Igbo language

Igbo
Ásụ̀sụ́ Ìgbò
Pronunciation[ásʊ̀sʊ̀ ìɡ͡bò] ⓘ
Native toNigeria
RegionIgboland: Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Delta, Rivers[1]
EthnicityIgbo
Native speakers
31 million (2020)[1]
Standard forms
  • Standard Igbo[2]
DialectsIsu, Abiriba, Aguata, Aguleri, Arochukwu, Asa, Awka, Anioma, Bende, Edda, Egbema, Ekpeye, Enuani, Etche, Ezza, Ibeku, Idemili, Igbanke, Ika, Ikwerre, Isobo, Ikwo, Izzi, Mbaise, Mgbo, Ndoki, Ngwa, Nkanu, Nnewi, Nsukka, Oboro, Onitsha, Ogbaru, Ogba, Ohafia, Ohuhu, Okigwe, Olokoro,Owerri, Ubakala,Ukwuani, Waawa, Ijekebe[3]
Latin (Önwu alphabet)
Nwagu Aneke script
Neo-Nsibidi
Ndebe script
Igbo Braille
Akagụ Script
Official status
Official language in
Recognised minority
language in
Regulated bySociety for Promoting Igbo Language and Culture
Language codes
ISO 639-1ig
ISO 639-2ibo
ISO 639-3ibo
Glottolognucl1417
Linguasphere98-GAA-a
Complete Map of Igboland based on historical sources.
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PeopleṆ́dị́ Ìgbò
LanguageÁsụ̀sụ́ Ìgbò
CountryÀlà Ị̀gbò

Igbo (English: /ˈiːboʊ/ EE-boh,[5] US also /ˈɪɡboʊ/ IG-boh;[6][7] Standard Igbo: Ásụ̀sụ́ Ìgbò [ásʊ̀sʊ̀ ìɡ͡bò] ⓘ) is the principal native language cluster of the Igbo people, an ethnicity in the Southeastern part of Nigeria.

Igbo Languages are spoken by a total of 31 million people.[1] The number of Igboid languages depends on how one classifies a language versus a dialect, so there could be around 35 different Igbo languages. The core Igbo cluster, or Igbo proper, is generally thought to be one language but there is limited mutual intelligibility between the different groupings (north, west, south and east). A standard literary language termed 'Igbo izugbe' (meaning "general igbo") was generically developed and later adopted around 1972, with its core foundation based on the Orlu (Isu dialects), Anambra (Awka dialects) and Umuahia (Ohuhu dialects), omitting the nasalization and aspiration of those varieties.

  1. ^ a b c Igbo at Ethnologue (27th ed., 2024) Closed access icon
  2. ^ Heusing, Gerald (1999). Aspects of the morphology-syntax interface in four Nigerian languages. Münster: LIT Verlag. p. 3. ISBN 3-8258-3917-6.
  3. ^ "Igbo Dialects and Igboid Languages". Okwu ID. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b "World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - : Overview". UNHCR. 20 May 2008. Archived from the original on 13 January 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2012.
  5. ^ "Igbo". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020.
  6. ^ "Igbo". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Ibo". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 25 July 2019.