Igala language explained

Igala
States:	Nigeria
Speakers:	million
Ethnicity:	Igala
Date:	2020
Ref:	e26
Script:	Latin
Familycolor:	Niger-Congo
Fam2:	Atlantic–Congo
Fam3:	Volta-Congo
Fam4:	Volta–Niger
Fam6:	Yoruboid
Iso3:	igl
Glotto:	igal1242
Glottorefname:	Igala

Igala is a Yoruboid language, spoken by the Igala ethnic group of Nigeria. In 1989 an estimated 800,000 spoke Igala, primarily in Kogi State, though current estimates place the number of Igala speakers at upwards of 1.6 million. Dialects include Ibaji, Idah, Dekina, Ogugu, Ankpa, Ebu, and the Olumbanasaa group (Anambra West); it is believed that these languages share some similarities with the Yoruba and Itsekiri languages.^[1]

Igala, living on the left bank of the Niger River below its junction with the Benue River. Their language belongs to the Benue–Congo branch of the Niger–Congo family. Their ruler, the Àtá, traditionally also governed two other groups, the Bassa Nge and the Bass Nkome, who live between the Igala and the Benue River.^[2]

Phonology

Igala's phonology is as follows:^[3]

! Labial! Alveolar! Post-alveolar! Palatal! Velar! Labial–velar! Glottal

Nasal		pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/			pronounced as /link/
Plosive	Voiceless	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/			pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
	Voiced	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/			pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Affricate	Voiceless			pronounced as /link/
	Voiced			pronounced as /link/
Fricative	Voiceless	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/				pronounced as /link/
	Voiced					pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/
Trill			pronounced as /link/
Approximant		pronounced as /link/	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/

Vowels!! Front! Central! Back

Close	pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/
Close-Mid	pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/
Open-Mid	pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/		pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/
Open		pronounced as /link/, pronounced as /link/

Igala has seven oral vowels and five nasal vowels.

Alphabet

The Igala alphabet has a total of thirty-one (31) letters.^{[4] [5]}

Igala alphabet! Capital !! Lowercase

A	a
B	b
Ch	ch
D	d
E	e
Ẹ	ẹ
F	f
G	g
Gb	gb
Gw	gw
H	h
I	i
J	j
K	k
Kp	kp
Kw	kw
L	l
M	m
N	n
Ny	ny
Ñ	ñ
Ñm	ñm
Ñw	ñw
O	o
Ọ	ọ
P	p
R	r
T	t
U	u
W	w

Vowels

Igala has seven vowel qualities and seven vowel letters: (a), (e) (ẹ) (i), (o), (ọ), and (u).^[4]

Tones

Igala also has five tones: extra high, high, mid-high, high, and low.^{[4] [5]}

1. The high tone is represented with an acute accent (◌́).
2. The mid tone is unmarked (◌).
3. The mid-high tone, which is an infrequent tone, is marked with a macron (◌̄).
4. The low tone is marked with a grave accent (◌̀).
5. The extra-high tone, which is usually found in negative statements, is marked with a dot (◌̇).

Homographs

1. The word spelt, agba, depending on the tones used to pronounce it, may have four different meanings, namely:
   1. agba (casual greeting); pronounced with static, sustained Mid or Neutral tone – / ̩a ̩gba/
   2. àgbá (hand-cuffs); pronounced with Low-High tone combination / ̩à ‘gbá /
   3. àgbà (chin); pronounced with Low tone replicated – / ̩à ̩gbà /
   4. ágbá (Balsam tree); pronounced with the High tone duplicated – / á gbá / –
2. The bi-syllabic noun spelt, iga can generate three other words pronounced differently each having its distinct meaning as follows:
   1. ìga (Weaver bird); pronounced with Low-Mid tones – / ̩ ì ‘ga / – and a secondary-primary stress pattern.
   2. ìgà (net); pronounced with the Low tone duplicated – / ̩ ì ̩ gà / – and a secondary-secondary stress pattern.
   3. ìgá (estate); pronounced with the Low-High tone combination – / ̩ ì ‘gá / – and a secondary-primary stress pattern.^[6]

External links

• Roger Blench, Paul Gross. 2005. Igala mammal names.

Notes and References

1. News: The Igala people: Their origin, food and dressing . Oluwatumininu . Dunmade . Pulse NG . Pulse Africa . 22 April 2022 .
2. Encyclopedia: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Igala . August 22, 2019 . Igala . Encyclopedia Brittanica .
3. " Studying the Phonology of the Olùkùmi, Igala, Owé, and Yorùba Languages: A Comparative Analysis . Arokoyo . Bolanle Elizabeth . 2020 . 25 . Dialectologia . https://web.archive.org/web/20200718052154/http://www.publicacions.ub.edu/revistes/dialectologia25/documentos/1642.pdf . 2020-07-18.
4. Web site: The Igala Alphabet . 13 December 2020 . Kigala . https://web.archive.org/web/20221203013400/http://ki-gala.com/igala-grammar . 2022-12-03.
5. Web site: Igala Language Study Series . 26 March 2017 .
6. Web site: Vocabulary .