What are Dialects?

Dialects are variations of a language spoken by different groups of people. They can vary in vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar. For instance, in English, there are dialects like American English, British English, Australian English, etc which are generally quite easy to understand. However, some languages may have dialects with lower mutual intelligibility, like Swiss German and Standard German.

The Goal of This Series:

The aim of this article series is to help encourage people to continue with their Igbo learning journey despite the issue of various dialects. While dialectal variations may seem daunting, they are aspects that learners can easily grasp. Learning one dialect, especially a widely spoken one, enables individuals to communicate effectively in Igbo, and this can help foster connections with family members and the broader Igbo-speaking community.

With that said, let’s start!

Lesson 1: Focus on the Root Word

One fundamental aspect of understanding Igbo dialects is focusing on the root word. Despite variations in pronunciation and grammar, many words share a common root. An example of this, using another language, is Spanish compared to Portuguese. Because both are Latin-based romance languages, many words have the same root. For example, the word “education” in Spanish is “educación,” and in Portuguese, it’s “educação.”

Let’s take a look how root words work in Igbo:

Example 1)

Southern [or Central] Igbo (Spoken predominately in Imo, Abia and others)	Northern Igbo (Spoken predominately in Anambra, Enugu and others)	English
Ole ihe i mere?	Kedu ife i melụ?	What did you do?
Chere	Chelụ	Wait

In Igbo, the root word for “do” is “me,” which is typically present in almost all Igbo dialects. However, like the examples above, there are differences in the suffixes:

• re (mere)

• and -lụ (melụ).

Similarly, “chere” (Southern Igbo)

becomes “chelụ” (Northern Igbo) for “wait.”

Here, the root word remains the same (che), but the suffixes vary.

Example 2)

Southern [or Central] Igbo (Spoken predominately in Imo, Abia and others)	Northern Igbo (Spoken predominately in Anambra, Enugu and others)	English
Ọdịghị mma	Ọdịrọ mma	That is not good.

Here, the root word Ọdị (“it is”) remains constant, while the suffixes -ghị and -rọ differ. In this particular case, pronunciation variations may also occur, such as the softening of the –ghị so it sounds more like “yee” in some dialects. Whereas in other dialects, -ghị might sounds more like “gị” resembling the pronunciation of gị (you) in Igbo.

Lesson 2: Watch out for letter swaps

In Igbo dialects, it’s essential to watch out for letter swaps. This is where certain letters in some words may differ. This phenomenon is common and can lead to variations in pronunciation and spelling across different regions. Let’s break down some examples:

H,F or V Swaps

A common letter swap that’s often seen is H-F-V. Let’s look at this using the Igbo words for “thing” and “name”.

Southern [or Central] Igbo (Spoken predominately in Imo, Abia and others)	Northern Igbo (Spoken predominately in Anambra, Enugu and others)	Ebonyi & others	English
Ihe	Ife	Ive	Thing
Afa	Aha	Ava	Name

Despite having the same meaning and usage, the only difference lies in the pronunciation of the middle letter.

In Oka, Anambra State (in the North), you may hear the F sound used, while in Mberi, Imo State (in the south/centre), the H sound is more common. In certain areas of Ebonyi State, the V sound might be used. This regional variation explains a name like Ifeoma, Iheoma, and Iveoma may be spelled differently despite meaning the same thing (i.e. good thing)

L/R Swaps

Another common swap involves the letters L and R. For example:

Southern [or Central] Igbo (Spoken predominately in Imo, Abia and others)	Northern Igbo (Spoken predominately in Anambra, Enugu and others)	English
Mmiri	Mmili	Water
Chọrọ	Chọlọ	Want

N/L Swaps

Similarly, the letters N and L may be interchanged:

Southern [or Central] Igbo (Spoken predominately in Imo, Abia and others)	Northern Igbo (Spoken predominately in Anambra, Enugu and others)	English
Ụlọ	Ụnọ	Home/house

Example Sentence

To finish, let’s see what “I want water at home” would be in the southern and northern Igbo dialects.

In Owerri, Imo State, you’ll hear:

• Achọrọ m mmiri n’ụlọ.

Whereas in Oka, Anambra State, you’ll likely hear:

• Achọlọ m mmili n’ụnọ.

Stay tuned for more lessons that share insights to enhance your understanding of Igbo language!