Standard Igbo
Standard Igbo is the shared written form. Your own relatives may speak a local variety.
How It Works
Igbo has many dialects. A written standard, called Igbo Izugbe, grew out of the earlier mission-church Igbo and, from about the 1970s, a form based on the speech of Owerri and Umuahia with other areas added. Some writers, such as Chinua Achebe, criticised how it was made, and no one speaks it as a first dialect.
The standard is still what schools print and examine, and what newspapers and broadcasters aim for. For a learner it is the common core that works with most speakers.
- Lessons use standard spelling and words.
- A dialect word appears only as a note naming where it is used.
- Speakers from different towns may say a lesson word a little differently, and both are right.
Examples (4)
- Igbo Izugbe
Standard Igbo
The name of the standard.
- Ndewo
hello
A greeting you will hear in many places.
- Ndeewo
hello
Another spelling of the same greeting.
- Igbo
Igbo
The people and the language share one word.
How It Connects
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice Standard Igbo in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Igbo lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
