruba language.

The Yoruba alphabet consists of 25 letters, as shown below:
In case you are wondering, the sound samples are my aunt

LETTER	SOUNDS LIKE (IN ENGLISH)
a	English word 'ahh'
b	English word 'bee'
d	English word 'dee'
e	English letter 'a'
	English sound of 'e' in 'let'
f	English word 'fee'
g	English sound of 'g' in 'get'
gb	Very 'hard sounding' 'b'.
h	English word 'he'
i	English letter 'e'
j	English letter 'g'
k	English word 'key'
l	English word 'lee'
m	English word 'me'
n	'nee'
o	English letter 'o'
	English sound 'au' as in word 'fault'
p	Very hard-sounding 'p'.
r	're'
s	English word 'see'
	English word 'she'
t	English word 'tea'
u	English sound of 'oo' in word 'loose'
w	English word 'we'
y	English word 'ye'

Within the Yoruba language, there are also accents that define how a syllable is pronounced. In the written language, these consist of the following options, and are placed on top of the letters, usually on top of the vowels.

ACCENT SYMBOL	VOCAL SOUND
	Intonation: Fall of voice
(nothing)	Normal
	Intonation: Rise of voice
	Circumflex: long syllable

As an example, take a simple three letter word like 'igba' (remember, gb is ONE letter). It can have the following meanings depending on the accents (these sounds are my aunt too):

WORD	MEANING	HEAR IT
	Time, period
	Two hundred
	Calabash cut in half
	Locust tree
	System of pawning

Also, like in other languages, the exact same word can have different meanings. As another example, take the state my parents are from originally (Ogun). In this case, the accents make a difference, plus there are different meanings with the same accents (these sounds are my aunt too).

WORD	MEANING	HEAR IT
	Basket used to catch shrimps & lobsters god of iron, god of war
	An inheritance.
	Medicine
	Sweat
	War
	Twenty

Here are some common phrases in the language, written and spoken. (When speaking the Yoruba language, the exact wording you use usually depends on how the person you are referring to compares to you in age, and that is why there are two different forms below.) The written phrases are minus the accents.
(These sounds are me. However, I am not perfect in the speech, plus my 'r's don't sound right in either language, and I can't even say the 'p' or 'gb' in Yoruba correctly.

ENGLISH PHRASE	NOTE	AGE MATE OR YOUNGER		SOMEONE OLDER
Good Morning	spelled out
	more common
Good Afternoon	spelled out
	more common
Good Evening	spelled out
	more common
Good Night (Until Morning)	spelled out			SAME
	more common			SAME
GoodBye				SAME
Long time no see
Please
Thank You
Yes				SAME
No				SAME

For some common parts in Yoruba names, click here.

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IBO ALPHABET & LANGUAGE

Here is what I've been able to obtain as an introduction into the Ibo language. I want to thank Amaka M. For her help with the alphabet. If you have other contributions to make (like sound samples, additional common phrases, sound descriptions, please send them to me.

The Ibo alphabet consists of 36 letters, as shown below:
Missing pronunciations are unknown.

LETTER	SOUNDS LIKE (IN ENGLISH)
a	English word 'ahh'
b	English word 'bee'
ch	English sound 'ch' to 'chalk'
d	English word 'dee'
e	English letter 'a'
f	English word 'fee'
g	English sound of 'g' in 'get'
gb	Very 'hard sounding' 'b'.
gh
gw
h	English word 'he'
i	English sound 'e'
	English sound 'i' in 'ink'
j	English letter 'g'
k	English word 'key'
kp
kw
l	English word 'lee'
m	English word 'me'
n	'nee'
	nasal sounding 'n'
nw
ny
o	English letter 'o'
	English sound 'au' as in word 'fault'
p	Very hard-sounding 'p'.
r	're'
s	English word 'see'
sh	English word 'she'
t	English word 'tea'
u	English sound of 'oo' in word 'loose'
v	English letter 'v'
w	English word 'we'
y	English word 'ye'
z	English letter 'z'

Here are some common phrases in the language, written (once again, since I do not know the language, I can not speak it, but if you want to send me sound samples, please send them to webdiva@motherlandnigeria.com). Thanks to Dele Ukwu for help on some of these.

ENGLISH PHRASE	IBO PHRASE
Good morning	Ezigbo ututu (Isala chi)
Good day	Ezigbo ubosi (Ubosi oma)
Good afternoon	Ezigbo efife (Imela efife)
Good evening	Ezigbo mgbede
Good night	Ezigbo anyasi (anyasi oma)
Welcome	Nno
How are you?	Kedu
I am fine (response to above)	Odi Mma
Thank you	Dalu
Goodbye	Ka omesia OR Ka odi
Long time no see	Ote kwana
Nice seeing you again	Anya m ji fu gi egbulam
Please	Biko
Yes	eee OR eyi OR ehe
No	Mba

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HAUSA ALPHABET & LANGUAGE

Here is what I've been able to obtain as an introduction into the Hausa language (mostly from a Hausa/English dictionary). Of course, contributions are welcome (in terms of sound samples, sound descriptions, names and meanings like I have on the names page, etc.).

The Hausa alphabet consists of 29 letters, as shown below:
Missing pronunciations are unknown.

LETTER	SOUNDS LIKE (IN ENGLISH)
'	glottal stop
a	short: 'a' in cat long: 'a' in father
b	'b in bee
c	'ch' in child
d	'd' in dog
a	short: 'e' in get long: English letter 'a'
f	'f' in fat
g	'g' in girl
h	'h' in home
i	short: 'i' in hit long: English letter 'e'
j	'j' in joke
k	'k' in kid
l	'l' in love
m	'm' in mom
n	'n' in no
o	short: 'o' in hot long: English letter 'o'
r	either 'flapped' or 'rolled' as in Scots English
s	's' in sun
sh	'sh' in shout
t	't' in time
ts
u	short: 'u' in put long: 'oo' in 'noon'
w	'w' in win
y	'y' in you
'y
z	'z' in zero

Here are some common phrases in the language, written (once again, since I do not know the language, I can not speak it, but if you want to send me sound samples, please send them to webdiva@motherlandnigeria.com).

ENGLISH PHRASE	HAUSA PHRASE	HAUSA RESPONSE
Hello	Sannu	Yauwa sannu or Sannu kadai
Good Morning	Barka da safe	Barka kadai
Good Day	Barka da rana	Barka kadai
Good afternoon	Barka da yamma	Barka kadai
Good evening	Barka da yamma	Barka kadai
Good night	Mu kwana lafiya	Mu kwana lafiya
Good night (until tomorrow)	Sai gobe	Allah ya kai mu
Goodbye	Sai an jima	Sai an jima or To, sai an jima
Please	Don Allah
Thank you	Na gode
Yes	I
No	A'a

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LINKS TO OTHERS

The PEOPLE page has a section that will provide some of the other languages and possible links to finding information on them.

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LANGUAGE RESOURCES

This section attempts to give places online and offline where I know you can obtain resources on learning Nigerian languages.

Disclaimer: Except for BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com, I am not affiliated with any of the companies/sites listed here.

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GENERAL RESOURCES

• English as a Second Language Resources
• Foreign Language Learning Resources
• World Language Products (can narrow down by language)
• African language Books
• African Languages (from Northwestern University Library)
• Linguist Software (fonts from all over the world)
• Internet Language from Skymall.com
• Unforgettable Languages

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YORUBA RESOURCES

• Yorubaland: A great interactive site dedicated to teaching about Yoruba
• Barnes and Noble resources on the Yoruba language
• Amazon.com resources on the Yoruba language
• ESL Resources on Yoruba
• Yoruba Language Learning Resources
• Institute of Yoruba
• Suggested Yoruba Reading
• Yoruba Language Task Force
• Yoruba Shareware Fonts
• Learn Yoruba
• A new mailing list for people wanting to learn Yoruba
• A nice site written in both English and Yoruba
• AfricaService.com's section on Yoruba

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IBO RESOURCES

• Barnes and Noble resources on the Igbo language
• Amazon.com resources on the Igbo language
• ESL Resources on Igbo
• Adventurous Traveler Bookstore: Igbo Language Course
• Transaction Publishers - Languages - African Studies - Languages (Aspects of Igbo Grammer)
• World Language Igbo Resources
• Igbo.com

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HAUSA RESOURCES

• Barnes and Noble resources on the Hausa language
• Amazon.com resources on the Hausa Language
• ESL Resources on Hausa
• UCLA Hausa Home Page
• Hausa.com
• HauseNet.com

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OTHERS

The PEOPLE page has a section that will provide some of the other languages and possible links to finding information on them.