MY IGBO LANGUAGE IS SWEET IN THE MOUTH BUT HARD IN THE BOOK__WEEK242 EPISODE ONE

How easy do I think my language is to learn? If I had to learn it from scratch, will I be able to do it easily?

My language is Igbo. And I will tell you the truth - Igbo is not easy at all.

When we are speaking it, it looks easy. We just open mouth and talk. But if you want to learn how to read and write it from scratch, you will sweat.

I am Igbo girl from Anambra. I grew up hearing Igbo every day. My mama speaks Igbo, my papa speaks Igbo, in market they shout in Igbo. So speaking is easy for me. I can insult you, joke, price market, all in Igbo without thinking.

What about reading and writing? I can do that very well tooo but putting the necessary punctuation will i say I'm lazy for that....😂😂😂😂😂

Let me explain. Igbo has what we call tone. The same word can mean three different things if your voice goes up or down. For example, "akwa". If you say it one way, it means cloth. Another way, it means egg. Another way, it means crying. Another way, it means bed. Same letters! But your mouth and tone will decide which one you mean.

How will a learner know? He will be confused. Even me, if I have to write it with the correct tone marks - the dots and lines on top of letters - I will sit down for long.

And Igbo alphabet - we have 36 letters. Not 26 like English. We have ch, gb, gh, gw, kp, kw, nw, ny, sh. My keyboard does not even have some of them. When I was in primary school, my teacher was beating us to remember "ị, ị, ọ, ụ" - the ones with dot below. Because if you forget the dot, the whole meaning changes.

"Ugo" and "Ụgo" are not the same. One is eagle, one is glory. Small dot, big difference.

So if I had to learn to read and write Igbo from scratch today, as an adult? I swear it will take me time. I will not lie.

I can speak it and write yes. But For a learner to write a correct or message in proper Igbo, with correct spelling and tone? he/She will need dictionary. He/She will need someone to check it. Because we did not really learn how to write it well in school. In school they were forcing us to learn English. Igbo was only on Wednesdays One period. So many of us can speak but we cannot write well.

Sometimes I chat with my friends in Igbo using English letters. I write "kedu" instead of "kẹdụ". I write "nna" anyhow. We understand, but it is not correct Igbo.

My little cousin in Lagos cannot even speak Igbo at all. He understands small but he answers in English. So for people like him, to learn from scratch will be very hard. He will need to go to village and stay there for months.

For a white person or Yoruba person trying to learn Igbo from zero? Ah, it will take years. Because you need to learn the culture too. You cannot learn Igbo without learning proverbs, hand movement, eye.

So my answer is this - my language is sweet in mouth, but hard in book. Speaking is easy if you grow inside it. Reading and writing from scratch? That one needs time, patience, and a good teacher who will not give up on you.

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