AN INTRODUCTION TO IGBO ALPHABETICAL PHONETICS: MBIDO NMUTA IKPO MKPURUOKWU N'IGBO 1072472953, 9781072472957

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AN INTRODUCTION TO IGBO ALPHABETICAL PHONETICS

ljeoma Chi boh-Ude

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AN INTRODUCTION TO IGBO ALPHABETICAL PHONETICS ,.

Bl 0 NMU• A I• KPO• ' KPURUOKWU N'IGB • •

To all who have contributed to the advancement of the study of the igb6 language. To and for my children, firstly, for necessitating this book. Secondly, for all the hours that were spent brainstorming complimentary igb6 and English sounds.

Copyright© ljeoma Chigboh-Ude 2019

Introduction Phonetics is the relationship between phonemes (distinct ' sounds) and letter symbols. Just like English, the Igbo alphabet

is based on the Latin script. English consists of a standard 26 letter alphabet from which 44 phonemes are isolated. The ' standard Igbo alphabet however was constructed to include

phonemes. Unfortunately, not all the Igbo phonemes are included in this alphabet system. For effective learning of ' ' Igbo, it is imperative to list all of the known phonemes in Igbo

Land and to isolate and pronounce the phoneme devoid of exaggerations such as ah, be, che. Our phonetic Igbo alphabet consists of 56 phonemes (19 vowels and 37 consonants) made up of letters, diagraphs and triagraphs. Diagraphs and triagraphs are a blend of letters that combine to produce a phoneme e.g ch. They are considered as individual letters because all the letters in a diagraph/triagraph are pronounced in order to make the sought after sound. It must be understood ' that a phoneme in lgbo represents only one grapheme

(spelling) example f not ph, kw not qu, k not c nor ck. 2

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IgbO phonetic alphabet "The igbo letters should be pronounced like you would pronounce the phonemes highlighted in the English words."

a

aa

b

ch

d

t

e

ee

at

car

bee

chair

dog

bli tz

egg

air

e.

f

g

gb

gh

gw

h

.I

cake

fly

go

page 19

page 20

gwen

hat

green

ii

. I

..

.

II •• silver

J

k

kp

kw

I

j ug

key

page 29

queen

lion

bee

ink

m

m

n

n

ri

nw

ny

0

mat

come

nest

bend

gnaw

page 37

ca nyon

cone

,

,

(nasal )

00

Q

QQ

p

pf

r

Ir

s

olden

auto

aurora

pen

page 44

red

page 46

sat

sh

t

t

tg

th

u

uu

l;I

ship

tin

page 50

page 51

th ink

true

canoe

dual

l;l l;I

v

bv

w

wh

y

z

zh

biling ual

van

page 57

w atch

who

yell

zoo

pleasure

vowels/ consonants/ diagraphs/ triagraph whistling diagraph 3

V owels/U daume • Primary vowel

a

dot on short vowel

1

0

u

tf

l

Q

l)

e'

1'

0'

u'

grave on vowel

a'

acute on vowel

a

long vowel

aa ee

,

.

e

,

e

,

1 ..

11

,

diacritics

,

0

u

00

uu

..

n

99

l)l)

Dots, graves and acutes are diacritical marks. Diacritics are used to distinguish between homonyms (words that sound or are spelt alike, but have different meanings). Vowels and ' diacritics help to pronounce, write, and read words in Igbo. • Low pitch tones are indicated with a grave on a vowel. • Mid pitch tones are sometimes marked with a macron(-) but are often unmarked in Igbo literature. • High pitch tones are indicated with an acute on a vowel. ada-pitch ada-fall ada-first daughter •

isi/ishi - smell isi/ishi - blind isi/ishi - head

akwa akwa akwa akwa

- egg - cry - cloth - bed

Pitch vanat1ons in long vowels are usually not distinguished in Igbo literature. They would normally be written without any diacritical marks. kaa - mark asaa - seven

nee - look bekee - english 4

(high pitch) (low pitch)

' Apostrophes as connectives in Igbo literature. ' In Igbo speech, vowel integration occurs in adjacent vowels which, result in the pronunciation of the vowel as a long vowel na ej e (neeje), ka any! (Kaanyi). To differentiate between adjacent vowels and long vowels in Igbo literature, the first silent vowel is dropped and in such cases, apostrophes are used as connectives. It is important to note that the standard writing format for adjacent vowels uses a hyphen as a connective na-eje.

In certain dialects, vowels are either silent or absent. In such cases apostrophes are used in place of the absent vowel in order to emphasise the pronunciation. The syllabic structure however will remain unchanged. For example: Nk one syllable. Nk' two syllables. adjacent vowel absent vowel possessive pronoun g'eje ga e Je geeJe ka anyi k'anyi ana'm Ana m1:1 9sa a 9sa'a nk' (two syllables) nke'm nke m1:1 . . gn' (two syllables) g1n1 nn'n (three syllables) nn1:1n1:1 .

.

'm and 'a - indicate that m/a is not a suffix even though it should be pronounced as though it were a suffix. e.g :nke m\l - nke m (sounds like nkem in speech!) nke a (sounds like nkea in speech!) 5

Igbo dialects A dialect is a version of a language that is phonologically different from other versions. It is often but not always defined by geographical location. Igbo is a complicated language with several dialects dispersed within Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, Rivers and Delta States in Nigeria. Some regional dialects are listed below 12345678-

~titi Igbo(4,5)

north east ( afikpo/ezza/izzi/ikwo) north (nsukka/agbaja/enugu/awgt,J) north west (enuanifnnewi/awka) central (izugbe/owerri/\lmvahja south east (ngwa/ar9/abjrjba/bende) south (ikwerre/ogba) south west (ukwanj/aboh/ndoni) ika

Waawa( l ,2)

Agba~nu(3 )

This book will focus on highlighting the three dialect clusters above in a generalised format, because almost all versions of Igbo have a phonological similarity to the dialects in groups 15, due to a migration led dispersal of phonemes. It will be very difficult to represent each dialect in this book. Where possible, we will endeavour to list as many word variations as we can.

House : \llQ/\lyQ/\lnQ/l) lo/ulo One : ofu/otu/owhu/olu/ohu/naa 6

How to use this book This book has been designed to introduce Igbo alphabets and sentence structure at an elementary level. •

It will feature an Igbo letter ...

Jj •

Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in (an English word) j ourney.

It will also feature an lgbo word e.g J ide9f9 that contains the

featured letter and will connect both words in a sentence. For example; J ide9f9! come, let us go on a journey. •

' It will translate the sentence into three generalised Igbo dialects,

where possible. Jide9f9! Bia, anyi e je njem. Jide9f9! Bia, k'ayi je njem. Jide9f9! Bia, k'any! je njem NB : A phonetic alphabet pronunciation guide video ' is available on the YouTube channel nm\lta IgbQ. 7

Aa Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in animal

ag(l/ag' leg\ileg' /agw(l tiger

Tigers are large animals. ,

Ag(! akara W\l nnukwli an(lman\l. ,

Ag' akara b\l nnukwli an'man. ,

Ag(! akara b\l iln~kwli an(l1nan\l. Agl} owuru is the Igbo word for leopard. Often shortened to ag\}. Ag\l became used to identify other non native big cats from the panthera family of which, tigers are the largest. Tiger - agv akara (striped leopard)

8

AAaa Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

. as 1n car

asaa/ isaa/ esaa • seven

Seven women are waiting to enter this car. 1)ml)nwaanyi as a a n ' eche i ba l) gboala' a.

l)ml)waaya jsaa n'eche i ba l)gboan'n(wa). l)ml)nwaanyi jsaa n'eche i ba l)gboana' a. Important variations. eche - thinking. as!! - low pitch I \lID\mwaanyj - mid pitch. Women : \lID\lriaaril/\lm\lnwaanyi/1,lm\lwaaya.

9

Bb Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in bread

mbe/nnabe•

tortoise

What is Tortoise doing with that bread? ,

Olee ihe

, Nnab~

ji ach!chabekee erne?

Qg'n h\l Mbe ji ach!chabekee rn~koolr? ,

Qgini ka Mbe ji ach!chabekee erne? Mbe-nwa-anjga/ Mbekwu-nwa-anjwaqga often shortened to rhbe. low (ee) sound (be-k-air)bekee. mid (ee) sound (o-1-aireh)olee high (ee) sound (kehh)kee 10

CH ch Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

as in chopsticks

ab ch t/okoto/ogodo/jigb9/mb cha Cassava strips

Can you use chopsticks to eat abacha?

l nwereike i j i 6sisinri ri~ abacha? I welrvike i j i 6shishinlri lrio abacha?

l nwel\,like i j i 6sisinni li~ abacha? 11

Dd Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in drum

odum •

•

lion

The lion is hitting the drum. Qd1!m l' eti ~gba. Qd\lm n' eti ~gba. ' Qd\lm n' eti igba. Important variations. 9dv m - my tail. n'~chi - hitting (in some dialects).

12

n'~chi

nti - stubborn.

DTZ dtz Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

as in blitz

dtzi/di/ji husband

My husband showed us a photo of the Blitz. Dtzi 'm gosiri any! foto Blitz. Dtzi 'm goshil ayi foto Blitz. Di 'm gosili any! foto Blitz. (anyj/ any\/ anyD are accent variations of anyi which means us. Accent variations of words are common in Igbo. They should not be confused with dialectal variations. Ji is yam in most dialects.

13

Ee Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation . ' we ' en as 1n eggs monkey

Monkey! What are you doing with Kite's eggs? ,

'

Enwe! Nini ka i ji akwa Egbe eme? '

,

Enwe! Gn' b'iji akwa Egbe eme? ,

'

Enwe! Gini k'i ji akwa Egbe eme? Monkey is enwe in some dialects. egbe - gun I egbe - creep what: gjnifgn'/gt,ml,l/gjn/giri/nini

14

EE ee Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

. . as 1n air "stretched e sound"

,

see draw

Listen to the echo, whilst we draw. Gee nchieta\lda, k'anyi see ihe. Gee nchiete\lda, k'ayi see ihe. Gee nchietal,lda, k'anyi see ife. Low pitch sound - "air" High pitch sound - "air?"

15

Ee • •

Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in aid ape ate ache ,

,

~ny1

~wU/~ghu

elephant

goat

Elephant! Come to my aid, my back aches. ,

~nyi!

Bia ZQ\ltga'm,

az~

l't;gbu'm.

,

~nyi!

Bia z9f\lta'm, az' n't;gbu'm.

,

~nyi!

Bia ZQp\lta'm, azv n't;gbu'm.

Important variation - ~nyi -friend. ~nyi-n-ilo /~nyi-m-~nyi often shortened to

16

~nyi.

Ff Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

as in feather ~ff/ ~hi/ ~pfi/ ~bvi/ ~vi ('()1 t'

Me! Fly? Cows don't have feathers. ,

M\l! Fee?

~hi

anaghl enwe ab\lba.

,

:efi an' gh ewe ab\lba.

Mvh! Hee? ,

M\l! Fee? Efi anara enwe ab\lba. Important information r/f/h and many more letters or diagraphs can be substituted to create dialect variations of the igbo word for does not. Ana (r) (f) (h) (kw) a

17

Gg Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in garment

aga/agiga/ntl)tl) Needle

Needles are used to sew garments! Agiga k'~ji a kwa akwa! Aga b\l ~ji a kwa akwa! ,

Aga k'~ji a kwa akwa! garment/cloth : ekwa/ekpa/uw~/efe/ehe . Ka~ ji

-

(k~~ji)

18

- k ' ~ji

GBgb Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation '

as in Igb6 "try saying 9 with c1osed lips like you would tor b" gbaje run

1~e,o ll

' I am running to the Igbo lesson.

M: l'agbaga nga iikuzi igbo. ,

'

A n'm agbaje ilk' iik'z Igbo. ,

'

A na'm agbaje ebe iikuzi Igbo. place ebe/(fbilllk/libe here (this place) ebe'a/llk' nwa/n9 '9wa/llka/ika 'a/nga 'a

19

GH gh Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation. as in g h "pretend you are breathing out through your mouth"

ghQQ pluck

Pluck a banana. Gh9r9 unere. Gh9ta unene. GhQl\l unene. Important variations understand - gh9ta/gh9ta banana : unene/unere/unele

20

GWgw Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

.

as 1n gwen

gwa tell

Go and tell Gwen that it is time to play. Gaa gwa Gwen l'oruola 6ge

t;gwuru~gwu.

Jee gwa Gwen n'olruwo 6ge

igwuli~gwu.

Jee gwa Gwen n'olugo 6ge igwuli¢gwu. Important variation ~gwli

: fear. Gba is "tell" in some dialects and "run" in most. 21

Hh

Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in hat

uhie• paint

I am painting my hat.

:M teg(a/e) uhit; l'okpu'm. ,

A n'1n ete uhit; n'okpu'm. ,

A na'm ete uhit; n'okpu'm. Important information Ana'm -1 am. A na' m - am I? A naa' m - I don't, I won't. painting (applying paint) tega/tege/ete uhi(f

22

Ii Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

.

as 1n creep ,.,.,

IJIJI fly

Bee and Fly are creeping on the grass. Nkp(lrl;tan\l la Ijiji l' egbe l 'ahihia. Akp(llrl;tagh\l n' Ijiji n'egbe n'afifia. Akp~h)ail\l

na Ijiji n'egbe

n'af~fia.

Important information In literature the

Igbo word for Bee is often shortened to aill,l 23

II ii Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

. as 1n see

isii/ishii szx

1

4

I can see six bottles. ,

M l' a h\l kararna isii. ,

A n 'rn a whu olrorn ishii.

N n'a f\l kararna isii. 24

•

I• I•

Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in ink

igba •

drum

Worm! Did you spill ink on the drum?

Idjde ! JW\lf\l uhivedemede n ' ~gba? Idjde!

JW\11 uhivedemede n'!gba?

Idjde!

JW\11\l uhivedemede n'~gba? Important variation Worm irigiri/okpoo/arjkwa!(frikwe

25

II ii ••••

Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

as in silver mirror

diiri/ diili/ lr •• • • • doo • • •

left to

Odii . .. took the silver mirror left to me. Odil weerv ugegbe Qla9cha dijri 'm. Odil weelr' ugegbe Qla9cha d99lr'm. Odil weelv ugegbe Qla9cha dijli 'm. 26

Jj Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in Japan

Je/ga go

Where are you going? We are going to Japan. Olee nga unu gaje? Any~ l'eje Japan. ,

,

Ndee ibe unu jt;ko? Ay{ n'eje Japan. ,

,

Unu e jeko ebee? Anyl n'eje Japan. You are going where? I j(fko llkoo? l jeko ebee? Uekeebee) What place are you going? Olee ebi unu gaje? Ndee nk' unu j(fko? Ked\l ebe unu n'aga? Where are you going to? Ebee ka unu n'eje/gaje/n 'aga? Ebee b\l unu j{fko/n'eje/n'ega?

27

Kk Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

as in king

Okonta/Okonta •

Okonta is a king. Okonta W\l eze. Okonta b\l eze. Okonta b\l eze. Important variation teeth lhe a bl,! eze! eze n ' ~gbu ' rn!

28

KP kp Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in kp "try saying k with closed lips like you would for p"

Ikpa

kp kp tndo war

Ikpa is calling Azµka to come and see a star. ' Ikpa kp9ga Az(lka k'9 bia h(lr(i kpakpando. '

Ikpa n'(fk' Az(lka k'9 bia wh(llr(l kpakpando. Ikpa n'akp9 Az(lka k'9 bia f(lll} kpakpando. Important information ka Q - k' 9 The

igbo name Azvvka is erroneously written as Azl;lka.

29

KW kw Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

kw1,1

as in quill

stand/standing/stood

Okwy is standing on the quill. Okwy kwl:J l't;lu ab\lbaedemede. Okwy kwl) n't;n' ab\lbaedemede. Okwy kwl) n't;nu ab\lbaedemede. 30

LI Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

as in Lizard

ljg6/rjg6/lrjg6 climb/climbing

Look! Lizard is climbing the tree. Lee! Ngwere l'arjg6 ukwli 6sisi. Nee! Ngwere n'alig6 ukwli 6shishi. Nee! Ngwele n'aljg6 ukwli 6sisi. Important variation ukwli - large

31

Mm

Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation . as 1n me

Mu •

me

r

It's me, Mma's mummy. , 0 W\l m\l, nne, Mma. 09 m', ne Mma. ,

09 ID\l, nne N ma. Important information Me : M\lnwa I M ' I Ami

32

I

I

Mm Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

. . as 1n Jump.

ri1111iri/111ili/n.111ili/il111iri/111ilri/111ii H'ater

Frog! Did you see Antelope jump over the water? ,

,

Mbara! l hl}.n) mgbe Mgbada wvfef\l mrniri? ,

,

Mbara! l whl)ln) mgb' Mgbada wvh~l mili? Mbala!

l f\lllJ. mgbe Mgbada wvfeel\l nrnili?

Important information The phoneme malways precedes a consonant. Mgbada/Ene/Qcha are three different species of Antelope "african deer" found in Igbo Land.

33

Nn Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

as in nest

1 n inu/1 n'n • bird

What is used to weave the nest of birds? Olee ihe t; ji a kpa akWl) llil\lD\l? Qg'n b\l t; ji a kpa akWl) nn'n?

Qgini k't; ji a kpa akWl) nn\ln\l? Important variations akWl,l - palm fruit. To weave - i kpa I Weaving - akpa "what thing they use weaving nest bird"

34

,

Nii

Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation . as 1n song

nnunu/nn'n • • bird

Bird is singing a song. , Nn\ln\l l'ag\l ~gwli. ,

,

Nn'n n'ag'

~gwli.

Nn\lll\l n'ag\l

~gwli.

Important information The phoneme n always precedes a consonant

35

•

N Ii Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in gnaw, ngh (nasal) •

DUO • • drink

Don't gnaw at the cup, drink from it. A ta zi la iko, D\19 ihe

di l' irne ya.

A taa na iko, gh\19 ihe d' n'irnee ye. A ta zi na iko, D\19 ife

di n'irnii t;.

Important information

ctvrvd' Ata-z!-na - stop chewing (bring forth not, chewing)!

36

NWnw Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

. as In nw

"make a nasal w sound"

nwoke/nwoko Male/boy/man

Nwosu is a young boy. Nwosu W\l nwata nwoko. Nwosu b\l wata nwoke. Nwosu b\l nwata nwoke. Important information. Nw6ke I nw6ke are accent variations of nwoke.

37

NYny Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

. as 1n canyon

"make a nasal y sound"

nye'rn/ye'm Give me

•

Who will give me the drink? Please! Onye g'i nye'm rilmanyi? Biko! Oye k'e ye'm maya? Biko! Onye g'e nye'm rilmanya? Biko! vowel dropping. ga e nye m1,.1 - g'e nye'm. In Igbo literature m appears as a suffix e.g my own - mine: llke ffi\l - llke'm - llkem.

38

Oo Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

as in hope

olotna/orotna/olotne/olrotne orange

I hope for a big orange. ,

M chekwlibere nnukwli oroma. ~

chekwlibelr'm nnukwli olrome.

~

chekwlibel\l'm

nn~kwli

39

oloma.

OOoo Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in olden "stretched 0 sound"

gboo olden

The house by the coast was built in the olden days. ,

A f\lf\l \llo ah\l di na ikperemmiri mgbe gboo. ,

A ln;tlr VY9 9'rn d n'ikpelrernili mgb' gboo.

A1\11\l \}n9 af\l di na ikpelenrnili mgbe gboo. 40

Oo • • Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

as in auto

\lgbQ ala/an' /ana/ani car

Auto is another name for car. Auto W\l aha QZQ a n'akpQ l)gbQala. Auto bl) aha QZQ a n't;k' l)gbQan'. Auto bl) afa QZQ a n'akpQ µgbQana. Important variation. 6z6 - traditional title.

41

OOoo • • • • Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in Aurora or?

kpQQ

.... .. • -•- • •

call

•

"Please call Aurora for me." "She is at work." "Biko kpQQ rQ'm Aurora." "O n9 n'\llQQr\l." "Biko kpQQ lf\l'm Aurora."

"O n9 n'\lllQQlr' ."

"Biko kpQQ l\l'tn Aurora." "O n9 n '\lllQQl\l." Important variation "n" and "l" are very often interchanged na/la : 19/n9

42

Pp Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation . as 1n papa

Pia .fold

My papa is folding the clothes. ,

Nna'rn l'apia akwa. ,

Nna'rn n'apia akwa. ,

Nna tn\l n'apia akwa. 43

PF pf Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in pf "try saying f with closed lips like you would for p"

apfja/ahja/afia/avja/ebvja/ashua market

I am at the market. , A n9'm n'ahia. , A n9'm n'apfja. ,

A n9'm n'afia. 44

Rr Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

as in Rat

ngwer e/ngwele/ngwt;r t; lizard

Rat and Lizard are eating, let's leave them. ,

'

Oke la Ngwere ,

'

Oken' Ngwere '

,

l'~rinri,

k'anyi hap\1 ha.

n'~lrinlri,

k'ayi hab\lo ha.

n'~linni,

k'anyi rap\1 fa.

Oke na Ngwele

The Igbo word for rat is okerekwu. It is often shortened to oke. Leave : hapl,l/rapl,l/hafiµhaf' /habVl,l let us - let's ka any} - k' any}

45

LR Ir Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in Ir "try saying r with your tongue at the roof of your mouth"

nlro/nro/nlo • • •

dream

I dreamt that Snail was climbing a mushroom. ,

,

A r9r9'm nr9 ka Njuna n'ari vru. ,

A Ir9l'm nlr9 k' Ejine n'alri vlru.

A 19h;t'm nl9 ka Eju(na) n'ali yfO Important variation Snail : ~jule/njuna/~jine/~ju/~juna

46

Ss Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation .

as 1n see

osa . Squirrel

Can this squirrel see? Qsa flke' a a ll' ah\l \lZQ? Qsa n(wa)

a n'aWh\l \lZQ?

Qsa'a ll\l nwa

an'af\l \lZQ?

Important variation See: hv/whµ/ft,i/W\l

47

SH sh Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in shoe

sh

crayfish crab nsh!kC? prawn oporo

This shoe smells like krillfish. Akp\lkPl.ll.lkw(t' a n' tf Shi ka is ha. ,

Akp\1\lkw(t'n(wa) n'tfshi k'jsha. ,

Akp\1\lkw(t' a n' tf Si ka isha. Important information Krillfish is mostly, erroneously called Crayfish in Nigeria. akp\lkp9 \lkW\l pronounced akp\lkP\l\lkW\l

48

Tt Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

as in touch ear

Touch your ear. Met\l ntgi gi. M~t'

nti gh\l.

Met\l nti gi. 49

Tt • • Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in dt "attempt hissing and saying d with tongue behind teeth"

nkita/nchita/nk\lta/nk' ta/ngta/ezheta/ekite dog

Dog has got a pot, in the middle of the road. ,

Nkita ji ite n9r9 n' t;titi \lZQ. ,

Nkita ji ite n9lf\l n' t;titi \lZQ. ,

Nkita ji ite nQl\l n't;titi \lZQ. 50

TGtg Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in

tg "attempt saying t whilst make a gulping sound"

ntgv/ntv/ntv nail

I have found my box of nails. , A h\l la'm igb~ ntg\l'm. Aa Wh\l wo'm akpati nw'm. ,

A f\l go'1n akpati nt\l'm. Important information I have seen - a fi)go ml,!. I have found - a ch9tago ml,!.

51

Uu Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

as in true

Ugbo/Ubi farm

Is it true that there is a farm at the school? 09

e~iokwu

l'enwere ugbo l\1loakWl)kw9?

09

~z'okwu

n'eweh) ugbo n\1n9akW\lkw9?

Oo . . .eziokwu n'enwelu . ubi n'unoakwukwo? . . . . Important information true : nene/ne

52

uu uu Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation

.

as 1n canoe

ukwuu plenty la lot

"I am having fun! A lot, on this canoe." ,

,

M n'enwe ailuri! Nga ukwuu, l'\lgb9amala'a. ,

,

A n'm ewe aghuli! Nk' ukwli n\1gb9amala'n(wa). ,

,

A na'm enwe ailuli! Nke ukwuu, n'\lgb9amala'a. 53

Uu • • Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in dual

usu • • bat

A bat is on the car, playing a guitar in a farm. l)sl} lQ l'vlu 1}gb9ala, akp9 l}bQ l'ugbo. l)sl} nQ n'vn 1}gb9an, akp9 l}bQ n'ugbo. l)sl} nQ n'vnu 1}gb9ana, akp9 l}bQ n'ubi. 54

uu uu • • • • Letter sound and phonetic pronunciation as in act-u-ally, bilingual agl}l} hunger

uneto.u

•

I am actually hungry. Agl}l) l'ag\lkwan\}'m. Agl)l). n'ag'kwan'rn. Agl}l). n'ag\}kwan\}'m 55

mama nt