LEARNING NIGERIAN LANGUAGES

[Håkønljzberg]

THIS THREAD IS DEDICATED FOR PEOPLE WHO WANTS TO LEARN NIGERIAN LANGUAGES, IT WOULD BE USEFUL FOR TOURISTS WHO ARE PLANNING TO VISIT NIGERIA TO LEARN FEW WORDS (I'M INTERESTED TOO). SO PLEASE TEACH US FEW EVERYDAY WORDS THAT'S COMMONLY USED IN NIGERIA. (I'M ABOUT TO POST THIS THREAD IN OTHER TOURIST SITES) PLEASE SUPPLY AS MUSH WORDS & MEANING AS POSSIBLE -THANKS


WORDS FIRST & MEANING IN ENGLISH.

I'LL START WHAT'S WELCOME IN YORUBA, HAUSA, IBO AND OTHER NIGERIAN LANGUAGES

[Samuel107]

Yòrùbá is a tonal language with three tones: high, mid and low (just like the musical "do re mi" sounds). The high tone is indicated by an acute accent (á, é, ẹ́, í, ó, ọ́ and ú). The mid tone is not marked and the low tone is marked with a grave acute (à, è, ẹ̀, ì, ò, ọ̀ and ù)

Welcome in Yòrùbá is "káàbò" (káàbò is a contracted Kú àbò)

When saying 'welcome' to someone older than you, you have to add the vowel 'e' as in "e káàbò".

[Samuel107]

You can hear the sounds online, or I could provide a link.

[Håkønljzberg]

Originally Posted by Samuel107

Yòrùbá is a tonal language with three tones: high, mid and low (just like the musical "do re mi" sounds). The high tone is indicated by an acute accent (á, é, ẹ́, í, ó, ọ́ and ú). The mid tone is not marked and the low tone is marked with a grave acute (à, è, ẹ̀, ì, ò, ọ̀ and ù)

Welcome in Yòrùbá is "káàbò" (káàbò is a contracted Kú àbò)

When saying 'welcome' to someone older than you, you have to add the vowel 'e' as in "e káàbò".

Very interesting. if you have a link please post or paste it here. I like to learn more.

[Samuel107]

http://www.africa.uga.edu/Yoruba/alphabet.html

there's the pronunciation.

[GAR3TH]

what does Eko o ni baje mean?

[JoblessBeggar]

Originally Posted by GAR3TH

what does Eko o ni baje mean?

Literally, "Lagos will not spoil" or "Lagos will not deteriorate." Philosophically, "we shall not allow Lagos to deteriorate."

[Håkønljzberg]

JoblessBeggar, thanks for the translation

[qymekkam]

heres a link to the igbo language

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igbo_language

[Håkønljzberg]

qymekkam, thanks for the link. very interesting!

[qymekkam]

your welcome

Igbo like Yoruba is also a tonal language which makes it a pain to learn.

Letter A B Ch D E F G Gb
Pronunciation (IPA) /a/ /b/ /tʃ/ /d/ /e/ /f/ /g/ /ɓ/gɓ/

Letter Gh Gw H I Ị J K Kp
Pronunciation /ɤ/ /gʷ/ /h/ /i/ /ɪ/ /dʒ/ /k/ /ɓ/kp/

Letter Kw L M N Nw Ny Ñ O
Pronunciation /kʷ/ /l/ /m/ /n/ /ŋw/ /nj/ /ŋ/ /o/

Letter Ọ P R S Sh T U Ụ
Pronunciation /ɔ/ /ṕ/ /r/ /s/ /ʃ/ /t/ /u/ /ʊ/

Letter V W Y Z
Pronunciation /v/ /w/ /j/ /z/

[Tbite]

Writing in Yoruba is harder than in english.

Speaking Yoruba isn't really that difficult the main difference between English and Yoruba is the tone and the versatility of words.

The word "Ogun" has numerous meanings which is incomparable to a word such as score in english that can mean a grade or quantity etc.

Ogun means to climb, war,medicine, to stab and a few others I have forgotten. Each meaning has a different pronunciation though. If you want to practice your tones I suggest you use this word.

Btw I am not an expert on the language any input I make is basic.

I don't usually speak the language I only know the basics from when I lived in Ibadan.

[Samuel107]

Like you said, most Yoruba words have several meanings depending on your pronounciation

ode- idiot, hunter...
oko- penis, farm, refuse..
ose- thanks, soap, week

I'm fluent in Yoruba, but like most Yoruba's that don't lecture the language in a university, it'll take me a good hour to write a 300 word essay that'll still look like a 4year old's scribblings when translated into English. That's the hardest subject to pass in high school...

[Håkønljzberg]

Originally Posted by qymekkam

your welcome

Igbo like Yoruba is also a tonal language which makes it a pain to learn.

Letter A B Ch D E F G Gb
Pronunciation (IPA) /a/ /b/ /tʃ/ /d/ /e/ /f/ /g/ /ɓ/gɓ/

Letter Gh Gw H I Ị J K Kp
Pronunciation /ɤ/ /gʷ/ /h/ /i/ /ɪ/ /dʒ/ /k/ /ɓ/kp/

Letter Kw L M N Nw Ny Ñ O
Pronunciation /kʷ/ /l/ /m/ /n/ /ŋw/ /nj/ /ŋ/ /o/

Letter Ọ P R S Sh T U Ụ
Pronunciation /ɔ/ /ṕ/ /r/ /s/ /ʃ/ /t/ /u/ /ʊ/

Letter V W Y Z
Pronunciation /v/ /w/ /j/ /z/

that looks extremely difficult, How do you manage to learn it?

[Håkønljzberg]

Originally Posted by Samuel107

Like you said, most Yoruba words have several meanings depending on your pronounciation

ode- idiot, hunter...
oko- penis, farm, refuse..
ose- thanks, soap, week

I'm fluent in Yoruba, but like most Yoruba's that don't lecture the language in a university, it'll take me a good hour to write a 300 word essay that'll still look like a 4year old's scribblings when translated into English. That's the hardest subject to pass in high school...

Wow, I've never seen one word having different meanings or actions. I bet it will be confusing.. Have you Guys ever got told off for saying a word wrongly?

@Tbite, I didn't know you could speak Yoruba?

[qymekkam]

in igbo many words have different meaninings it depends on the way u say it that gives it the meaning. also igbo has many dialects. many words mean the same thing examples are

chanuzo/ponuzo = get out of the way

imili/imiri= water

ele/ere = ten

jebba/gabba = go

isi/ishi = head

[qymekkam]

Originally Posted by Håkønljzberg

that looks extremely difficult, How do you manage to learn it?

actually it was very easy for me to learn. when my grandma came to visit when i was in 5'th grade she started teaching me the igbo alphabet and i had it memorized in 10 minutes. what helped was that i knew how to speak some igbo so when ever i forgot a letter i would just remember a word that had that letter in it and i would figure out how it was pronounced.

[friendsofthecity]

How large is the vocabulary in those ethnic languages? Is it larger than the English?

[Toolbook]

Originally Posted by Håkønljzberg

Have you Guys ever got told off for saying a word wrongly?

Many years ago, I was trying to apologise to someone in Yoruba language. I said "ma binu". I meant to say "dont be angry". But because I got the pronunciation wrong, I was actually saying "keep on being angry". Luckily, the person knew I was still trying to learn the language and corrected me with a smile.


One other common mistake I make is using "e" (as in egg) always. This should only be done as a sign of respect when you are speaking to someone who is older than you, or who is in position of authority. So for example, "e ma binu" is correct expression when speaking to someone older than you - drop the "e" when talking to your juniors. I always forget this rule and use "e" even when talking to my juniors - the good thing is that they assume that I am just being extra humble or polite.


Regarding words having different meanings, it is usually easy to figure out the implied meaning based on the context in which the words are used - sometimes it is not. For instance, the Yoruba word "oko" can mean different things, including "farm" or "hoe" (i.e a farming utensil). So when "oko" is used in a discussion about a farm, it may be a struggle to decipher whether reference is being made to a hoe (or hoes) used on the farm or to the farm itself.

[Håkønljzberg]

Originally Posted by qymekkam

actually it was very easy for me to learn. when my grandma came to visit when i was in 5'th grade she started teaching me the igbo alphabet and i had it memorized in 10 minutes. what helped was that i knew how to speak some igbo so when ever i forgot a letter i would just remember a word that had that letter in it and i would figure out how it was pronounced.

Have you mastered the language or are you still learning?