Igbo language

Spoken in

  • Niger - Congo languages Benue - Congo languages Igboide languages Igbo

Ibo

Ibo

Igbo (also known as Ibo ) is a language in Nigeria. It is the language of the Igbo of the same name and is spoken by approximately 18 to 25 million people. The distribution area of language is mainly the south-east of Nigeria, as Biafra was independent of 1967-1970. The Igbo language belongs to the branch of Igboiden languages ​​within the Benue -Congo languages ​​of the Niger - Congo languages ​​. Igbo Hausa and Yoruba belongs next to the main languages ​​in Nigeria, in addition to the official English official language.

The language is mainly used as a communication and lingua franca, more rarely as a reading and writing language as there is little literature is written in this language. In many urban areas of the Igbos now often replaced the Nigerian Pidgin the Igbo. In fact, many Igbo use today is no longer the Igbo language, but local dialects of Nigerian Pidgin. The Igbo language is pronounced by its speakers as ibo [ íɓò ] and uses the Pannigerianischen alphabet. There are in addition a standard Igbo several dozen different dialects. The Igbo is a tonal language with two tones: high and low.

Alphabet

The most commonly used, ajar to the International Phonetic Alphabet Alphabet for Igbo was established in the 1950s by SE Onwu, the chairman of the Onwu Orthography Committee.

Text sample

Universal Declaration of Human Rights:

407814
de