yo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
1069 articles

This is soo cool
Only I can't read yoruba all that well. I need lessons asap
I should have paid more attention in yoruba class (nigerian schools)

There's one in Igbo too
ig.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
14 articles

chukwu chukwu bia bia. Kedu ka odi odima

and Hausa
ha.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
20 articles

All three need to be developed though. so you can volunteer to do some stuff if you want. Go Nigeria!

i think that is very great because l we love to visit the site.i really want to learn igbo.thanks

Interesting.

@the poster, thanks for sharing.

unfortuanetly they are substandard articles, but thanks for sharing

hey wat about a site wikkinaija[b][/b] to promote nigeria or nigerians. a strictly nigerian web portal that has all info on nigeria made with the use of wikkis so that people can easily edit messages and post articles about nigeria. like wikipedia it should be a free online encyclopedia. ciao

yeah wikipedia in wazobia, i was there at the information communication technology digital world conference 2006 at abuja, where dey lunch the wazobia thing, its fantastic, EVEN THE ILLITRATE CAN NOW BROWSE , nIGERIA IS LIVING FOR A GREATER LEVEL,

Found that a few weeks ago but meeeen, the english site is much easier to use plus u can be sure to get what u want on the english pages. The wazobia wikipedias still need to be populated which calls for a lot of work. I wonder whos going to volunteer? 

Wonderful

Just visited the site.

This is a welcome development.
Nigeria is gradually making inroad into the information highway.
We all need to put hands on deck to populate the site.
The articles are concise and not substandard.

Well, I'll like to see Isoko, Urhobo, Ijaw, Itsekiri, Ikwere, Bini, Ika, Kalabari, Okrika, Ogoni, Efik and Ibibio in there too.

I'm not asking for too much, am I?

nice innovation. . wonderful!!! i will visit the site asap

Quite a nice one. Though it is work in progress.

Ono said

Well, I'll like to see Isoko, Urhobo, Ijaw, Itsekiri, Ikwere, Bini, Ika, Kalabari, Okrika, Ogoni, Efik and Ibibio in there too.

I'm not asking for too much, am I?

Well Ono, all you have to do is create them. Which is the easy part. The difficult part is to populate them with articles.

Go here to create new language

http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Help:How_to_start_a_new_Wikipedia

dblock:

unfortuanetly they are substandard articles, but thanks for sharing

A start is a start people, if they are substandard, make it standard silly or do you want white men /women to also fill this one up for you?

I have literally begged literates in 'Wazobia' but no one seems to be listening. Btw, imagine a language named WAZOBIA as Nigeria's official Language. I will well speak it.

I THINK HAUSA GIRLS GOT IT BECAUSE MY NIGGA FADAL SISTERs ARE CUTE.

ay dice read that shit before you answer it that shit's not talking about girls and nigga leave my sisters alone.

yeah we need to add articles lots of articles

some one should add nairaland links to those sites too

Oke_amu:

A start is a start people, if they are substandard, make it standard silly or do you want white men /women to also fill this one up for you?

I would contribute something but for one I can't write or read yoruba and I haven't got the time

y'all need to let the parents know about this, coz they better in the language, they could easily help post articles

The legacy of knowledge is the greatest heritage.

Those who can do so, should contribute the appropriate articles and update the facts.

Well done.

pls does anyone no d meaning of these two names, tekena and ibulo

Simply innovative!!

yeah, is stilme . How are you doing

Thanks WesleyanA for tha information. For some of us who like our mother tongue, we appreciate.
Let us try and use this medium to enlighten ou brethren about our mother tongue.
But for some of our languages that need dots above and below some letters, how can we go about with that. We will like to write the language as it is, but I have contributed the little I can"Ukpara Gbakota Ukwu"
Thank you.

@Ono,take a look at this,there is  more nigerian language on Wikipedia.

Esan
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Contents [hide]
1 Brief History Of Esan Culture & People
2 Esan Local Government Areas in Edo State
3 Esan Names
4 Esan Language
4.1 Alphabet
4.2 Nouns
4.3 Pronouns
4.4 Sentence order
4.5 Verbs
4.6 Adjectives
4.7 Determiners
4.8 Translation of "The Lord's Prayer"
5 External links



[edit] Brief History Of Esan Culture & People
Esan (pronounced /aysan/) is one of the major ethnic groups in Edo State, Nigeria. The name 'Esan' owes its origin to Bini and was once corrupted to 'Ishan' by colonial Britain. Esan land is bordered to the south by Benin, to the south-east by Agbor, to the north and east by Etsako, to the west by River Niger. From Ewu to Benin City, the State capital, is 100kms long. The people populate areas such as Uromi, Ewatto, Igueben, Irrua, Ubiaja, Ebele, Ehor, Ekpoma, Ewu, etc in central Edo State, South-South Nigeria. It has flat landscape, one lacking in rocks and mountains, and good for agricultural purpose. Palm tree and rubber tree (used for the production of plastic products) rank highest among Esan trees. The land's variety of fruits range from mango, orange, grape, pineapple, guava, cashew, banana, plantain, black pear, avocado pear, lime to walnut and even more. Cassava, yam, cocoa yam, sweet potato, pepper, okra and rice are some of its farm produce. It has numerous streams that are too small to afford fishing. Esan are proud of their ancestry and heritage.

The people are said to be positive in outlook, creative, industrious and highly educated. History has it that they hailed from ancient Bini, and their language is of Kwa subdivision of the Niger-Congo language family. Replete with different dialects, Esan language is quite unintelligible to even many native speakers. For instance, the Esan word for person (or, somebody) is variously called by the different kingdoms' dialects as ọria (by Uromi, etc), ọhia (by Uzea, etc), ọyia (by Unea, etc), ọhan (by Ugbọha, etc). This obvious difficulty associated with speaking others' dialect other than one's mother dialect has given rise to the widespread use of Pidgin English, which is the local patois, a mishmash of Portuguese, English and Nigeria's local languages.

During the era of the military,the Esan had between five to six high ranking military, police and Naval officers as governors of various states around the country at different occasions, a feat that owed much to their learning,sociability and expecially their loyalty. Chief Ikimi and Chief Anenih— have been known to occupy the position of chairman of two national parties —NRC and SDP respectively.

Esan Day is celebrated at the Tafawa Balewa square, Lagos every December; there, names of all prominent Esan people are read to loud ovation. Esans believe in self help, thus asisting to reach villages and towns to achieve development. Prominent Esan are Chief Anthony Enahoro, who raised the motion for the independence of Nigeria; Peter Enahoro, who wrote How to be a Nigerian, Tony Anenih, a top Nigerian politician and former minister of Works and Housing. Other names include the late Ambrose Alli, Governor of Bendel State; Bishop Ekpu, Anthony Cardinal Okogie; late first lady Stella Obasanjo(late); musician Sonny Okosun and writer Aba Aburime I. Also included are Chief Tom Ikimi, former foreign minister (during the period of Gen. Sani Abacha); former Lagos state police commissioner, Oyakhilomen; former vice president of Nigeria, Augustus Aikhonmu (retired Real Admiral); former deputy commissioner of Lagos state Vincent Airebamen.

Esan are fun-loving people who have various festivities and ritualistic traditions.Their folktales and folklores serve as forms of learning and entertainment, like the famous Igbabonelimin. They have prominent traditional rulers who keep order and sanity in a complex society where beauty and manners are intertwined. Despite the long-term impact of Christianity among Esan, the people are fetish in that a large number still practise traditional beliefs in the form of worship of ancestral spirits and other gods. A large percentage of Esan are Christians, mostly Catholic and recently of other denominations. Esan has various dialects all of which stem from Bini and there is still close affinity between the Esan and the Bini, which leads to the common saying 'Esan ii gbi Ẹdo' meaning, Esan does not harm the Ẹdo (i.e. Bini).

Esan are great poets, writers, singers, carvers, farmers, scholars, storytellers, etc. The folklore and history of the Esan tribe is worth re-visiting and attempt should be made to research the various ways that the villages are related to the Ẹdo, and others who may have occupied Ifeku Island many years ago. The Esan heritage is unique despite the variation of dialects.

A handful of Esan families are known to possess Portuguese ancestry, resulting from links harking back to the 16th Century when Portuguese sailors and tradesman first entered the Bini Kingdom via the coast. British arrived Bini in the wake of the Portuguese numerous expeditions to, and intercourse with, Bini.

In 2010 the esan people will have there revenga for slavery for the real esan people r the children of God not the jews


[edit] Esan Local Government Areas in Edo State
The autonomous clans/kingdoms in Esan land are currently administratively arranged as follows under the current five local government areas:

(1) Esan North East LGA, Uromi:

  Uromi, Uzea
(2) Esan Central LGA, Irrua:

  Irrua, Ugbegun, Okpoji, Idoa, Ewu
(3) Esan West LGA, Ekpoma:

  Ekpoma, Urohi, Ukhun, Egoro
(4) Esan South East LGA, Ubiaja:

  Ubiaja, Ewohimhin, Emulu, Ohordua, Ẹbhoato, Okhuesan, Orowa,
  Ugboha, Oria, lllushi, Onogholo
(5) Igueben LGA, Igueben:

  Igueben, Ebele, Amaho, Ẹbhosa, Udo, Ekpon, Ujorgba,  Ogwa, Ugun,
  Okalo

[edit] Esan Names
ESAN NAMES Name Shortforms Meaning/Context Gender RelatedNames
Abhuluimẹn, Aburime Abu a congratulatory name literally meaning ‘the verdict is in my favour’; ‘the decision/ruling has worked to my advantage’, often given to a child in memory of a major feat or victory over one’s foe or difficulty M  
Abulogho, Abulogholo, Abuman Abu Equivalent of the Hebrew name Abraham, meaning ‘father of multitude’, as blessing or wish for a child to be a future father M  
Adesuwa, Ade meaning one who is born into wealth, the center of wealth, wealth surrounds her,typically a female name F  
Aburẹkhan Abu, Abure, Aburay One followed by a multitude M  
Agbọnkhese Agbọn an allusive name meaning ‘human beings are the unseen forces contending with humans’; ‘humans are their own enemies’, used to suggest that one’s problems, difficulties or travails are caused, not by invisible powers as people are being made to believe but, by fellow humans themselves M  
Aigbọkhan  You don’t strive with someone for no just cause, used by parents to inform their foe/hater that they are not culpable/guilty as alleged, and as such should be left alone M  
Akhigbe (Aah khi gbi ọnan) Aigbe 1. a name meaning ‘this child of mine won’t be killed, hurt or harmed’ 2. [esp Chris. based on Ps. 105:15; Is. 54:17] a name meaning ‘not (meant) to be harmed/hurt/killed’; ‘too defended to be a victim’ [Reason: many parents give their children this name either after losing some child(ren) to death or when they wish to safeguard one whose conception or birth was costly M Ujangbe, Otọibhi
Aikponobhua   M  
Aimiẹndẹ Aimiẹn A child can’t be bought, used to emphasise how precious or valuable a child is F  
Aituajiẹ Aitua It is not ideal to laugh/make mockery in a hurry (proverbial), used to suggest that there is nearly always the possibility of seeing a fallen person rise up, or that the future could be better or more favourable M/F  
Aiwainehi   F  
Aiwuanfo  One can never possess infinite wisdom (proverbial), used to emphasise the limit of human wisdom that makes people subject to errors M  
Aiwuansubhor Aiwuan Death defies human wisdom; death cannot be tricked, cheated, played upon, used to suggest how helpless and vulnerable humans can be humbled by death no matter how wise or intelligent they seem M/F  
Aiyegbeni Aiye No one wants their neighbour’s good, progress, well-being or that human beings have a tendency to wishing each other ill-luck M  
Ẹbhodaghe Ẹbho, Ẹbhoghe people are seeing; ‘the world is a witness’, used to suggest that one’s hands are clean, or that you are not guilty as alleged M  
Ebosẹrẹmẹn Ebosẹ, Osẹrẹmẹn ‘whom God has given me’, equivalent to Jonathan (in Hebrew) M  
Ebosẹtae, Ebosẹtale Ebosẹ, Osẹtae, Osẹtale whom/what God has ordained, suggesting that the will of God can’t be squashed M/F  
Ẹhizojie, Ẹhizogie Ẹhi God is the one who makes one king; or loosely ‘rising to greatness is God’s doing’ M/F Ẹhizọkhae
Ẹhizọkhae, Ẹhizọkhale Ẹhiz, Ọkhae God is the one who makes someone a hero; ‘achieving greatness in life is God’s doing’ (perhaps partly influenced by Chris. [Eccl. 9:11]) M  
Ehibhajiajeme Ehi  F  
Ekaniyere Iyere  M/F  
Ejele  Esan equivalent of the Hebrew name Aaron, meaning ‘esteem, lofty or loftiness, exalted or exaltation’ M Ọsẹmeje, Ọmọ(n)zeje
Enaholo Enaho Esan name literally meaning ‘these are the ones desired’, or (loosely) ‘long desired’, usually given to a male child esp in a family that has long longed or wished for one, similar to the French name Désirée /dayziray/ (fem. Désiré) M  
Erejele, Abejele Ejele father of exaltation/esteem;similar to Abigail in hebrew M  
Erọmhọsẹle, Erọmhọsẹ, Erọmọsẹle, Erọmọsẹ Ero, ayro, Erọmor (the) prayer has been effective; (the) supplication was effectual, given to a child whose prebirth condition(s) called for prayer or divine intervention M/F Osẹiwuẹ, Ẹbosẹ(le), Ebosẹta(le)
Ẹseleọhẹ Ẹse, Ẹsele ‘free gift’; ‘offer needing no payback’, a reference to the benevolent God who freely gives children to humans M/F  
Ibhakẹwuanlan, Ibhankẹwuanlan Ẹwuanlẹn I didn’t get wise early (enough)’; ‘I’m wiser, more careful now’ [Reason: a name parents give to a child when, after losing several children or after allowing themselves to be deceived, cheated or fool, eventually realise their mistake] M  
Ibọi  a moribund name originating from a misunderstanding of the British colonial officers’ often repeated word “boy” or “oh boy”, when calling the attention of an African worker or young man M  
Inẹgbenẹhi, Inẹgbenosẹ  (I seek God’s protection; I hide under the shadow of the Almighty) M  
Irọbekhian  I go with that which is good; ‘I like peace’; ‘I dislike trouble’ M Ikuenọbe, Ibhaje, Ibhajọbe, Ọsẹmẹikhian
Izẹhinọmhẹn Ẹhi, Ẹhinọmhẹn, Izẹhi I have chosen the good God; ‘I have opted for the God of goodness’, God here being symbolic of one’s guiding angel M/F  
khiẹna  a suffix to which a noun is added to affirm that you are wary of the noun mentioned in the belief that it is in it you suspect you may be hurt/killed Oaikhiẹna (I am wary of my family); Amẹńikhiẹna (I am wary of water, river, etc); Ọshiọikhiẹna (I am wary of my friend)  
Manatuẹ, Imanatuẹ  a corruption of the name ‘Matthew’ M  
Obehiaghe Obehi, Ehi We are looking out for God's time F  
Osẹzẹle, Osẹzẹe  The reason is God or ‘God is the cause’, being an acknowledgment of divine help either in the conception or delivery of the child M  
Ojiẹ  meaning ‘laughter’ influenced by the Hebrew name Isaac M  
Okhueleigbe  literally meaning ‘the constant ringing of a bell does not destroy a bell’, used to suggest that the fact that your name is being repeatedly subjected to slander, insult, or is maligned (esp because people misunderstand your good intentions) does not harm you; a common name in Uromi, Uzea M  
Oko, Okoh  a prefix that is added to a noun to suggest the kind of relationship the person has with the noun mentioned 1. son of; heir of. 'Okojie' (=king’s son; male relative of a royal family) 2. [esp African Traditional Religion (ATR)] son of, or dedicated to. 'Okosun' (=son of shrine, god, idol) 3. friend of; born into. 'Okougbo' (=born in the farm); 'Okorọ' (=born during raining season); 'Okoamẹn' (=friend of water, rain); 'Okouromi' (=friend of Uromi Town); 'Okoemu' (=friend of Emu Town) [Compare: Ọmosun)] M  
Okotuẹ  1. Esan name meaning Pastor 2. a regular churchgoer or church worker 3. loosely, a child born in a church M  
Ọmotuẹ  1. Esan name meaning Pastor 2. a regular churchgoer or church worker 3. loosely, a child born in a church F  
Omiojieahiọ, Omiogieahiọ Omiojie, Omiogie a name meaning ‘everyone’s wish is to be a king’s heir’; ‘to be a prince is everyone’s desire’ M  
Ọmhẹn  ‘pleasant’, equivalent to Hebrew’s Naomi M/F  
Osẹidobor, Ẹhiidobor  ‘God does not make mistake’, often given to a child whose sex is the reverse of what was predicted or anticipated M/F/ Idobọiyikosẹ, Osẹilukholor
Osẹikhuẹmhẹn Ekhuẹmhẹn a name meaning ‘It is God I praise’ M Osẹigẹn, Osẹiga, Osẹiro
Osẹmudiamhẹn  ‘God is standing for me’; ‘God is my support, fortress, stronghold’ M/F  
Osẹnọbhuohiẹn  ‘God is judge’, equivalent of the Hebrew name Daniel M  
Ọdegua  ‘she has mixed up with’ or ‘a mix-up with’, given to the first or the lone female child in a family dominated by males F  
Ọdianọsẹn Ọdia (usually responsorial or positively consolatory) meaning ‘it is well’; ‘fine’ M  
Ọdiọn  eldest, given to the first child in multiple births M/F Akhere, Adesẹ
Ọduẹki, Ọduaki Ẹki, Aki a memorial name meaning ‘trader’, given to a child born on a market day, or right in the marketplace/trading centre F  
Ọfure  [esp Chris. based on Phil. 4:7] a name meaning ‘peace’; ‘tranquility’ M/F  
Ọghanivie Ivie more precious than gold; ‘more valuable than gold’; ‘costlier than gold’, with gold here symbolic of the world’s costliest or most precious thing M/F Ọghanẹkan, Inẹkanbivie, Inojie
Ọhainlosẹ, Ọhainlo  ‘wonder’, ‘miracle’, ‘marvel’ ‘awesomeness’ given to a child often as a tribute to God, who is believed to be at work M/F  
Ọinọghosẹ, Ọilọghosẹ Osẹ 1. a name meaning ‘it is not difficult for God (to do)’ 2. [esp Chris. based on Mk. 12:16; Jer. 32:27] a name meaning ‘nothing is difficult for God (to do)’, suggestive of God’s infinite might M/F  
Ọmejele Ejele child of exhortation, loftiness, esteem, near equivalent to the Hebrew name Barnabas M/F  
Ọmẹnlosẹ Ẹlo, Ẹlosẹ, Osẹ [esp Chris. based on Zech. 2:8] a name meaning ‘(the) apple of God’s eye’, used to suggest how precious a child is M/F Aimiẹndẹ, Ọghanẹkan, Ọghanivie
Ọmobera, Ọmejele  ‘child of esteem’; ‘child of (my) right hand’, considered near equivalent of the Hebrew name Benjamin M  
Ọmọnkherebhe Ọmọn ‘all are children’, used by parents to emphasize that they accept a baby born to them despite the fact that it is different from their expectation/preference esp in terms of the sex F  
Ọmọnkhose Ọmọn, Ose child is the beauty of life, used to affirm one’s fulfillment in, and satisfaction with, life F  
Ọnahoẹmhọnlẹn  a name meaning ‘beloved’, equivalent of the Hebrew name David M  
Ọnuwabhagbe Uwa, Uwabhagbe the person whom the family hasn’t forfeited, offered, given out, used to state publicly, in a more spiritual tone, that your child should not be harmed, imperiled, killed F Akhigbe, Ujangbe
Ọtibhor  this child makes me glad; ‘this baby is a source of joy to me’; ‘this child causes me excitement’ F Eghọnghọn, Ẹduje
Uhọnmhọnebamhọn Uhọnmhọn one’s life is greater than one’s possession’, used to emphasize the consideration of oneself as primary/basic M  
Urẹkpa  ‘help’, equivalent to the Hebrew name Ezra M/F  
Uwadiale  Wealth is good M/F Uwadia
Uwahimhinre  it is to one’s home one brings things, with the advisory message that one should learn to favour one’s family, town, people, etc M/F  
Uwayemen Uwaye i love wealth F  






MOST FREQUENTLY USED ESAN WORDS


Bọdiayẹ? (How are you?)

Ọfure (Fine)

Obokhian (Welcome)

Obulu (Thanks)

Mundia! (Stop!)

Mundia (stand up)

Khara (m), Doẹjie (f) (Good morning)

Ranri (m), Khaijesan (f) (A word of thanks used after dinner)

Ọkhinbue, Ọsẹkhinbue (Good bye)

Ọkhin-ewẹ, Ọkhin-ewẹ (Good night)

Vae, vare (Come)

Go, depart (Kha khian)

Amọghor (Congratulation(s))

Linguistic finding has shown the word ‘gbe’ to have the highest number of usages in Esan, with up to 76 different meanings in a normal dictionary. Names starting with the prefixes Ọsẹ; Ẹhi, Ẹhiz or Ẹhis; and Okoh (for male), Ọmọn (for female) are the commonest in Esan: Ẹhizọkhae, Ẹhizojie, Ẹhinọmẹn, Ẹhimanre, Ẹhizẹle, Ẹhimẹn, Ẹhikhayimẹntor, Ẹhikhayimẹnle, Ẹhijantor, etc; Ọsẹmundiamẹn, Ọsẹmhẹngbe, etc; Okosun , Okojie, Okodugha, Okoemu, Okouromi, Okougbo, Okoepkẹn, Okoror, Okouruwa, etc. To any Oko-, 'Ọm-' the suffix of the name can be added to arrive of the female version e.g. Ọmosun, Ọmuromi, etc.


[edit] Esan Language
Esan is one of the numerous languages of the Kwa subdivision of the Niger-Congo language family, one of Africa's largest subgroups. Unlike English, Esan is a tone language like many of its neighbouring settlements' and Chinese as well. Currently, albeit slow, efforts are variously being made to have dictionaries and grammar texts of Esan language. Once produced, they may help interested Esan appreciate their tongue better and improve on it. Some huddles against achieving this dream are: first, the unusual level of aliteracy among many Esan; second, the literacy level which though comparatively high but calls for improvement; third, the large number of dialects that make up Esan such that, for instance, the people of Ẹkpoma would hardly comprehend Ẹkpọn or Ohordua. So pathetic is the situation that most annual Esan Kings' Council meetings are largely conducted in English. For the interim, however, the information below may be of some assistance in the direction of understanding Esan.


[edit] Alphabet
Esan uses the Latin alphabet, and a total number of 25 letters make up the alphabet: a, b, d, e, ẹ, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, ọ, p, r, s, t, u, v, w, y, z. The diphthong consists of 10 sets of double letters: bh, gb, gh, kh, kp, kw, mh, nw, ny, sh.


[edit] Nouns
All Esan nouns begin with vowel letters (i.e. a, e, ẹ, i, o, ọ, u): aru, eko, itohan, ozẹ, ọrhia, etc. Due to the influence of neighbouring tongues and Western languages, especially English, there is the tendency among Esan to pronounce many non-Esan nouns beginning with a consonant letter. In the event of such within the boundary of Esan write-up, an apostrophe may be employed before the first consonant letter both to Esanise and ease the pronunciation. In speech however such apostrophe is often pronounced as ‘i’ /i:/: ’bazaar, ’Jonah, ’labour, ’zoo, etc.

Each Esan noun ends in either a vowel letter (e.g. ato, Ẹkpoma, uri, oya) or the vowel-associated letter ‘n’: agbọn, eran, ẹnyẹn, itọn, isẹn, etc. Exception to this rule is the writing of proper nouns where a name can end in letter ‘r’ always after a letter ‘ọ’ to make it sound like ‘or’ in English as well as the use of letter ‘h’ after a letter ‘o’ to make it sound as ‘oh’ in English: Isẹribhor, Isibor, Okoh.

In nouns, following the first vowel letter is always a second consonant letter: ahoho, avan, ilo, udia. For the expression of a feminine gender, the second consonant letter following a vowel letter is doubled: ahhihi (=female ant), ọshọ (=female friend), ọrrhia (=female person), etc. This style is better understood by French speakers, who usually differentiate genders – masculine, feminine, neuter.

Pluralization in Esan is of two forms, the first of which has to do with nouns that have original plural forms, in which case the first letter is replaced/displaced by another letter:

Singular Plural ọmọn (baby), imọn (babies); ọmọle (man, male), imọle (men, males); okpea (man), ikpea (men); okhuo (woman, female), ikhuo (women, females); ọshọ, ọmuọe (friend), ishọ, imuọe (friends); obhio (relation), ibhio (relations); obhokhan (child), ibhokhan (children); oghian (enemy), ighian (enemies); usẹnbhokhan (boy), isẹnbhokhan (boys); ọmamhẹn, ọmọhin (girl), imamhẹn, imọhin (girls); ọwanlẹn (elder, adult), iwanlẹn (elders, adults); ọrhia (person), erhia (persons); ọbo (doctor), ebo (doctors); Ebo (English citizen), Ibo (English citizens); obọ (arm), abọ (arms); oẹ (leg), ae (legs); use (nail), ise (nails); udo (stone), ido (stones)

The second has to do, not with the above which have original plural form but, with a large number of other nouns which do not. In this case, a suffix (as the use of 's' in English) is used by adding it to the noun in question, but wihtout a change in pronunciation. For example: Singular Plural uwaebe (school), uwaebeh (schools); eran (stick), eranh (sticks); emhin (something), emhinh (some things)


[edit] Pronouns
All Esan pronouns have plural forms different from singular, but both subject and object cases do not differ: All Esan pronouns have plural forms different from singular, and both subject and object cases are the same:

Singular Plural imẹn (I, me), iman (we, us); uwẹ (you) ibha, (you, or Pidgin English ‘una’); ọle (he, him), ele (they, them); ọlle (she, her), elle (they, them); ọhle (it), ehle (they, them); –, Aah; otuan [preceding figure(s)], ituan [preceding figure(s)]; ukpọle ikpọle,

(‘Aah’, ‘otuan’ and ‘ukpọle’ have no English equivalent, and while ‘Aah’ can only be used as subject, ‘otuan’ and ‘ukpọle’ can be used in both ways: Otuan ọkpa ni ele dia; Dati ituan eva re. Ukpọle ọkpa ribhọ. Jia ikpọle ea re. Note that ‘otuan’ (pl. ituan) is used for humans, ‘ukpọle’ (pl. ikpọle) is used for non-humans and ‘Aah’ depends on the context in which it is used.)


[edit] Sentence order
The use of Esan is open to three orders or arrangement: (subject-verb-object (SVO), object-subject-verb (OSV), and object-verb-subject (OVS)) to express themselves Okoh ’h gbi ele (SVO). Okoh imẹn ddaghe (OSV). Ena yẹ imẹn (OVS). SVO is commonest and most employed. The use of OVS is restricted to a limited number of grammatical constructions.


[edit] Verbs
All Esan verbs start with consonant letters and end in either vowel letter or the vowel associated letter ‘n’: bi, dẹ, fan, hẹn, lolo, etc. In expressing the past, doubling of initial letter of a verb takes place such that ‘bi’ changes to ‘bbi’ and ‘hẹn’ becomes ‘hhẹn’. A verb can also begin with a diphthong: khian, gbe, bhanbhan. The formation of past tense in this case is not different: kkhian, ggbe, etc. Some Esan dialect such as Uzea makes use of ‘ah’ (or ’h) to show present participle (as in “He is going home.”). Although this is absent in majority of Esan dialects, it is used and placed before the main verb when writing: Ele ’h khọa = They’re having bath.





[edit] Adjectives
An Esan adjective, as does an English adjective, modifies a noun or pronoun. That is, it gives more information about a noun or pronoun and makes its meaning more specific. It can appear before or after a noun. The only difference between Esan and English adjectives is that like Japanese, some Esan adjectives are verb-like in that they inflect to show tenses: Ele mhẹnmhin. = They are good. // Ele mmhẹnmhin. = They were good. The doubling of the initial letter of the adjective 'mhẹnmhin (good)' like verbs, clearly demonstrates this point. Esan adjectives are of two distinct types: ‘word adjective’ and ‘phrasal adjective’.

Word adjective.

A word adjective is an adjective consisting of a single word: esi, khọlọ, hu, jian, etc. This form of adjective is subdivided into five types: pre-noun adjective, post-noun adjective, numeral adjective, nounal adjective, and restricted adjective. A pre-noun adjective appears only before the noun it modifies, provides information about the noun’s size and/or quantity, and they start with a vowel letter: ukpomin, ekitui, udede, ikwẹkwi, etc. These adjectives are not subject to the law of tenses and do not take the suffix ‘mhin’. A post-noun adjective comes immediately after the noun it modifies: khọlọ, khọriọn, fuọ, ba, to, han, lẹnlẹn, bhihi, hu, khisin, khere, re(le) (far), re (deep), re (grown up), re (well attended), bue, tan, etc. These adjectives are subject to the law of tenses such that they are used to reflect time (e.g. “Okoh rẹ kkhọriọn.” = "Okoh is ugly.".

Except the adjective ‘khọriọn’, all others can be used with the suffix ‘mhin’, and (‘ebe’ and ‘esi’ which are also called noun adjectives) they all start with consonant letters. A numeral adjective is one that can be used to answer such question as “how many?”: ọkpa, eva, ea, igbe, etc. Because they are also nouns, they all start with vowel letters. They are neither subject to the law of tenses nor can they be used with the suffix ‘mhin’. A nounal or noun adjective is one that comes before a noun and can easily be manipulated to become a noun in usage: esi, ebe. It can neither be used with ‘mhin’ nor are they subject to tense law. A restricted adjective is one that can only be used with a particular noun e.g. ‘bhibhi’ in 'ewewẹ bhibhi' (early morning).

Some adjectives that can be placed under the word adjective are adjectives that are formed from the doubling of a word adjective: fanọn-fanọn (unkempt; untidy), rughu-rughu or ragha-ragha (disorderly), sankan-sankan (muddy and rough), yagha-yagha (untidy), kpadi-kpadi (rough or even), ose-ose (beautiful). This system can also be used thus: fanọn/2, yagha/2, kpadi/2, sankan/2, ose/2, etc.

Phrasal adjective.

A phrasal adjective is one that consists of more than one word; it is made up of a phrase. More often than not, an adjectival phrase usually contains either a noun + verb or an adjective+preposition+noun which combine to perform the work of an adjective. Some common examples are: rui ẹlo (blind), yi ehọ (deaf, rebellious), di ọmalẹn (old, senile), di itọn a (wretched), bhọn ose (beautiful), fi ahiẹ a (serene), fua amẹn (light-complexioned), ba bhi egbe (painful), mhẹn bhi egbe (body-friendly), mhẹn bhi unu (sweet), mhẹn bhi ẹlo (beautiful or not offensive to sight), mhẹn bhi ihue (not offensive to the nose), mhẹn bhi ehọ (not offensive to the ear), khọ bhi unu (unpalatable; offensive), khọ bhi egbe (unbearable), etc.

Below are some Esan adjectives and their meanings (and those that can be used with the suffix ‘mhin’ are shown) Ukpomin (little), ekitui (many; much), udede (big), ikwẹkwi (tiny; trivial), khisin-mhin (small; diminutive), khere-mhin (small; little), hu-mhin (big; foamy), khuẹlẹ-mhin (slim), re-mhin (far; deep; well attended; grown up), dia-mhin (straight; appropriate), bhala-mhin (light-complexioned), bhia-mhin (large, spacious), riẹriẹ-mhin (smooth), rẹrẹ-mhin (restless), kpoloa (smooth), gọ-mhin (crooked) kpono-mhin (slippery), kwọn (slippery; slimy), to-mhin (irritating), kpọ-mhin (widespread), khia-mhin (holy, righteous), fu-mhin (peaceful), bhiẹlẹ-mhin (lazy), fa-mhin (dirt-free, clean), lẹ-mhin (scarce), tua-mhin (quick), zaza-mhin (skilful), sun-mhin (slimy), kholo (spherical), hian-mhin (efficacious; alcoholic), nwun-mhin or mun-mhin (sharp; alcoholic), khọlọ-mhin (bad; painful), sẹ-ẹ (ordinary), nọghọ-mhin (difficult), kpataki (real), lo-mhin (inexpensive; deep), khua-mhin (heavy; hot), tọnọ-mhin (itchy), luẹn (ripe), khekhea (sour), riala-mhin (bitter), fua-mhin (white), bhihi-mhin (black; dark-complexioned), kẹnkẹn-mhin (multicoloured), kọnkọn (fat), kaka-mhin (hard; serious), toto-mhin (serious; taut), ghan-mhin (costly), ghantoa (costly), wualan-mhin (wise), sọnọ-mhin (offensive), lẹkhẹ-mhin (soft), khẹrẹ-khẹrẹ (muddy), gban-a (expansive), tan-mhin (tall; elegant), guẹguẹ (ingratiating), mhẹn-mhin (good), lẹnlẹn-mhin (sweet), zeze-mhin (strong), wo-mhin (powerful; mature), bie (cooked or done), fe-mhin (wealthy); fanọn-fanọn (unkempt; untidy), rughu-rughu or ragha-ragha (disorderly), sankan-sankan (muddy and rough), yagha-yagha (untidy); rui ẹlo (blind), yi ehọ (deaf, rebellious), di ọmalẹn (old, senile), di itọn a (wretched), bhọn ose (beautiful), fi ahiẹ a (serene), fua amẹn (light-complexioned), ba bhi egbe (painful), mhẹn bhi egbe (body-friendly), mhẹn bhi unu (sweet), mhẹn bhi ẹlo (beautiful or not offensive to sight), mhẹn bhi ihue (not offensive to the nose), mhẹn bhi ehọ (not offensive to the ear), khọ bhi unu (unpalatable; offensive), khọ bhi egbe (unbearable), etc.





[edit] Determiners
‘ọni’ in Esan is equivalent to ‘the’ (as singular) in English: ọni emhin = the thing ‘eni’ in Esan is equivalent to ‘the’ (as plural) in English: eni emhinh = the things ‘ni’ in Esan is equivalent to ‘that’ in English: emhin ni or ọni emhin ni ‘na’ in Esan is equivalent to ‘this’ in English: emhin na or ọni emhin na In the determiner phrases below, the determiners are in boldface:

‘ukpi’ (pl. ‘ikpi’) in Esan is equivalent to the indefinite article ‘a’/‘an’ in English: ukpi ẹmhin = a thing ikpi emhinh = … things ‘ọsoso’ (pl. ‘esoso’) in Esan is equivalent to ‘any’ in English: emhin ọsoso = any thing emhinh esoso any things

‘eso’ /ayso/ in Esan is equivalent to ‘some’ in English: emhinh eso = some things

‘ikpeta’ in Esan is equivalent to ‘few’ in English: ikpeta emhinh = few things

‘nekirẹla’ in Esan is equivalent to ‘whoever’/‘whichever’ in English: emhin nekirẹla = whatever thing

‘erebhe’ in Esan is equivalent to ‘all’ in English: emhin erebhe = all things

‘eveva’ in Esan is equivalent to ‘both’ in English: Emhinh eveva = both things

‘ekitui’ in Esan is equivalent to ‘many’ in English: ekitui emhinh = many things





[edit] Translation of "The Lord's Prayer"
OUR LORD’S PRAYER (OUR FATHER WHO ART IN HEAVEN)

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. [For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and for ever.] Amen.

OTUẸ SI EBIALẸN IMAN (ERA IMAN NỌ RIBHI OKHUN)

Era iman nọ ribhi okhun, ji elin uwẹ khin ebi Aah gẹn, ni ejele sẹ vae, ni Aah lu bhi otọ na bi eji Aah lu bhi okhun. Rẹ ni iman le ebale ni iman la le ẹlẹna. Ri olukhọ si iman humhin iman bi eji iman rẹ rẹhumhin ene lui iman khọlọ. Kha ii ji iman deọ bhi edọmhẹn – himhin iman sibhi ebeimhẹn re. [Ọsẹ khi ọni ejele, ọni ahu bi ọni oriri-ejele dabhi eji Aah ye na rẹ sẹ bhi ẹdẹdẹmhẹndẹ.] Isẹ.


[edit] External links
[1] Gerontocracy of Esan people
[2] University Of Benin
[3] Edo State Website
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esan"
Categories: Articles lacking sources from March 2007 | All articles lacking sources | Cleanup from March 2007 | All pages needing cleanup | Ethnic groups in Nigeria | Edo State.

Ibibio
Ibibio language
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Efik language)
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Ibibio
Spoken in: Nigeria  
Region: Akwa Ibom State
Total speakers: 1,5 to 2 million
Language family: Niger-Congo
Atlantic-Congo
 Volta-Congo
  Benue-Congo
   Cross River
    Delta Cross
     Lower Cross
      Obolo
       Efik
        Ibibio
Language codes
ISO 639-1: none
ISO 639-2: bnt
ISO 639-3: ibb
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. See IPA chart for English for an English-​based pronunciation key.
Ibibio is a language native to 1,5 to 2 million people in the Akwa Ibom State and Cross river state, Nigeria. It is the dominant language spoken in the state. Other major languages in the state include Oron,itu mbon-uso and Annang. Because of its importance in trade and education in the region, many Annang and Efik people also speak Ibibio. Ibibio is a member of the Benue-Congo group, which forms part of the Niger-Congo language family. It is closely related to Efik.

Contents [hide]
1 Speech technology
2 References
3 Phrases
4 External links



[edit] Speech technology
Until now, not many speech synthesis applications exist for african tone languages. Working on this subject are Gibbon et al. (2006) and Bachmann (2006,2007), see references and BOSS (Speech synthesis)


[edit] References
O. E. Essien (1991): "The nature of tenses in African languages: a case study of the morphemes and their variants." In: Archiv Orientalni, Bd. 59, 1–11.
Dafydd Gibbon, Eno-Aasi E. Urua und Moses Ekpenyong (2006): "Problems and solutions in African tone language Text-To-Speech." In: ISCA Workshop on Multilingual Speech and Language Processing (MULTILING 2006), Stellenbosch, South Africa: Center for Language and Speech Technology, Stellenbosch University, paper 014.
Raymond G. Gordon, Hrsg. (2005): "Ethnologue: Languages of the World", Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International. ISBN 1-55671-159-X
Kaufman, Elaine Marlowe (1972) Ibibio dictionary. Leiden: ASC / Cross River State University / Ibibio Language Board.
Arne Bachmann (2006): "Ein quantitatives Tonmodell für Ibibio. Entwicklung eines Prädiktionsmoduls für das BOSS-Sprachsynthesesystem." Magisterarbeit, University of Bonn.
Eno-Abasi E. Urua (2004): "Ibibio", Nr. 34/1 in Journal of the international phonetic association, International phonetic association, Kap. Ibibio. 105–109.




[edit] Phrases
Emesiere - Good Morning
Esiere - Good night
Aba die/ Aba di die - How are you
Aba ke mmo - Where are you
Abiong andong - I am hungry
Idem mfo - How are you
Idem asong - I'm fine
Idem 'nsongo - I'm not well
Amedi - Welcome (literal - You have come)
Sosongo - Thankyou
Akere die - What's your name
Mma ma fi - I love you
Ndiongo ke - I don't know
Nsido - What is wrong/what is it
Atweb atie - It's cold
Eyo ada - It's sunny
Ubak usen - Morning
Usen - Day
Uwem-eyo - Afternoon
Mmbubreyo - Evening
Okoneyo - Night
Ini - Time
Anie - Who
Nso - What
Ini eke - When
Ntagha - Why
Die - How
I would love to see Ijaw language on wikipedia

My Ibibio — language resources, including dictionary, books, proverbs, stories

interesting. I never knew Esan was a language.

hummm,i am not surprised,you made this about, the three major languages in nigeria.

The Esan one is nice.

Hmm very intresting tho!, well let try the sites and see wat's up!