As we all know, the Igala alphabet was created from the English alphabet. However, in the pronunciation of the letters of both alphabets, we notice stark differences in how their vowels and consonants sound. In terms of number, the vowels of English are five, while those of Igala are seven, as shown in the Table below. In this post, the individual vowels of the two languages are juxtaposed in two columns in the Table below […]
Five Tones of Igala Tongue
‘Ígálá’ is a tonal language; and, in tonal languages, only tone conveys meanings in words. For instance, the duplicated consonant, ‘kk’ per se, is meaningless but when you spice it with a vowel, or vowels, you see different meanings roll out. Example 1: Add the vowel, ‘ẹ,’ bearing a high tone (ẹ́); then, you will have ‘kẹ́kẹ́,’ meaning ‘small’ or ‘little’. E.g. Ọ́ma kẹ́kẹ́. A little child. Example 2: Add two vowels, ‘o’ and ‘e,’ with variant […]
Anecdotes From the Archives
The British Government, in 1838, passed an Act of Parliament aimed at abolishing Slave Trade in Africa. For that purpose, a steam-boat, named ‘Albert,’ was fitted for the voyage; and it set sail in 1841 under the Command of Captain H. D. Trotter. Other Commissioners were Captain William Allen, who was on the previous 1832 Richard Lander-led expedition, Captain T. R. H. Thompson, M.D. Surgeon, both of the Royal Navy. Rev. (later, Bishop) Samuel Ajayi Crowther […]
Variant Vowels and Tones
As we said before, Ígáláà is a tonal language; in other words, only tone introduces a meaning in a word. For instance, the duplicated consonant, ‘k k,’ is meaningless because there is no vowel bearing a tone or two to give it meaning. But when we add the low-toned vowel, ‘à’ and the high-toned ‘é,’ a meaning emerges: a short sentence, a command: Kà ké. (Say it now). The Igala speech uses a number of […]
Lopsided Law: Heir Bars Heiress
Offline Advanced English Dictionary defines inheritance as “hereditary succession to a title, an office or a property; or that which is inherited … and passes, by law, to the heir on death of the owner.” It is observed that the method of transfer of inheritance differs from one society to the other. For instance, in the Western world, it is transmitted through a legal instrument: to wit, a will. In several African countries, including Nigeria, […]