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The Igbo language: letters, tone, grammar and words
Igbo is a tonal language with a 36-letter alphabet, eight vowels and a word for almost every kind of greeting. This chapter is a working guide drawn from a major dictionary, a vocabulary guide and a grammar primer.
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This chapter treats Igbo as a language to be studied. It draws on three recent printed sources: Michael Echeruo’s Igbo-English Dictionary, Abazu Obia’s Igbo Vocabulary and Victor Okorochukwu’s Igbo Grammar. Where they disagree, the pages say so.
Spelling note: the dictionary prints some letters with umlauts. We always convert them to the dotted letters used in schools today.
In this chapter
01The alphabet: 36 letters, eight vowels
36 letters, eight vowels and nine digraphs: how Igbo is written.
3 min read →
02Tone: why pitch changes meaning
One word, four meanings: why pitch matters.
2 min read →
03Grammar basics: sounds, words and sentences
Vowels that meet, a word that does four jobs and the Igbo names for the parts of speech.
3 min read →
04Dialects, Igbo Izugbe and the word “Igbo”
Two big zones, one standard and a word that once meant “upland”.
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05Greetings and courtesy: a language of encouragement
Welcome, well done, safe journey: greetings that encourage.
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06Counting, time and the four-day week
Counting by twenties, the four-day week and names taken from market days.
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07Family words: a vocabulary of belonging
The compound and the house: words for family and belonging.
2 min read →08A short history of Igbo dictionaries
From Schön in 1852 to Echeruo in 2001.
2 min read →