LANGUAGES & INTRO

SITE AWARDS
JOBS IN NIGERIA & BEYOND
NIGERIAN ORGANIZATIONS
SEND FREE WEBCARD
IMMIGRATION
ONLINE AFFILIATES
LINK TO SITE
HOMEWORK HELP
USEFUL UTILITIES
THE LOVE ZONE
OTHER LINKS ON NIGERIA
LINK EXCHANGES
SCAM INFORMATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRO
THE GEOGRAPHY

LOCATION

MAP

STATES, CAPITALS, & LINKS

LAND & CLIMATE

RIVERS

TOWNS & CITIES
PATRIOTIC STUFF

FLAG

COAT OF ARMS

NATIONAL ANTHEM

NATIONAL PLEDGE

MOTTO
PEOPLES

POPULATION

RELIGION
     -CHRISTIANITY
     -ISLAM
     -TRADITIONAL
     -INFLUENCE

ETHNIC GROUPS
     -YORUBA
     -IBO (or IGBO)
     -HAUSA (& FULANI)
     -OTHERS
CULTURES & CUSTOMS
LANGUAGES & INTRO

LANGUAGES
     -YORUBA ALPHABET
        & LANGUAGE
     -IBO ALPHABET & LANGUAGE
     -HAUSA ALPHABET
        & LANGUAGE
     -LINKS TO OTHERS

LANGUAGE RESOURCES
     -GENERAL RESOURCES
     -YORUBA RESOURCES
     -IBO RESOURCES
     -HAUSA RESOURCES
     -OTHERS
MORE ON LANGUAGES
     -NUMBERS
     -PEOPLE
     -BODY PARTS
     -HOUSE PARTS
     -PLACES
     -OTHER WORDS
ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES
NAMES & ORIGINS

YORUBA NAMES
     -THE NAMING CEREMONY
     -COMMON PARTS
     -CIRCUMSTANTIAL NAMES

IGBO NAMES

HAUSA NAMES

LINKS ON NAMES
MARRIAGE & FAMILY

THE WEDDING

MARRIAGE TIDBITS

FAMILY TIDBITS

OTHER SOURCES
FOODS AND DRINKS

INTRO

SOME MEALS

SOME DRINKS
RECIPES

RECIPES

LINKS
FOOD: BUYING & DINING

BUYING (ingredients and food)

DINING (restaurants)
HEALTHCARE

TRADITIONAL HEALTH

CURRENT HEALTH POLICY

INFO FOR TRAVELERS

CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE

LANGUAGES & INTRO
LANGUAGE RESOURCES

If after going through the language of your choice on this page, you still feel like learning more on that language, you can check the more on language page on this site, and also of course, check out the language resources listed at the bottom of this page.

plain white line

LANGUAGES & INTRO

English is the official language in Nigeria. We were colonized by the British, obtaining our independence on October 1, 1960.
Many other African countries were colonized by the French, so a lot of them have French as the official language, so if I plan to travel further around the continent, being able to understand and speak French will be a big plus. Being able to write it would be even nicer!

Also, there is also a variation of English called 'Pidgin English' or 'Broken English'. For instance, "I'm going" is "I de go", "I wont" is "I no", "what" is "wetin", and those are just a few examples. For more examples, check out this link. ,

Of course, we also have slangs, like any other country, and you can see some of them at this link.

Links to Nigerian Languages:

There are three main language, named after the peoples they belong to. They are Yoruba (mine), Ibo (also spelled Igbo), and Hausa. There are however, over 300 dialects, both within the main languages, and across them. For instance, my parents speak a dialect of Yoruba that I can understand, but I can't speak. There are others that I can't even understand.

Back to Contents

YORUBA ALPHABET & LANGUAGE

Here is an introduction into the Yoruba language.

The Yoruba alphabet consists of 25 letters, as shown below:
*In case you are wondering, the sound samples are my aunt*
LETTER	SOUNDS LIKE (IN ENGLISH)
a	English word 'ahh'
b	English word 'bee'
d	English word 'dee'
e	English letter 'a'
	English sound of 'e' in 'let'
f	English word 'fee'
g	English sound of 'g' in 'get'
gb	Very 'hard sounding' 'b'.
h	English word 'he'
i	English letter 'e'
j	English letter 'g'
k	English word 'key'
l	English word 'lee'
m	English word 'me'
n	'nee'
o	English letter 'o'
	English sound 'au' as in word 'fault'
p	Very hard-sounding 'p'.
r	're'
s	English word 'see'
	English word 'she'
t	English word 'tea'
u	English sound of 'oo' in word 'loose'
w	English word 'we'
y	English word 'ye'

Within the Yoruba language, there are also accents that define how a syllable is pronounced. In the written language, these consist of the following options, and are placed on top of the letters, usually on top of the vowels.

ACCENT SYMBOL	VOCAL SOUND
	Intonation: Fall of voice
(nothing)	Normal
	Intonation: Rise of voice
	Circumflex: long syllable

As an example, take a simple three letter word like 'igba' (remember, gb is ONE letter). It can have the following meanings depending on the accents (these sounds are my aunt too):

WORD	MEANING	HEAR IT
	Time, period
	Two hundred
	Calabash cut in half
	Locust tree
	System of pawning

Also, like in other languages, the exact same word can have different meanings. As another example, take the state my parents are from originally (Ogun). In this case, the accents make a difference, plus there are different meanings with the same accents (these sounds are my aunt too).

WORD	MEANING	HEAR IT
	Basket used to catch shrimps & lobsters god of iron, god of war
	An inheritance.
	Medicine
	Sweat
	War
	Twenty

Here are some common phrases in the language, written and spoken. (When speaking the Yoruba language, the exact wording you use usually depends on how the person you are referring to compares to you in age, and that is why there are two different forms below.) The written phrases are minus the accents.
(These sounds are me. However, I am not perfect in the speech, plus my 'r's don't sound right in either language, and I can't even say the 'p' or 'gb' in Yoruba correctly.

ENGLISH PHRASE	NOTE	AGE MATE OR YOUNGER	SOMEONE OLDER
Good Morning	spelled out
Good Morning	more common
Good Afternoon	spelled out
Good Afternoon	more common
Good Evening	spelled out
Good Evening	more common
Good Night (Until Morning)	spelled out		SAME
Good Night (Until Morning)	more common		SAME
GoodBye			SAME
Long time no see
Please
Thank You
Yes			SAME
No			SAME

For some common parts in Yoruba names, click here.

Back to Contents

IBO ALPHABET & LANGUAGE

Here is what I've been able to obtain as an introduction into the Ibo language. I want to thank Amaka M. for her help with the alphabet. If you have other contributions to make (like sound samples, additional common phrases, sound descriptions, please send them to me.

The Ibo alphabet consists of 36 letters, as shown below:
*Missing pronunciations are unknown.*
LETTER	SOUNDS LIKE (IN ENGLISH)
a	English word 'ahh'
b	English word 'bee'
ch	English sound 'ch' to 'chalk'
d	English word 'dee'
e	English letter 'a'
f	English word 'fee'
g	English sound of 'g' in 'get'
gb	Very 'hard sounding' 'b'.
gh
gw
h	English word 'he'
i	English sound 'e'
	English sound 'i' in 'ink'
j	English letter 'g'
k	English word 'key'
kp
kw
l	English word 'lee'
m	English word 'me'
n	'nee'
	nasal sounding 'n'
nw
ny
o	English letter 'o'
	English sound 'au' as in word 'fault'
p	Very hard-sounding 'p'.
r	're'
s	English word 'see'
sh	English word 'she'
t	English word 'tea'
u	English sound of 'oo' in word 'loose'

v	English letter 'v'
w	English word 'we'
y	English word 'ye'
z	English letter 'z'

Here are some common phrases in the language, written (once again, since I do not know the language, I can not speak it, but if you want to send me sound samples, please send them to webdiva@motherlandnigeria.com). Thanks to Dele Ukwu for help on some of these.

ENGLISH PHRASE	IBO PHRASE
Good morning	Ezigbo ututu (Isala chi)
Good day	Ezigbo ubosi (Ubosi oma)
Good afternoon	Ezigbo efife (Imela efife)
Good evening	Ezigbo mgbede
Good night	Ezigbo anyasi (anyasi oma)
Welcome	Nno
How are you?	Kedu
I am fine (response to above)	Odi Mma
Thank you	Dalu
Goodbye	Ka omesia OR Ka odi
Long time no see	Ote kwana
Nice seeing you again	Anya m ji fu gi egbulam
Please	Biko
Yes	eee OR eyi OR ehe
No	Mba

Back to Contents

HAUSA ALPHABET & LANGUAGE

Here is what I've been able to obtain as an introduction into the Hausa language (mostly from a Hausa/English dictionary). Of course, contributions are welcome (in terms of sound samples, sound descriptions, names and meanings like I have on the names page, etc.).

The Hausa alphabet consists of 29 letters, as shown below:
*Missing pronunciations are unknown.*
LETTER	SOUNDS LIKE (IN ENGLISH)
'	glottal stop
a	short: 'a' in cat long: 'a' in father
b	'b in bee

c	'ch' in child
d	'd' in dog

a	short: 'e' in get long: English letter 'a'
f	'f' in fat
g	'g' in girl
h	'h' in home
i	short: 'i' in hit long: English letter 'e'
j	'j' in joke
k	'k' in kid

l	'l' in love
m	'm' in mom
n	'n' in no
o	short: 'o' in hot long: English letter 'o'
r	either 'flapped' or 'rolled' as in Scots English
s	's' in sun
sh	'sh' in shout
t	't' in time
ts
u	short: 'u' in put long: 'oo' in 'noon'
w	'w' in win
y	'y' in you
'y
z	'z' in zero

ENGLISH PHRASE	HAUSA PHRASE	HAUSA RESPONSE
Hello	Sannu	Yauwa sannu or Sannu kadai
Good Morning	Barka da safe	Barka kadai
Good Day	Barka da rana	Barka kadai
Good afternoon	Barka da yamma	Barka kadai
Good evening	Barka da yamma	Barka kadai
Good night	Mu kwana lafiya	Mu kwana lafiya
Good night (until tomorrow)	Sai gobe	Allah ya kai mu
Goodbye	Sai an jima	Sai an jima or To, sai an jima
Please	Don Allah
Thank you	Na gode
Yes	I
No	A'a

Back to Contents

LINKS TO OTHERS

The PEOPLE page has a section that will provide some of the other languages and possible links to finding information on them.

Back to Contents

plain white line

LANGUAGE RESOURCES

This section attempts to give places online and offline where I know you can obtain resources on learning Nigerian languages.

Disclaimer: Except for BarnesandNoble.com and Amazon.com, I am not affiliated with any of the companies/sites listed here.

Back to Contents

GENERAL RESOURCES

English as a Second Language Resources
Foreign Language Learning Resources
World Language Products (can narrow down by language)
African language Books
African Languages (from Northwestern University Library)
Linguist Software (fonts from all over the world)
Internet Language from Skymall.com
Unforgettable Languages

Back to Contents

YORUBA RESOURCES

Yorubaland: A great interactive site dedicated to teaching about Yoruba
Barnes and Noble resources on the Yoruba language
Amazon.com resources on the Yoruba language
ESL Resources on Yoruba
Yoruba Language Learning Resources
Institute of Yoruba
Suggested Yoruba Reading
Yoruba Language Task Force
Yoruba Shareware Fonts
Learn Yoruba
A new mailing list for people wanting to learn Yoruba
A nice site written in both English and Yoruba
AfricaService.com's section on Yoruba

Back to Contents

IBO RESOURCES

Back to Contents

HAUSA RESOURCES

Back to Contents

OTHERS

The PEOPLE page has a section that will provide some of the other languages and possible links to finding information on them.

In addition, you might find the following helpful for Fulani and Arabic.

Back to Contents

plain white line