izon language learner
DESCRIPTION
This books is an aid ot learning Western Izon, (Ijaw) Language of the Niger Delta Ijaw Tribe in Nigeria.TRANSCRIPT
LEANN YOUR LANGUAGE
based on the Mein Dialect
by
JOTIN O.E. ODISI
Edited by
KAY WILLIAMSONKIERAN FLYNN
LESSION 19 School
1. Soiyc/,sukulu qbgg owcimg
2. Sutulu/3. /sukultr/eYe tolumQ ki wui kV
4Jsukulumi a emi tonrgg<Ycmil
lal5. Tolumqweimy'v.uro./6. /tung9-gbisa/daw47. /sukulu-anrmy'8. /tolumgwei9. sukulumi/kiribott/lO./sukulu adakiri/dgbal
LESSON 22 Religim1 J'Beirikurukunr ki stlg/
LESSON 21 Hedth1. /oybYg bgdltnqlr{ni2. ti owcV tr{ rmsnl IcyqlggdYr'oeidYaPsiqP-wui em"a. /coqpnl bibd5. /dtoitr{trbolool6Jntsi onuoUtrii mie ksomdTJdt4p-hp9fr/s.14 irfontototunfllki i oqdgllip *co kimi a$ng/lo.Iiiwl{dl kts{ br/ Po/
2/dein/binotu/dawaito. rg al andal
;i€tl ki-ii kpq d ii" ru*q/ frt.pT " tid
;.w; ;hu.t / dq"iY"i z-uz seri a $1i mo/
5. Abianl eseribo sd patng (or Kgri)
;.iffi ki mi akpo./ owoi mq gbeleigba/oturo/
7/ki owei mq gbeleighatimi ofuro/
8. Jesu fi tiq ki Pri/9. Jesu/akpgg $9 PrY
io.ri"ti d;kit"i ru,si znryt ri- :Iq ebdiliiti.gt * eunitvpu-qe*i"i.ki'o ms gal
r z -rviisi ti-Ym., hqvqnry'sgqgha/
il. ti,i,e.*u teni (kin eyij *""*"."Elsei tgmi$uo/
la.Tiyq ky' Jesu kai bal
15.ltinmini ogun'
87
ANSWERSLESSON 13 The llouset. Ekpedii/fini2.ErGrinmlni3.Egbmu/4.Eni/s. /ygwqi f€/6Jozii fei7/algni8. Mu olomrqiae.rleidel0/ogmtg/
LESIK)N 14 lfixtetl.E&Ta/2.Tiycfl3.rifega. ftnrm/5./[email protected]/fg/?-Eodpeftnlcmq fgf8.TiyCfrn/9. $U a/ agbgkr/ dqpl0.Tibgky fE;say'.
LE$K)N 15 lkRivcrt.ftibgkqrry2./cadi@gyg3.'Aniuggtgin/4. Alrsiogtu ki di dq/s. (tg1p)ygsbginl6.Tgtpis€riil7.lrybuwei/8" Bcni'cycri/9. Tin-uigb abodi/endi d9gy9 a1O. Bodg o bgm$n/b€ni biri
LBS$ON 16 TheFarmlandl.Eyintiygki sil2.ldidgp si (or tgry kfl3.Tiefie/4Jaifie I gborct5. /ini kirim/igina mg odu mS6- /berebekiri.7. Kiriologbo/ki €rni8-Apaly'kgrppin/9, /Ipgotididg.10-&gnbo.aqn/
LESXS'ON f7 TheBush1. Adakatiyg ki yerin/2-Bosouwei/tga/3.Qproborilqmin/4.|$yelow€nl5- Seiye (or seiyeaa/6.rbouaowgg bgmi.7- logmmltinl.S.Bounama/disde.Kimi@/qe'1O. rboumy' opu-obori/
LESXS'ON 13 Theskyt. inatumini.Z.$rmmpgmi.3.Agqngweil dtyEtl4.lsgriil5. Osuo/koro/6. Dein/erein/gbelei7. Aqodg.8. Abidoin (or sei deinyg.lagur.at
lOAfri
(c) J.o. E. ODISI
Ail Rights Rescrvcd
First kinting lWl
86
ogbo ladg aba, kimi sg "Ewiri bodg, Ewiri bodg, Ewiri bodg" gbaa bo'kgri mgmg mu babamini.
Mi kpg i na wEri dUni img gbami,i peldq egbcri ho-o-o-o-o-
Now a.ruwer the following qrestiotrs in lzqn1. Is it wnong to bite the finger that feeds you?
Demonstrate your ensw€r from the pass4go.
2- What is belief is portrayed by the Judge in applylng the music that
was heard under his seat in.giving verdict?
3. If you were the Judge, how would you give vendict
in respect of this issue todaY?
4. Mention, at l€ast, two effects of telling lies from thc passagc.
5. Explain briefly the italicised words.
85
par$ ni 'a daB rrq d-olai nam44rrra mg ki bo yari la ki gba a?" esin i bnnami'o bglgg seimi.
. Tu akgn baimi"ab" ryryi.esin mi gbai zini kidikidi anda andaghani nama'o mg bagha. Ewiri Afgfgin kgrir{. 'A anda oya timi n9 ki Er{6irI efEei" gbmi. bo wasaidg ni klni s9 wari amrunini'mi, erlnkiali bain bglgg mu wgri owggbirimi a keni qdqg rr sou wgriopc,ofomi'esgwgi timi Ewiri konrmi-
_Ewiri bo eygg la bo, qsi" -tsi iqr$arrra plnlkgrgmg gube Ewiri dimi. Ewiri misi brami aqmi -omini 6" U4 ,a-dgbeinmg koromg wgri bainmi. Qsin pa bo wgri,"-"" iqr-i. -
Eyiri tu a Qsin kimisi bra kgn 'o migrni e bma nanri, -o trn pu esintinmi. Misi amamifrmd€kim! s9 baki bamini'A bo OgBIa SgqWarli lami,kimi sg nini bira gunti. Ogpla Sgg
Wa{mi ogBlaa sg nasinng r4i, bai ka ogglaa pglg€mini gUami.6iin gLibrami 'a tgrg kgrigha, liki bibini arnba kimi Ewiri- frr"i
'*itnanl
-iglTA"i duoni ogglanri'wo bira ka seiimg bma ki padg.
_ Deinmi, Qsin mg -i"i awggama mg kiri ye kiri ye duo sou muOggla Spg Warimi oggta pe.lgowei penetimiyg kiirii lami. .A mfsi brasou sinng mi,'a wd wari a mumi.
bo bd ni og$Ia pe.lggmg efie ladg mi, ogpla pe.lg_oweimi mumini perretimiyg a pe,retimii bo, esin awggbo kiriy" duobo-eygg la wgriozi farimi.'A ozi faqmini mi'a keni tibi kpq d-i gba-i"ilbgUf.iEwiri bira sei. Qsin bFa €bi. E*rt-r bi* sei . qsin bira Ji-.."
' '
Oggla pglg-oweimi kiri pei di a, numoumi fie bglgU b9lg9 kamumini.'Wo Oggla Sgq Warii h peimi.'.A kimi *€ kpirei" timi pei a,mi numoumi mukpg fiemini,"Ogglarni Ewiri bira s€i. $in bia ebi. Ewiribfia sci.Qsin blra ebi..."
OgUla pglg-oweimi Ewiri bq, "Ewiri eni mig dUF sg gba e.n Ewirigbtdt:omini zid bra niggha e. esin ki 'wo esisimg wgri'wo nama kgnbra ki'o mg nerni wgri emi ye." 'O baxi Sin kpg Ue pgi pE-i gunmi.
'A bari ma lQmi brbibo non€ mi, oggla pglgoweii gb4mi,"MiggqlTikgn zini pglggmq bra fa e. Kiri akpg a emi otubo kpq oeUta,niEwiri bjra ka sei emi bra ari wEi gba& mi o kiri ba q bm qrniama nimgmg ogpla pglg asin seimqgm' timi ml o?"
OgUla pglgowei ogglaa pelp aki Ewiri seimgni. Qsin ki og$arnibfia s€riimi. Ewiri kgn mu baamini 'o mg kgn angq a nmi *gri *ri
"i,kiri'a'o kgriimg orom rgnmini mi, Ewiri Warii duo desi pa *gri Ucni arnu fami. Aniki duoni Ewiri mg b€Nd ki yerin ogbo dgF emi y". .O
Uo
This book is dedicated to
JOHN O.E. ODISI
who made it possible
It is Not Good To Bite The Finger That Feeds YouACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wish to record my profound gratitude to the following fromwhom I obtained most of the pruisages in Part tr of this book:
Miss Mercy Evinson of Ayamasa, (Bassage 2); Ml- Francis
A. Egbain of Ayamasa,(passages 6 & 7); and- Mr. DavidGbolokgmg of Kpakiama,(passages 4 & 5r, and who, inaddition, provided names of some months which enabled me
to have a complete lunar calendar.
I wish to declare that I found the following books very useful
while miting this book lzgz Bibi Fun by Chief T- N.Onduku and especially lzgn-English Dictionary by MI.Agbegha.
I am immensely grateful to Kay Williamson who speirt much
time, in spite of her pressurized activities, in going thrcugh
tho manuscript on her own, and for having provided the
opportunity to go through it again with me and making
nec€ssary corrections and providing useful suggestions.
I should like to declare that I am particularly grateful to MissMercy Evinson again, and my wife ---Mrs Monica Odisi who,
in their respetive ways, provided such conducive atmosphere
which assisted greatly while writing this book. $ addition' Iwish to say thar'l am thankful to Catechist Pius Ll. Sgqkgmorfor his words of encouragemeirt. I wish to rhan$ Mr. A. P.
Faotu;for assistance in the chapter on counting- Additionally'l am higbfy grateful to Mr. Jonathan Brake-ebi whose artisticdesrgn is displayed on the cover page. I am also graleful toany other p€finn who, in any way, helped me to have unitteir
this book.
Finally,l have to say that I lack the fitting words to thank and
praise Rev.Fr. Kieran Flynn (SPS), for his differreirt ways ofassistance offered me since the beginning of the projoct-
May God, in His mcrcy Bless them all.
Egberi -o-o-o-o-
. Alaghabo Adotimii gbirain koro emi.
Kgni efie Ewiri mg gsin mq eyq kqri wgri mi.'A yerin timi kqni bai la a'
narna ebemi okpan koromi. Nama ebee sg bgni wqri pesikiriyai
bgr-rimgmi. Andami korodq b99 sg,'o gbo bqg ki nama padg't 'O. sin-anda timi bo a, ba namabo bein;'o bira digmq aki Ewiri primi,
titi UiUi"i amba Ewiri andaygmi mugha. Misi bra'a rn' ko.n yerin timi
te"i U"i ia a, Ewiri gbadq'o kpQ andaygmi muumini ye' Qsin bggha'
ewiri tpg bogha, 'o mugln timi afima dqnmq e"O kpgn braa bo k$rp
UqdE ni Qsin mg biberinmi- Akqn bai ki'a rra aada aadamini'- -Tfuni bo tu akgn lail{, Ewrir kqkq QBin'try rnurni"A mu andaki4 la
a,'aanda y9r9i timi bo $in fpq pri pa mumi-'Wo U.tgbira ki-kqrimi'
Kiri'a pa sB99 ki diibo, Qsin Vtgbixa k-on gbeinng-kqni opu U.tpbirn'
Timi yoo'o ba ziniYai gbodg.'a anda timi kgNd efie larni, Ewiri kpg owei tin pa mu Qgbq kqrimi'
Andakirimi tgrg fini wqri anda dimi.tA anda osumei timi n9 bo wasa ke
pami.to*i g.titi ba owei tin pa mu El99l9 ki kqrimi. Kiri 'a pa sUQ ki diibo'
Elgo.ig Ewiri sibe gbeinng. q3in bo rnanaa nr:u'a runaa ki timimi. 'O ba
zini- miggmg bra ia ni,'o pa ki mini ba wqri erni namabo a kqni kqn'od;irkidiq bra gbami. Bouu sg gbadg, mlsi bra ki'o m9 mig dggmini
ala,'ominiU.ttJbirakiken'odei.'.OkqkqU.tgbixakqn'odeimi'Ewiribo fomung.
fiti *a* s€riiminii bo, Ewiri bUlqlr kqri bain mu wgri sibeye kqn
owggbirimi a pidg tga timi Qsin konrmi. Kiri Sin bo ey99 laabo' Ewiri
.iU"y". t"i"mi- $in sibeye fiee naa bo , 'omini ba wgri namab s9
gt"i"-g koromg wgri bain fami- Ewiri pa bo 'a sg tqlg aki wari mumi'rO *u warimi'o gbamini awgJbo primi, "Sin ki zini kimi pri gbo wEri
i parg ni i n\o mi dqlaf aamabo np bo emi."-g*iti rnie braa duoni Qsin pa bira ka mu warl lami' Timi k€ni bai l8
a, Ewiri "o"99Uo
mA Qsin awqg bo mg tei gbelei timi Ewiri ydbo p4
Qsin VaiUo w€,rimi,n Ovi baimi, e dag ki'a pd gbo wqri wo da+ pri parl
oi:o -g dglai narnaarna bomi e:" Qsin awggbo mi egberii nami 'amini
tqr t"u -iA da{ bimi,'A CaOi, nwiri awqgbo gbadg emini mi UqdE
Aiq""ti:a pri gbo ki gbo wqri Ewiri p{ ki mini'ba wqci namaama kqn
iii 83
yinbowei, tu yai, oormi--'*o!|bi[:bi kgni-yinbowei e. Sei k1p inie,cffi kpg inie. I m'o buiimini.'
Ani &mi al ox@i mr -i"i kgi-yinbo*rei lar{,'wo'o Dihi. 'Tibra ki wo kf mr cai ercma kgqnmini yan o?' ''W'<r 'o pargmi,"i migemgbra mnigha e.' Th yemi gbamiffi b'ra ki wo np mig€mini ye. Wo ozikgnng aba, o kgn bouu duo gbolo sgg muumini ye. Mi vo gboloomgbrrmi. F:ngbou qmgbou tini tiyq ka €mi yan o. Emgbou erngbou kimipbodq wo e kg4 mu aqr gUqg mi e. Emgbol erngbou kimi kg gBAeNng
diri i,o bp@ k$pmq be Fmi ye. Frngbou emgbog kimi erriyo *iyqgsg pa bodq wn e kgn mu diri gggg mi e.' Mi brami 'o m9 nang aba,'oboitrnlni ye"' Mi brami'a mg gba pglg siinbo,'a ozi kgn wgri wgni bouu&ry rgqrni.'A dAlg w€ni sgg mun€ mi,'wo kgni-yinboweimi koro misg
t.bragbolomi.'A gbolo sgq rumini mi, Emgou emgbou kimi gbolomini braa
nimi.'O dgb beri ti@ kiri pei a,'wo ang tin r.vgri timi gbolomini. 'Opcr pgtg a,'o ffi kgn mu diri grtg dggmini ki bra 'o m9 nami. 'O gbarni,
' E yva-a, d&re i nu timi a ifada e, i kiali ba{nng ki kiri'a bo mi eyg laati Gbi &i!qi ye.'Ani q bm ki i mq migEmini yan o? I mi namaa kgn
"tri hts a,nitimilg bo i la w€ri i kgn mu diri ggggmini yo. ! nariaakft[. r6i fory @ bain'a bira duo tgii ki ebi dgin erni ye.' Anlibn'o p $ @$ ryz @g *angln timi tuin a tibt tW?14.
Ua bi-ylntoU*o bo eyqg lryri, Emgbou eingbou ki-i 'a mgadgh. 'A ertma bimi'{ t pargmi,*Wo ani gbo}o egberii naabo, 'o pa kimgp sti ftq8ara @era bqin bouu dpg sggrri e.o Tu oweimi gbami, "fnnntep @ ba h e, q kiali hemaa. kgnng o bain saxarng 4ma a mu c.n'A kgtq ne"rna sibc rgitremt ry bap ana a mumi.'A @ hi, kiti ni bol tein+weimi mi narnaa digmq yarimq agbgionrbo 19 yaini. Misg erein kormq bg$g a muu s9, mi kimi ba bitibi eyeli yain yerinehs. Mi i na weri dry ni i mq gbami i pelde egberi bd fa o-o-(x>
Nan oswa tle fonwing in lzent. S,hrtisfu themc ofrhis$ory?2. Wbrtbssm(s) do yurderircftomit?3. Ir t gpod to suspct yourmfubbdr?4.. Ehdrh fo your own urcds ee ilalkiscd crpncosimg
CONTENTSl. ThA&hrba2.Formation of Words......;.........."....,3. V€rb Teirses: The Past [email protected] Preseirt tense........... :. -...............5. The futuretense6. Prcnouns--Personal...7. Prronouns continud...8. The use of some words...-.....9. Miscellanmus10. Numerationi1. Measuration12. Currency..................-13. lsson on the house.........14. Lesson on Market---15. Lesson on the river..."-......16" L.sssca on farmland17. l,esson on the Bush."..-.....I8. Lesson on the sky.............19. Lesson on school....20.Isson on parts of the body...........21. I-esson on health....22. Isson on religion..23. lsson on (Iz. gn) caleirdar.....
Paft tr Compreheirsionl. Why the cricket's teeth are singed?.."....2. The hunter and the sow.....................--..3. How mosquitoes came to live....-........4. It is more painful to be beateir with words5. How the He-goat bocare a domestic animaI..........6. Th_e hunter and the skeleton (man).........7. It is not good to bite the finger that feeds you.........
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INTRODUCTIONIt is corpletely tnre that the Izqn languago has suffer,edtaibly frrorn the hands of those living in the presentgaeration-specially the youths, who pursue westei:r valuesal the exp€nse of theirs which has producd some ill-oonqu€naes. Sequel to the above, the vocabulary is graduallydying. Many p;u,ents can iot teach their children in their ownmother-tongue; ilutny youths regard it as a foreign languagernd have relegated il into a state of disuse.One of the greatest means of prbserving one's culture is toF€s€rve one's language. And one's language can hardly bepreserved if it is not usod in everyday conversation andwritten down. Thus to pr€s€rve the lzgn language has been achallenge before us all. Unless somc self-sacrificingeirthusiastic and patriotic prcple painstaingkinly respond toface this noble and natural challeirge, no on€ could predict thefate of the langu4ge tomonow.
Though very few have dared to face the challenge, Ithought it not unwise and most useful to contribute my quota
also which has come under the title nl-earn Your l-anguagen.In it, I cleated room for two classes of people to use:
the natives and foreigners- Heirce, there is a serious attemptmade to give the meaning of words which, to the natives whospeak it, may be repelitive or boring. A particular attentionhas be€n paid to the demands of foreigners.
In order to assist my audieirce, answ€ns to manyqucstions which I think nocessary have beeir provided,bdid€s translafing each senteirce into F-nglish.
(6) The Hunter And The Skeleton (Man)Egberi-o-o-o-o-o-Alaghabo Adotimii gbirain koro emi.
Kgnl efie keni boutein-owei kgn! ama a timimi.'.Omini bou teindg fa kitimimi. Ania'omini bou teiyg dgg bodg aba, mini ba wgri emi narnabo
kgn bitibi ki q fi timim!, zini kimi p4gha.'Ani taara kiryt ki 'a sla kgxi-yinbo a pa emi. Kgni gerede eyg kpg'o m9 kqri wgrffi . Misi eygg kpg'o ma ye ko.n p{gha. Ania 'o bou teinyg a mumiqi efie sg, kiri'o panama tein koromgg bo, emgbou emgbou-kimi eseribo sg a 1n, bo 'om-omg narnaa dig dignini, ani duoni'omini ekise nama mo ki war! a mumumini.
Timi bo k94 b4 Ia a, "o tama'o bgmi, "A i yEe, tiye ki ducrni emo.mg ekise nama k-on wari a ba qri yan o? E z-lra kqua end lg€tei wgri erni arag m9 dig digmini ye. Ani duonl i kpg mi gba o rngmg bouteinyg a muumini.n A yei gbami, nf ta,'ye e pebi i nqmg mugha fa e."Ererna gba yei pargm!, "'Ye e rymg mugba aba, odu kp bibagha burukp bibagha fa e.n Yetuni ba zini migqrng bra fa ni,'o pa ki k9k9 6 trlamumi.
'A bouu dug wgni s$g mu timi dgin kpg nama'a nq adgha" "A w4boo mg ororo kpg torn sinng ki ki{ kgni nama'a mg arimi. Yeimi minisibeye k4 wqri mi namaa teinmi, bira bggha, kqkg tein koro wgri erni.Kiri'a rna mu nanua kqn dggmini mi, emgbou erngbou kimi ba bo psmi.Kiri er€rna 'wo arli'bo 6 koro girigirigiri angg sgimi. 'O bo pami 'ogbami,"Mi gbai ma nama sg ki e mo.mg ba ma? Kimi kgni kpi ki wo m9
ye.n Bou tein-oweimi biberinmi. Emgbou egtou kimi gbami,
'Erema ki i mq kggnmini , e ba namaa korn ye.n Kirmimi ba miggnrg branemigha.'O bqgha gba a, emgbou emgbou kimi kgn'o migrng bra *o
mg nemigha.'Wo erema ko.n'o p4 wgri mu ama a gbaamg bra kpg fa.'O gba emgbou erngbou kimi primi,'Timi i konr e , i bomini ye.n
Emgbou erngbou kimi biberinmi. Kimimi erlelna mg nailuta mg wgri bainamaamumi.
'O mu ama l,a ni pa brarni'o gba mini kgni-yinbowei, b$lEJ yeprimi,'wo kgni-yinbowei gba'o diami. "E ba ba timi namabo kgni bai ema dglg kqn i p4 wgri 4 akpotu pade kiri emini bo i tinmini a o?' 'O mutu oweii ki la kpg,'o kpg tarik.umg bra gbami.'O mu mini eygowei la a,'o kpg tarik.umg bra. 'O ba miggrng bra nemigha. Tumi 'wo kgni-
h
VJohn O. E. Odisi
w€ti bgtfgn kgn dgsirymi.'Wo'o fidg a, kgn mi99m9 bra fa. Embe.lgkUrpmg b9 kpo bgmi.
Okodi ba gba Kura primi, "i w4 mu 4ni diri kgnng i bomid e."Kura'o pargmi,'Mun€ bo e.l O-kodi ba bain mu Abedi lami,'o gba'odiami, nSisei ye, wai zini k-on bo e. Gbelei a sgndie sili e." Abedi kgkgba zini tga 'o primi.'IVo'o k-on wai bain mu bonii lami. Kura'o bimi,"Mi ba ko.n ti bm ki mlgmini ye a o?n Okodi'o panlmi, nKuf,a, di ye,ernini'o kgn Kgngowei kp$n pu wgri mi dirii kgn'o dgsimg weri fidgaha, e rnu arna a trnamini e.o
Kura Kgngowei tlnmi, nKo.ngowei, kiali owou pa bo e.n Kgng-owei kpg kgkg owou pa bomi.Kura kiali'o kpgn pumi. Aniibo bo.gnmi'o rng ko.n 'o d€simqnri,'wo 'o {mi. Ko.n gbaamg bra fa.
Okodi ba gba Kuna primi,"Tu pe.lg yemi kq emi e. { mu'o kqnnq ibomini e." Kurakpg ba biberinmi. Aniibo Okodi ba bain mu Abodi lami.'O gbami, "Wd zini trla i p4 e.'Wo'o k-on wai mu b€Ndi lami. Kura'obrmi, "Mi ba kgn tiye ki migrnini yan o?" Otodi'o pargmi, 'Mi ko.n
Anda-owei ka qa ffnini ye. Kura gbami,'Ani aba, timi i konr e. i kialimu Andaowei dW keridE i bomini e.' Aniibo Kura kpira boru duo bains-ugmi.
'O gbein sgg mu fadg mi, Okodi mini ta bgrni, nB4n efie ladg ye.oMi'a kom 16un digha, torm digha bain tind bo ama la brami e. 'A boama ladg mi,Ourei-okodi gbanri, ni ta, o ba bou si kgrng e. Wo arna kalgwa timi timi €yc dgg fi e." Aniki duoni Okodi mgnrg bou lagha e.
Mii kpg i na -gri dq ni i mq gbarni, i pe.lqde egberi fa-o-o-o-
Now answer tlrc following questiot s in lzgn1. Was it ri&t for tk He-goat to have escap€d at the expeirse of lives?2. Was the any other way it could have planned such?3. Do you think there is d4tlger if it decidd to go back to the forest?4. Has it paid the debt it owed the Nile monitor lizard (Iguana)?
-1, Whl was the total debt owed?6. Why do you think the Nile monitor lizard was known as the
seller of honey?
n,t*prt*,rVWyz
obms
abdegfs (h)i i k Imnogprstuuvw
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-TLBSSON 1
TIIE ALPHABET
This lesson is dividEd into four sections. Each sation dals withparticular aspect ofthe alphabet. Study thern conscientiously.
SBCTION I..THE CONSONANTSThis section deals with the singleJetter consonants only. They are-
*bd'F!Ff
(h) 'r' t( k I
As of now there ale sev€,nte€,lr consonants only. Study ttwn proprly.Besides using it for exclamatory purpos€, nhn as a single-letter consooanthas hardly any use in lzo.n. It can only be usd in exclamatims such as:-Oho! Ahaa! Ehee! Hei! Hu! etc
SECTION IJ-.THE VOWEI.SThere are nine vowels in fzgn, The consonants in section I above are tobe used with them.They are:-
aegiiogu$
SECTION III--THE CONSONANTS AND TflEUOWELSIf you observed carefully while studying the consonnnts,you would havediscovered that there w€re som€ spots marked with asterisk. They arre notinserted for decoration but to inform you that somethin! is to be added toeach spot.If both the consonanrs and vowels are combined, the result will be asfollows:-
80
Like some other languages in the world, when compared with the English
alphabet, tbe fzqn language is short of some letters; it has no place for the
following:-c j q andx
It is obscrvod that "c", nj" and oqn are respectively replaced by "sn, nzn
and'k' but "x" has no such replacemeirt; these lettdrs have no function to
play in tho language, henco they are all deleted.
It is argud by some people that nJn is not part of the alphabet as itis not on thi tongue of any typical Ijaw. It is replaced by 'zo , as "c" and
'q" arc rcplacd by'os' and nkn. Hence Jesus, James, John etc would in
poctioo * pronounced asTsu,Tnrnis and @ni respectively. Besides
ihcrc iS no traditional word which begins with the letter nJn- Personally, Iam of the same opinion with this school of thought'
Ther,e are some other persons whq hold the contrary, that it was part
of the alphabet. These argue that it was eveir used by some early workers
in thc language; and exanrples could be eveir found in some works.
Howcver this is not a work to settle this argumeirt. It is obvious that
if it wcro not part of the alphabet before, it has be€n incorporated into the
a$haba on the ground fh€t it is used like any other letter in most rrorks
irLIZr,and it is heard on the lips of modein Ijaws who could not escap€
its usc. On this ground, it is usod in this book as well'
SEETION IV-.TTIE DIGNAGPHS AND TRIGRAPHThclc rrcthreo digrapts and one trigraph in lzgn which are give'n below
gb gh kP and ngb-
Thccc do not re,prescnt double sounds but only one. The ngff trigraph is
p6trlirl' to Kololrurna and sorre other dialecB but abseirt in the one used
icG--MED.I, and some others also. There ale tweirty-seveir letters in
fzp crclusivcof the digpphs and the trigraph'
kpg'ye eye liimini ye ." ani duoni a kiali b€nimi owein sararng e." Aniibo'omini aka dr.u d99 timi'a dimi.
Ala kagha timi Adaka pd bmi.Kgngowei Adaka bomini bramiargg bo,'o qridi mu benimi oweinni.'A owein timi Adaka pri bo eygglanf. Adaka Kgngowei bimi, n A Kgngowei, bodg i kpg benimi asggg ma.n Ko.ng-owei'o panrmi, "B€nimi iniegha e, i kpg Okodi ki i sgqerni ye. Adaka Okodi bimi. Okodi biberinmi. Aniibo Adaka gbami, "Miberdmi a mg owein sinng aba, a eye ki ba)kpg 'ye €ye fiimini, a ba eyeki baga kpg'ye eye lllmini e. Anf duoni a kiali b€nimi owein e." Aniibo'wo ak a peretimi'a drmi.
Timi ba d9l9 z9b9r9 mini bo, Kura bomini bra Adaka mgarimi.Aniibo, kimi kg'o be.gha mi,'o qridi b€Ndmi a sgg wgri oweinmi.Kura bo pab,'wo Adaka bimi, oA Adaka, bodg iftpq beirimi a sggma.n ddaka'o parymi, "i kpg bi ki bi srp emi e. Okodi ki beni ye."Aniibo Kura Okodi bimi,"Bodg i kpg sggg rna." Okodi'o pargmi;"See,Ko.ng.owei i bi a, i kp$ngha; Adaka ki i bi kpq i kpgngha. Ti bra ki miqni e kiri i bi a i ba miq timi kpggnmg bra an o? Bo qridi sUe e." AniiboKura gba'a diami, "Mi benimi a mg oweinng a eirdi ki ba kpg'y€ eyeqinini, a ba eirdi ki bagha kpg'yc eye fiimini. Ani duoni a kiali b€nimiowein ye." Aniibo'o koro bein 4kaa duo wqni dU wgri tginmi.
'A owein timi kgni efie laabo, Owd Okodi ghmi, "i bomini e."Kura'o bimi, nE tiyq ka mumini yan o?" Okodi'o pargmi, oSoe,Kura,
'ye ekeir eni bira duo bain elEi tEi a p emi yan o? i kgni awa ki k-on bainkpq'ani kiri eN{ kgni seri desi.ki tpn. i bomini e.i da{ kgni ebi diri nanawgri emi ni'ye'o kiri kqn eyog a mumini e." Kura gbami,nMu kgnng wa!bo e." Okodi kqkg bainmg bggmg a eygrni a brasinmi.
Okodi bain mu Abedi lami,'o gba'o primi, 'A Ab€di, sisei kgni
@gn ololo yeri i p4 wgri ye. I bo tu a e gbggmini e.' Kgni @gn ololom!taaxa sili ti Vqrimini .Abedi k9k9 kgni bo.gn ololo tga Okodi primi.
Okodimi UqFnololoo kqn bain wai mu benii lami. Kura'o bimi,"Tiki diirimi ni e mu ko.n ye mi yan o?" Okodi b-ogn ololoo parn-omi.'Ogbami, "Mi dirirmi e." Kura'o bimi, "Mi dirimi kgn tiye ki migmini yano?Kura 'o bimj,- "Mi dirimi kgn tiye ki migrnini yan o?n Okodi 'opargmi,o Kura, di ye, emini Adaka kppn pu wgri mi dirii kgn'o dqsimgwgri 'o k-on f,dg aba, ye eye ariimini ye-n
Kura Adaka tinmi,n Adaka, kiali owou bo e.n Arlaka kgkg owou pabomi. Aniibo Kura Adaka kgn kporodaa kpgn w.gri 'o kg n kiri a korcmg
2 79
'Wo sggNrg a timi kqni bai la a' Erefighaowei 'o tinmi,'Angiri, koro
bo e," Ab$kg gbami,' i koro bogha fa e-" Erefighaowei gbami'"imini
Ayegeleftt, i kiri e tinmini Ye."- -Ab{kg kgkg koro bomi)O bo kiri lami,'o gba Erfighaowei primi'
'Eygp iqkb ebami e. Are;bibi kimi mq timi vsrp a , kqkq kimi do.n bira
*o-.q -tlttgg
dgin emi ye. i kgn e ki braa sq i mq brade e'E mi ko.n irytq i mqmq *9*i *"i f1rimi i mq bragha timi ini fi €r€in laamini ye'
eii 4"."i i t" titi a eye dgg qgha fa e." Mi AbUkg k9k9 Ereflghaowei
wqri aggnq amu wgri timi yerinmini ye-- 'AdtG kpq E tqgh"owei kgn 'wo alqimg braa duon! wai bo
Erelighaowei ."gt"i biri sei'o p4 ni 'wo'o k-on gbein pgi weri'o kqn
qmi;. Aniki duoni Adaka mq Ereflgha arg aba,'o kqn tin gbein pgi wqri
'o kgn S fimini ye.Mii sg i na wgri dU ni i mq gbarni i pqlgdgegberi fao-o-o-o-o-
Now antswer thefoll.owing in lzgnl. What other tit(s) would like to give to the passage?
2. Was it actually right for Monkey to have honoured the
supPosod invitation bY Lion?3. If you werc in the shoes of Monkey, how would you have reacted
to the rqu€st to come down from the tree?
4. Was Lion actuatty in its proper seNrs€ to have takeir such
action againstMonkeY?5. Do you think-Tortoise suceoded in fulfilling his saying?
(O How The He-Gmt Became A Domestic AnimatEgberi-o-oo'+oAlaglabo, Adotimii gbirain koro emi'
K€ni cfre okodi mg mini-eromn mg yerin timimi.'A yerin timi bo kgni
oiiti "f
a, ow-ei Okodi;ini ta b€mi, t'Bdq o mu beiri owein ye'n 'A
kgtgurynibou sggni.' -'A mil b*iqti owchmini mi, daghbbo, Kqng-owei bo eaqi' Ko.ng-
owei Oksdi bgrri,;A Qkodi, iroCE i kpq e mo.mq benimioweiin ma? o
Okodi'o pnqiti,'S-€o, G kiri lgl9 bo sggg mi e gba "' i
b1 mig timi
beghmq ts;i; o? Bo fi{di sUq e'" Kqng-owei gbarni' mi benimi a
d"".it sinnf aba, a endi ki ba kPg'yo €yc fiimini, a ba endi ki bagha
LESSON 2
FORMATION OF WORDS
Having learnt the alphabet, it is now time to apply them to fomr words.Before we proceed to forming words which is divided into sections, thereare some words which need to be mentioned first, and they arc t€atod insection 1 below; they are single-letter words.
SECTION I-. SINGLE.LETTER WORDSSome singleletter words are:-
6-- which means You-- second person plural or she
i-- which means theye- which means You-socond p€rson singular
!-- which meians Ib-- which means He or It
SECTION II-- TWO.LETTERED WORDSIn this section, we shall treat two-letter words. Words are usually formdby the combination of vowel and consonant sounds. I-et us visit sectionsI and tr of lesson I. Taking b first and the other consonants in turnrespectively with the vowels one by one-suffixing each consonant with avowel, we shall arrive at forming two-letter words. Here they are in theorder in which they are writteir.
ba be b9 bi bi bo b9 bu bgda de d9 di di do d9 du dgfafef9fiIifofgturyga ge 99 gi gi go 99 gu ggha he h9 hi hi ho h9 hu hgja je je ji ji jo jq ju jvka ke k9 ki ki ko k9 ku kBla le 19 li li lo l9 lu l9ma me mg mi mi mo mg mu m$na ne ng ni ni no ng nu n\rpa pe p9 pi pi po p9 pu ptrtarergri4rorgrurysa se sg si si so sg su sg
78
ta tova vowt wc
SEC''JION III.-T H RE E -IETT ER W O R DS
d'enr t9* this s€cton we shall treat how to form three-letter words. Three-letter
words could be formed in any order but the one to be treated first is to
pr€fix rnd suffix a consonant with the same vowel. Look at how they are
fonrpd here;-
tg ti ti to tg tu tg
vg vi vi vo vQ vtl vtlwg wi wi wo wq wu wU
y9 yi yi Yo Yq Yu YB
zg A zi zo zq ztJ AIyl y€7A Ze
aba ebe 9bg ibi ibi obo 9b9 ubu gbg
ada ede gdq idi idi odo gdq udu gdg
afa efe gfg ifi ifi ofo gfq utu Ufu
Abgkq kgkg engeing bignmi. Adaka mini biralimgbisabo kgnafianbo tqki wgri kgn bibi a dadi a, k9k9 kolokolo ki erni, einbglggha. 'Ogba Abgkg diami, "Wan ebi yaibo ki i rng d-ogmini ye." Abgkg 'opargrni,'Mii ki ini a{anbo o, zini y4 ba fa o." Adaka'o bgrni, iF.ni wanebi afianbo ki i mq dggmini ye, kiali 'a bign ye." Abr;kg ba kgkg €Nrgcrne
sglglg dglo bignmi- Adaka ba mini bira-imgbisabo k-on 'a taki wqridadimi.'A kpq mukpg tarikgrng bra ki emi.
Adaka bo bira koromg AbUkq birii lglmi. n'Wo'o kgri pou w€ri'olgli timi Abrfkq birii sg p4 bo kgni tibi a p9,p9l99mi.'O timi'o lgliminim!,Ere{ghaowei wai bo pami.'Wo'ani arimi,'wo'a bimi."Mi-€mi tisye kl'a m9 migninf yan o?n Adaka'o parymi, "Abrlkg mini ebi {anbobiqn e gba a bggha ni i mq 'wo birii lg{mini ye." Erefighaowei garri,nAdaka an,rni bra ki ko.n migmini ki gba ma o? Emini Tgmgarary tgghg,anlki k!r! Abgkq peroe timi rnini aQanb<i bign, ba kBrp kpg miggba ye e.Adaka wgri qfidi'wo a brasin ye. E k9k9 AbUkq a{anbo ki q dggminiaba, eni tgrybo gban e. Enf tgrubo a opoolo kpg Qa kgmg. Eni birabo kpgseriimg n! koro Tgmgaral kghg e ."
Adaka kqkq gi4ngisin mini to.rgbo gbarni, 'omini birabe kpg'O koro Tgmgararl tgghgrni.
'O timi misi bra migrnini mi,Ere{ghaowei lgg warii duo bain pa mumlni do.g arg wqri s9w9iim9 .iyq*i a mu sgwgffi"Adaka AbUkq lglibrami kgrg bgg duoni, Abgkq ba eken kia[ weni a pagha. Fi odududuoni,'wo angg kgrpmg kpUin bo gaan la wgrj Adaka warii sou wgri emiodo.g-tibii lami. Odgg-tibimi kgni Kiriowoso tirnimi.'Wo'wo owou apagha.Angg kgro.mg bra ki'o mg k-on siki siki tiinmi kpomg owou mutimi biri laabo,'o ba ekengha ni 'o p4 misi eyg a embafoumi,'o sanowou mu tin-birabo kg lagha.
Adaka mini t9gh9 mig tirni bo dginng ni'omini birabo koromg bamini tgrgbo fini a,'o ba kgnii bqg kpg arggha. 'O pa bo gaan h a,Erefi.ghaowei ba fa,aniaAbgkg'wo wai!-otumi a emi braki'o me a{mi.'Omini aggnq oweu dlgha duod 'o pa ki kirii duo aran Uain yqqimi.Abgkq kpq deinne ni eken ba kgn bglgg owoumggha; tinmi'o mg kgrikrppwg{cmi.
Abgkq misi tin-birimi a timi taara dein baiQ ki'o dgh kgrg nanawgri kgn bglgg owoumg timi mu tin-birabo duo qlgrni.'O br misi .yqtimi zini ma dein baimi; gbelei a sggnrgn dcin, kiri AbUkg fp bUleggUcinrnqmi.
arna
at^ ete gtq iti
azt ezs gzg ui
imi omo-omgumuUmU
iti oto gtq utu gtg
izi ozo o.zg uzu gzU
ThA mcs not treated are left as an exercise for you. Try them on your
owB.
NOTE: Some of the words formed in this way havd no meaning- It is to
*n*""yourabilityinpronouncingandspellingwordscorrectly.Itisquitc lndrstooA thal thi; rnay not be of great use to the traditional Ijaw
l|,holvrsbornandbroughtupwiththelanguage,butitisusefirltoforcigncc. This tye of exercise is repeatedly given in some other sections
as wcll.
PART IT-IIING VOWEISb the erdiqg Put, thlE-lcttcr words were formed by prelixing and
suffixng a consomnt wttb tho rrnro vowcl. Now,lct us try anoiher way.
77
f
aba, i sonrdio kgn t1;a boomini ye, nein i mq {dg aba, e ba mamg kqnriFFi p.r Asiib 'a bsi kgn zgzq pdmi.
timi bo {ni bli lami, Erefighaowei ba mumi.'O mu misi kiri disinuryd kgrgghl, sondie a dgn kgkg timi'o pri arimi.'Wo'a tqlg siinbo,'o kgNr hlhg Wimqmi.
'O nnr vadi la a, Adaka mi gbai kpg wari a timimi. Adaka'o kqriaki siinbo, Erefighaowei mi dgnbo a kqni kgn bii gb€inmqmi. Adaka'obimi, Erefighaowei'o p4gha timi zini ko.n bibi gb€inmqmi. Adaka timibimini, "Mi ti €bi €y€ama o? i pridg i kpq'a fi rladii ma.n Erefi.ghaowei'o peigha timi zini kgn ba fim!. Adaka gMg, 'Mi gbai kpq ye i prigha
aba,'ye e mW zry nagha fa e." Ere{ghaowei bitlbi nein fi siinbo, kqmamgbo )o mg kgn'o primi. Adaka'a { di a, eyebo embglq hurgmg bg
ni'wo Erefighaowei bimi, "Mi ti embgig eyeama o? Tiyo kie mg duo'a nana ma o?' Erefighaowei gbami, 'Di ye, mi Abgkq bign
afian-ama ye. Ye AbUkq bi ni'o bign e p4 de si, ye'a ko.n fidg ye."
Arlaka'o bimi, "T! bra ki i mq timi Abgkq a4 *e4'o bggmini yan o?n
Erefighaowei'o argmi,ndi ye, emlni pesigha {yd tin ye. E misi bra
migng aba,'ye'o mo.mg boomini ye." Aniibo Ere{ghaowei'o mqmq
nei-a dein kimi.'A zqzq brasinmi.Erefighaowei w4 bo timi Abgkq mq gbaleimi,'o gba Abgkq primi.
"Mi-€mi Adaka eyg ki i mg duo bomini ye.Mi br$gg a neia dein pesigha
fiy{'o mg kgn nanra ebee sg tiinmini ye. Emlni kpq bo ki gbami e."
AbUkg gbam!, nAdaka warii kpo kimi mu la lamini ye?'Yeeken mugha
fa e.' Eretghaowei gbami, "imini kpg duoni mu timi wai bo pamini ye
mi, ti bra ki mig ni emini ki mg mu wgr! w4 bo a pagha fa o?n AbtJkq
kpir€in timi ng to bo biberinmi.Timi bo ereiin lami, Abgkq mq Erefighaowei mq kqkq mumi-'A
mu warii laabo, Adaka'a kgri akimi. 'A mu sgg alagha timi Ereflghaowei
pri 'i bminl ye" gba wgri wqni pami- '.Omini mu sqwqiimq eyg Ed-ogrni.
'O wEni padg mi, Adaka wari a gb-olg ka timimi' Abgkq duo paamq
eyo fa. Adaka Ab+kq bgm!, "Wqri eni afianbo bigr ng k-on i fiimq e'"
Ab9k9'o pargr{, oSee, ti bra kl mie ni emini ki i"i afia" ti {imq bra mian o? ini afianbo tpititpi[ ki emi o-7-1ni ebi eye ni i qmini eye kpg fao, €pg{ bci:nyai ki i mq ryr{ni o.n Adaka'o bgmi, "E mi timi aremffi s9
ye efic ki kPodudumini ye.Kilai bign e."
Instead of placing the sarno vowcl beforc artd after €, sa;fisr,.s&Eat, bansfertho one beforo the consmmt to thc lrst position. For exarnple:*
abawillreadbze& will readb*
ber b99 bii bii boo beg buu bgg
mee m99 mrr mU moo nry.r mUU muu
saa see sgg sfi sii r* t"e ;;r *zaz zw zq ni 4l zao 14 zuu al$
PART rrr--SEgAENCE OF VOWETSThere is still another way of forming thrco-letter words. &S iE can notfollow any definite way a! tho oocc abovc. It is done by taking twodiffereirt vowels together and plac.ing thern after any consonant.Look at the following:-
aandi:- bai dai faiaandi:- b4 dd raia and g:- bag dary tag
i and a:- dia and kiali and so on.
ai, 4, ao, au, ag, ei, ei, eu, eB, ia, oi, gi, ou, and gg,
There are only fourteeir given above. They may be more than thc abovein other dialccts.
NOTE: Please do not commit the mistake of regarding the above as
diphthongs because each may carry its own tone, wherreas withdiphthongs they would always carry only one tone.
S ECTION IV -.F OA R.LETTER W ORDSThere are numy ways of aniving at four-letter words but the rinciplegiven here is this; it is the reetition of two-letter words as follows:-
babadede
5
baa
nula
76
flrarnanini
sasa
zfiIA
CoryLic thc rest bY Yourself.
SECNONV-FOXUATION OF WORDSWITE TIIE DIGRAPHS
It should be noted that the digraphs are used in forming words just likethc other consonants, except "ghn and nngn. The other two ngbn and nkpn
arcnowusod.gba gbe gbe gbi
@ kp€ kpg kPr
S ECNON W -V OW F,L N ARM O NYLook at the foll,owing words:-
ABCfpi tabg grdgs€ri kaoo Ambierein gaqn gggtti
ete ttla tlkgk$ib€reb€ gkPasg ggqimq
Whrtdid you notice? Now look at the table below:-
WIDE NEUTRAL NARROW
Frw the above, it is soen that the words in group A all fall into thenwIDE grorlp of vowols, while those in c fall into the'NARROW',
ttoup. fto* itr B fatl into cither gloup. This is referred to "Vowol
ftlfrny;. Tn most siryh wotrds, any vowcl after the ftst is always in
humny with it (ic. thc ffi onc)
gbi gbo g@ gbu gbp
kpi kpo kpg kpu kpg
o? Frnini gbade kimi arg bibi kgn o rTry a c dgn a|i tlni pd birakommg e v!Fp9 dEin erni ki c kqtg q gbui{ ?' Enillbrowci'oparfi,'Gesi egberi ki i mq gh c primini yc.' Abghg'o bpf, 'Eni eye
a sggglia egberi kgn wan gbamg.' A km bt$gt, tolng td tpi ofielaabo'apki s€rirni.
Timi ba zini b4 la ni'a bo gbeleimi,'a ba timi wuru bot t@i mi,Erefighaowei gba Abgkg primi, "Angi{, kimi a,r,g bibi fgn i qpg mi aba idgn aki ti-i p4 bira koromg i vgrp dgin emi !e." Abgkg bari'o fi;mi.Eref[baowei gbadg, nGerede egberi fi i np gbamini ye."'A lp bUtqtlteimg timi kgni efie laabo ,'a ba wasaimi.
'A yerin timi k€Nd bd lani, "a ba o gbeleimi. Mi Sbai Ab1kg ninilg gbein ogoun kp-o ko.n tga bo wgri emi.'A ba peretimi timi mini wrubou rcimini mi, Erefighaowei b bari gbadg,'fJni eygowei, di yc, ki-iarg bibi kg i vBre mi aba i dgn kgrpmg aki Li-i pdbifa koropg i rnlrpania kq i kii dgin emi ye.o Kiri'wo atp pglgrnini mi, Abgkg nini lggbein qgouu kgn'wo abebirimi a k€ni ak$ kiri a taara eyq trur ctqkimi.'Wo'o ki siin bo,'wo Erefighaowei wgri gbein aggnq ors ntufami.Erefighaowei angqmi asinbo timi dalu dabu ki tgignini. Kr hrkito
ma eten Sgin wgnimi. 'O wgni mu osi lar{,'wo osi bg mi, 'Sirci yc,bo€ni qhbo kgn ini eiro.gnbo gr19 e.' Osi k9k9 biberin wqri lwo agqpbogggmi. Engpbo bo bibadg mi, F,refighaowei abebirimi bo gbi gbi kitimimi.
Erefighaowei niini, Adaka mq eyg. Mis[ efiemi kiri bctri scribomimi. Erefighaowi w€rli 'o bunr mumi. 'O mumini owqpi@, klnik$p ni kg'owggg disin wgri ye timimi.'Wo 'o di a,'o t-ua €mi ni 'wo'wo anei-a dgn a{mi.'Wo'a tglg wgri kgn bglo.g wgnim@i.
Adika warimi, odqU kiri ka opoolo sou wgri €mi. Wari bgbgtnl tpgErefigbaowei duo mumini akgp ki dia emi. Adka kpg wili a tfuftni.Erefighaowei kiri mu warii duo sggg miEmini'mi,'o brtlqg kgni kpi @kgn bibi gbinmgmi. Timi ba ?SW mi,'o marnq karamg ye kgn bibigbeinmqmi. Adaka 'o bimi,"Ti €,y€ama ki e mg flnlni yu o?o
Erefighaowei_'o pargmi,akpg eye atu bi $imi o.i 'A timi arpmini mi,'o ba +i kgn bibi gbeinmmini mi, Adaka'o bimi, "Kgni kgn i Fi dadi
,ye-' Erefighaowei :o a4rmi, "'Ye e prigha fa e." Erefighaorti kgkgAdake di timi 'a s€ kgn fi simi. 'A tei timi kgni cfie lami, grciligDow€i'*o hsinni. Ercfigbaowci gbo Adaka pri wgri cmi, 'Ib i me wai boag
e
.iou
eiou
75
miE timi efin tu gbami.'A ba bo qgbg brmi,'o kpq s-oni.sqni cyce migtimi pa tuu qg gba' a primi.
'A Otongbolo bunr mu dggmini mi,'o ba kgn zini gbainmggm bgfa ni,'wo afq{ ki tEghErni.'O gbadg, " Afgti, mi-emi kgni opu eyee kipa emi ni bou braa sg i kiri buru bomini ye. Ani duo-ni, ye {zo,n ebe amumini mij tga f-ogn mu e, miki bou bra akpotumi! ma t-eiimini ye.Afgri kpg k-okg biberinmi.
Di a, bou brami kgkg wan duo biri sei Otongbolo buru bomini.Otongbolo di a, di g@gha ni 'o keni tibi ka Af-ori @mi,"Mi-emi la ki ladgy€. " Agri kpg di a, ba efie kpoduumg tu fa. Kiri 'a bo eygg lami, Af-oriOtongbolo k-on puree efin !zo.n ebe a bodg. 'Anf efiee Fp-o si Otongbolokoro fz4n-otu mgyerin gbelei,'a br;d-on timi mi erein la emi ye.
Mi kpq i nh wgri dB ni i mg gbami, i pEledg egbpri fa o-o-o-o-
Now arawer thefollowing questions in lzen1. Was it by similar laughter that the Redless Tre Squirrel
lost most of his toeth or it is natural with it?? $[as it right forthe House fly to have kept flying into tho
mouth through the anus, and back into the anus through themouth, of the Elephant?
3. In your opinion, who do you think was the chief causeof the mishap' in the story?
4. Was it actually good for the Wind to have assisted Mosquitoeto escape from the danger that was approaching?
5. Expldn in iour own words the italicised expression in the passage.
(4) It Is More Painful To Be Beaten With Word Than HandEgboi-o-o-o-o-oAlsgha bo Adotimi gbirain koro emi.
Kgni efie Erefighaowei m9 Abgkg m9 eyg kgri werimi. Abqlg lU gbcin-owei.'A yerin timi ng "a bo kgni eyp a gbelei, wuru pa a'a gbelei boubakpf,itei, kiri'a wasai wasaimini.
Mi brami'a mg yerin timi bo kgni b4 lami, ta timi mini ebe wurubou teimii. mi, Ercfighaowei gba Abqkq primi,"Angiri,n 'ani Ablkqkilemi, "Kimi are bibi ko,n i vgrgmi aba, i dgn aki ki mi p4 bira koromg ivgrgg dgin emi ye." AbUkq'o b1d9 "Eyg, ti egberi ki e mg gbamini yan
VF'RB TENSES
unfortunately, this is another topic in {z-on which does not eonuspondconsistently with the English verb tenses. Howev€q, thma rre wordswhich really indicate tenses, and they are given below.
THE PAST:SECTION I--The Past TenseTh9 rast tense in {zgn is indicatd by suffixing omio to the verb afifoctod,and *ritten jointly with it. I-ook at these exartrples:-
LESSON 3
IzgnBoGbaMisDesiBain
Pnsfr TenscEnglish lzqn EngtishCome Bomi CameSay cbami SaidDo Migmi DidJump Desim! JumpedRun Bainmi Ran
This is how the past tehse is formed in Izqn
SECTION II-The Past Continuous'lhe past continuous teirse in Jzgn is formed by using 'timin with "minjointly but unitt€Nr s€pafttely from the word it goes-with. Look at theexamples beilow, Tho words in soction I above are simpry repeatod hece.
Parf Continu(xrf TenseIzgn English lzqn EnglishBo Come Bo tinaimi was comingGba Say Gbatimimi was sayingMig Do Migtimimi was doingDesi Jurlp Desi timimi was ;umfingHarn Bain Bain timimi was running-
Now give thre past te,nse and past continuous tense of the following:-l.Bung slee,p 4. ygg....to paddleZFielarg ralk 5. Wgni....walk
743Peretimi sit 6.Z;1.... bearachild
F
SECTION III-The Past PedeaIt is hard to get the past perfect in lzgn.But suffixing ndgn or nngn jointly
to the verb affected, *d ryriting "Lf"separately will give the past perfect
in lzqn. Now look at these sentences:-
1. Obodou eYe {dg ki'o bUnU mi- Obodou had eaten before he slePt'
2. Ebi<re'o weridq ki sUU ParniEbi-ere nad iot"tiea him before the fight occured'
3. EbiPadq wgniPadq ki i bomiEbipadq had walked out before I came
4. Obodo firii wEninE ki osuoo koromi- bU"d" had done the work beforothe rain
5. Ebi-owei bUnUPg ki kimee PamiEbi-owei had slept beforethe stdrm'
Sornctimesthewordnkiriniswrittenimmediatelyafter"kftoeffect
"*phasit. Look at the seirte'nces give'n above with 'kiri" added'
1. Obodou eYe fidg ki kiri 'o bgngmi
2. Ebi-ere'o weridg ki kiri sgg pami
3. EbiPadg wgniPadg ki kiri i bomi
4. Obodo fftii *e"i"e ki ki{ osuoo koromi
5. Ebi-owei bUngng ki kiri kimee pami
Now stndy this table:- past pedect
lz+n English lzqn English
G write Gedeki hadwritten
T; Phy Teideki na{ntgea
Cb" S"V Gbadqki ha{said.
Si oaneirdtoones Sidq ki hadatt€Nrded
ooatp"l,i- or duty to ones occupation
TQni toUilttnrel- Tqninqki - .h'dli1Fg; amu. to go 6 mitttil Fgya-munq ki'nad gone to rnarket
Gb€i* - ioscw Obcinneki hadsew
8
kpgkoro z*ebaz€k€babainbouuduosg!ryi Nii ni' Otinikini kpq
aqgg spn gbglqsi gbo.lesi timi gwgra t€biimini' Opu'obori nini 4l9trdiild* digh" bti" t9, bain timi mu Okirikini dan azs bq mu frdg'
NI oi, Opua"Uori Ofinitini emgbqs dan yainnnq wgri gil: Eygoi bo
Oiriniiiini-a timi a seide, kgn €neemq b'ra fa. Okinikini lpg g1pl -89uiCg, 'fiy" ki Opuobori atgiqtQ ai opl bain baiunini yrn o? Mi boumi
htp oy" p. cnri-yc.' Eygmi'o dqnrrini brami hFq b99 duoni ,'o kpg
pabainmi.
Egberi-o-o-o E-e'e-e-e- KPirasi kpirasi eghri {{-o-I.liioi, Okinikini kor bain timi mu Perp*tain egbc ni, egbe brami
qrp Udbiuoni PErEretain soi koromi. okinikinibainbglggamt Sdg'- 'Niini, oioaloto mi PErs*tairuni " **i kgi *qt ry' rgo{oE
u"'qU kpg *i wari buloumi a etni. Okinikini bo Pgrpctain c.gbc-k@
"d ;"i;Okorikoko so.ngrrla awggbo warimi a '"rri keni qbikr ! fi -i:Awao3bo dag m9 yinmq bo si ki si fimt-i"A si eyqduo !1.-i *tife"f i"gri,t"-i ;i ko'o eini bra ki'a m9 arimi.'A tu bi a, 'Okinitini ki
t+ U"i"i egbo ni, egbe brami tVtp UqQ ni'i mq soi koromi c'' Pqrg{ain
-q gUfr.'A*i"i awqgbo dgg a, kgldi kpg'a mQ arigha"A dqi oya
timi n9 ki kiri awqgbo'a mq arffi-:a sg ki g sinng'
nvqiq'cirotitoto ba ti"ti 4!i eve korugha' A pffi Pingii Phgiiseri lu-lou ba ogemi. Owei yougha yougha mi gtai €yoe bo hFgdf ni'
owei Okorikokomlni ta di a, di gbe.gha,'o bplo.g tibi fql tr-"'P I €Nro
gbggha ni,'o koro mini ta -9 you gbel€imi''A you braa bo kgrp @duoni, bou brami bo b.enimi-
.-Abobgrisinngmi,.aoweiokorikokobimi.oxyciotorikokopa
braa gba'u iiu-i. 'A peog*t"i" bi a,'O kpq Okinikini 5 bdg bo'woegbeloromg braa gbami.:i bno*i"i bimi,'o gbami' "A dilcimini
{*a ba enqg fi -gq sr;n gbqlgsi gbqlqsi }wgra tebii timi.Onu'oiori
pri wan au, Lur".g ati,"L"i"u" kpe aigb" timi bain boini abcbfuii d8n
"i,'*oi dan brami f-otp qq duoniini abebiri emgbggmi yai4mi c''Yc e'ne
u'"* g'Uggha nii mq *rt U.i" tihi *tt Pgrq-gtain €F YFt .o pti *i
t"-rd".:a uopuouori bia, ou-obori kpq gbadg, " A diycimini d99
ki gw.ura ki tgbii timi emqmq pri wan duo abangba Ebanghr $anghl
efin boini bibi duo ,,tq *. Uign auo Pa, ba bign ero cfin cUQ bo biibi
d* p*,i-e. erremA-ba pglq kpg pete bqghfii di a" bdi e kqdq nii mq
bain timi'm0 Okinikini.ifiti ".'e Uo AmAmq bimi, Amqmq kPq 4ini
7.MuSAnda
gowrestlo
9. Eye gbein.....to sew
l0-Fiyai tgg...to cook
73
(3) How Mocquitoes Came To Llve With Human Being
Egberi'o'o-o-o-o E c'c-e-e'c-ce+
efa$at Adotimigbirainko.t*i' - - . !-L^--Onrs€ri mf, otongpl'o u"" uigui ka timimi e' Kimi tg@g mq y€nn
gbcbighae.---- i;rri bo k€ni bai la a, qgQ mq otongbolo mq ki arp tei timi amqmq
priboeYq lami.- KPirasikpirasiegbriooQgbe mq Ot"lg["f" tq arq tg timi bo kg'ni efie t*"i'*9-9}9ri
bo koromi. Aoaa.giJ " (oln4, Otongbolo kiali Uira g@in mlni bibi a
rrr w€4 oy" yo*ni.'o gbad9,"-i*1**jl,d -ry9'"11mi
ilnini ova'
il'itFi oV". " -d-i"i-tibti kpg Ta. fgsn ova voumi' gsbe'o mie
Sigtri timi oy" G*i"i;*"{-'ittlt, gbasi'oit'19 angq b99 ni'wo
dtffiro uit"i "i. ot"Igutto, ti.ye ki-d ma o? Tive ki e me duo timi
oYrYoumini Yan o?"
Otongbolo'o pargmi' "qgbg, di yejmini u*iyti PT-t
a timi efie m!' ibo anda.yq "
rrrui + ;i ;-ipi *q"9-" egbemu.*i *g"iti mi buqbo
iik iq *eti."d"-G;*;ryi;.ib-;bq sal|'o pebi arq kps are pEle$a
timi k€ni ou dgri G$"1 Dgri a, pgldL bqgha'Tffi I'o bo pe'lgryri'
.wo otongbol" bi;1.-"i ot""iur",; kpa d;ti@ kq-ni, e pami e k€ni
rcri a mu anoa-uJra w€ri ni "*iti *g"qn* egteml kqn €ni kqinkqin
$@-b99 tpi rpq f" Ueqb" k{i+g *gt| -ot-titi a mu timi rna o?n
dbu "-t';ti L; k.;'t bimini mi' 'o w.ai defi a birat4nni.
Asbs d€rim$;""ti ol'tntono: ni' Ameme -o b15'A o' gbg' e
dsfnini b*tti k-,fr bq{ t::-il"i"b" duoni la ka vai vo-o-3 deri
ttrni 6i akabo a*i'pri pffi m'ye a sBg rpq,i b-ogha fa a. E mi-emi to.n
ugqkgriYo'"-'s.o lua bibi kpq a pqlgigha bo,lgbg kgni aka p-logl -: Amqmq a
' .uedf. Amqmrg #GQi**i faaeabne di a ene ebgsha"o kil4 efin
cy99 duo s"rimi, o lii"i q sob efin yqrgi timi bo opu-obori admi'
Opabori Uwpa ki tebii timirni o*Fq "tio
mtr opu-oboribibii duo
syg kpi tiUi a muTiEe" Auo p"' U"-Uibp duo efin sUQ mu bo'wo bibfl
Ci,i, fri. etttqtttg ba p9l9 kpg pels bqgha' i--'6.uo.i
ki,g tii'"'111r*:. kqn'o migmini brami eire a €'!re
gbtfhi.:Ottioi tlio UtOt, "tiv: fi-i boumi a pa:mr 1an
o? Amo'me
pae \ppg tf rni t td;ht;''.'o di a' Amo'mq kqn bslqu bulqu ki
ffiffiilij'o;;-;{il'Gg pdni"micvsi ma timi vani fade vc'" 'o
72
(
Give the pa.st perfect of the following:-1. s9.... figbt2.kqrt... hold3. Brasin..."leave4.h19..., save
5. Sin ... shave
fallto gci eink in thcrivaswimtqkillpare (to cut fingernails)
6.korc...7.Bibo...8. qrki ..9.8a..,10-k9...
Excrcis€I . Give the past t€,lrse of each of the words giveir above-Section Itr2. Write them in the past continuous tenso.
3. Give tho past perfmt of the words in section tr above.
SECTION IV-The Past Pedcct ConlinuousThe past perfect continuous is obtained by writing the give't word
s€parately from its past continuous t€nso.
Look ar these examples:-
Izqn English Past Contintmus Past Pcrfect Contintmw
Gzo.n) (zqn)8o... come bo timimi bo botimimiGba... say gbatimimi gbagbatimimiWgni... walk wqnitimimi wqniwgnitimimi .
Efin... fly efin timimi' efin efintimimiTein... sting tein timimi tein teintimimi
Now do tho same with the following:-1. Gg... write 11.sqi..' dance
2. Tubo.. to price 12.Olo miq... play
3.TUa...puton l3.Tqghg... PxaY
4. Dibi...bury l4.Kari... worshiP
5.Fi... eat 15.Si.-. (exPlained)
6. Tein...shoot7-Tgin... flow8. Gbo.lg...box9. Kgn... takel0.Gbein...throw
16-Fitri...17-Fielarg...18.89in...19.Furu...20.Kai...
9
op€rlralkcK)sssteallock
]-
LES$f'&N 4TIIB PRESEI{T:
SECflON I-Thc Pruscnt ShndoIt is vcry difficult to get the preseirt simple in IzQn unliko thc othertenses
trcatod, tmless it is give,n in seirteirces such as the ones below:-
Present Simplo
TimitFi bri bmi,timii rnaerebo srrmi.Izf crErnamini ymfuanrEdml,' E hgpgn kimi a, cmfii cai &ro bo cyg ncmigha. Wri $idi cni nema 6[61p1tc. Emini nama ki tggn. Yc e,ni nama-ozimi arigha ni c mgmq i yci nanawgri emi ki tgn." A Uo mini angg a nemi ni d yci {ni €mi tnr $r tlmipridg bra nemimi. A Ua Uinl fiegha, 6 \pirein tai fi-inni.
Dein korodg mi,6 yei 6 rnemg bgng €Nni 4,A6yei @i. ' Yc iniemi braa gba pamgng e, wgri ini nama-ozii kp i pri e.' Yeimi kqtq {niaama-ozii dibi wgri eygg duo 'o sou pary wgri'o kgn a primi. A 'o di a'o bo budukubuduku ba kain kain ki fadg. Ania 6 pa'o tglq xrFi'okgn tUa di a , pa mukpg te.tgmg mu mini ebe a sgg la emi: A,'o t{qsinng mi, k€ni d€in fmttyej tin perctimi wgri gba'o diAmi. 'i yci qyei mig ka mi e, ania mi-€mi mi, e ba i nana @3gha drmi 'ye yc hr.trrrngye. Ebi tgrg tpa ini awggbo di e. Ye i tari kgpNng Ua i nq fpgyerindi ka wgri mi e. Ania \imi tgb-og eye miekiri kirimini ni c mp nifpii wgnimi e. Ani ki bgA kg,'ye e mW zi awggbo eken mr i ryqwan yeringha fa e. Ani duoni 'ye eni peneE ken n1a mnrgba fr c. Mikoronlg bglgl a mu mi, ghdai gba kimi pri agUgghr qgbqi h gfb kl{pri tgmg e. ! mung e, bai ye."
A n4 Ura gh siinbo 4'wo brasin wgri deinmi r4ni bou sqqmi. Amu:lni €b€o lad€ni,'ad beriye akibaoge ggbidprimi.
Kimii b9 nini pgp yerin kgn bglgg yerimq timi bo'rc li crcinlami.
Mi lpe i na weri d+ ni i mq gbami, i p9l9d9 qgberi ba fa o+o.o,E++,+,+,+*x,<-e-
Now answer tIrc following qucstions in lzgnl. Was it wise for the rnarr fs have refused the aninral,
tur€dinto humanboing,oftheslough heharolbclod?Do you also believe that ft6 man's hter prqrerous life wrr
nrade possible by his second wife?Have you sm anfthing similar in real life? How do srdpoople live, if your answ€r to this Ercctlon is pocitivu?CouHyou give any convincing example ?If &e man hd revealod the socrctto his first wifc,
*'hat& you tbink wouldhavcthefrtcof furm?Wbat candid hssondo you derive ftmtheposcago
SECTION II-The Present PedcctThe present perfect in Izo.n is obtainod at by suffixing either ndgn or nng"
to the affected verb- and writing it jointly with it. ExarnplesrPresqt Perfed
Izqn English lz.gn EnglishMi€ do Imiene lhavedoneVgrp b€at lvgrgdg thavebeate'n
G9 (explained) Igde lhavewrittenFina tie I {nang I havetiedBain (explaind) [ bainng I haverun
Now give the preseirt perfoct of thdfollowing:-weed(grass)
EnglishI talk everydayI eaf everydayI sleep every nightI brealhe ev€ry mom€,nt
lzgn'Ye ereinbo sg aaryminitYe ereinbo sg a €ye fimini! deinbo s9 a bgngmin!'Ye eseribo sg a einba saragmini
6.D9n9...7:Ier:i-..8.Yo.gpa...9.Gbg...10F9...,\
1. Kdi... pluckz.Fgia... roast3. Firimg... send
4. Gbala... carry a baby
5.Eyg f,... makefrieirds
closetravelpaybuy
3.
4.
10 7t
(2) The llunter And The SowEgbcri-o-o-o-o- E-ee-€-c-c
AlShbo Adotimii gbirain konr eini.Klni @ kfi boutcin-owei kgni,ima a tinfmi-'Omini bou timi oroupaki podt;'o sing'wo €ye bagha timi wari bomini bai-fa.'O nagha eyg kpgba fr- bou-biraa sg ba izqn ebee sg kpg'o nang.
K€ni bai )o rna bou teinyg mumi; akEnb{ .'Wo owggg duo sggmu timi kEni eyq 14 a, owggmi bo mamg ki piidg,'o kgn-obira akgg duosggni. 'O wgri slg na alagha mi, eye wgni fiong bra'o mg narni. WgNdbrrmi'o disEgha duoni'wo eyg do.g sgwgimi.'O sqwqi emi mi, kg"i
"pt€ygrp gnrbi ki timi wgri bomini bra ki'o m9 arimi. Kiri'omini sibeyekai wEi'o tein d-ogmini mi, mi -ombimi'o di timi
"ygrp timl d"irq.A"i
nama ozimi d mg kgn eyg dgg sgwgi wgni anrami fgg tuboyg a mumi.A mung mi, kimimi mu mi narna-oai k-on reri wgni ** a -urr4.
A mu fou tubo timi w4 bomi,6 ba 6ni naura-ozimi adgha. Bourni 6rna ririni t$rp dpU s9 ko.n'o dggmi, d'wo arigha. Kirni ki'o kgn wgri emibtl d bo mg ko.n tu a ororomi. Ani duoni 6 ani eyebo sg koromg wgri walnmrymi a tu dgg eyg mumi. A tu Oo.g timi bo'o ko.n wgri emi bgmiarini. A kgn'o qghggha pa kpg fa, ania timimi bo.gha-. fumi-:a b zqz7nrnuA bra btberinmi. Mi ma kimibo koro zgzg nanami. A lr4 mughadmf, dni avgrbo mg ba wariotubo mg tgr$ di timi bo dginng ni , dkiniotu ti pd baOe b'ra E akimi.
'A yerin timi awggama zimi. Erema kpg yerin ebi fa. Timi kgN{ baihmi,kimimi bglgg ercrnamini yei bimi. " A i yei, tiyq ki e mg duo micrcma nana bo ma o?n Kimimi zini bra gba 4 diagha. Timi ba zini bai laml, { ba'o bimi. nA
i y.i, sisei ye, e dug mi ererna nana bo eygg gba i diao.r A yei 6 bimi, "Tiye ki e nlg duo bimini yan o?n A 'o pargmi, n'Ye iyanfaran duo bo eyg nemigha mi ebigha ki tUBn."Ye aniki duo nerridgt mini. Ti bra ti mie ni ma kimi kqni yei nana weri emi aba, mie rimi?ere a$t nemigha timi yerin gbeleimini brami an o?" A bi braa bokgrgdg, d ba duo bimini tuu kpg pei a ebi emi duoni , yeimi kgkg gba adiami.
Nama duo dei bo kimi pa wgri 'o pq nana e,rema,,mi kimii 11rigpggrxgta , aniki 'wo ani emi haa gba kimi prigha fa braduoni. A tpq ba kiali mini ama a muumq onoro UlUi
"r"ughajtiki A*"i
aba t[ bo Wyqktimi bgqdg.
{
-TSECTION III-The Prescnt ContinwusThe present continuous tensc in lzan is obtaino<t by sufiixing sini tstbcgiven word. Examples:-
Present ContinuaasIqn English lzqn EnglishGba... say I gbamini I am sayingWEni... work I (firfwgnimini I arn *ortingG9... write { gnmini I am writingTUg... cook I ryqmini I am cookingEndi dgg..do fishing 'Ye (ki) endi dggmini I arn doing fishingTolurng teach {tolumgnini larnteaching
SECTION IV--The Present Perfect ContinuousThe {zgn preseirt perfect continuous te,nse is arrived ar by doubting ltcverb and adding the preseirt continuous suffix. Now look at tbcscexamples:-
Present PcrfeA Continrmu{zgn English lqn EnglishGba:.. say ] gba gbamini I have boen sayingFie... talk { fie fiemimi I have been ra*t"gGb€in... sew { gbein gbeinmini I have boeir sewingMig... do I mig migrnini I have beeir doingSgrg... wash { sgrg sgrymini I have been washing
Now give the present continuous and present perfoct continrrcus of t[cfollowing:-l. Tin..2. Kedi...3. kpa...4. Ororo...5.Y-og...
to callto pluckto stoer acano€to thinkto paddle
62i...T.Bqiats.Biyen fi...9.Tei...lO.Gboro-..
tobarachiHto fetch waterto sw€arto playto plant
70 1l
LESSON 5Thc Fufirre
SECTION l-lhe Slmfu FntueThe sirplcfutur€itd* it Jt"O at by lengtheningthe verb and adding
-minito il.EmnPIcs:'SirnPlc Future
Iz.qn... English Wi nslhh
Mu... go Imuumini I shall go
Buou... sleep ltgn1umini T1"{will.sleepoki... .Jt" Yb;kiimini fh"tt.:Y:"ss... "-h, {-'uu^i"i lh: Yiu.fshtA!e-.. dk 'Ye arggminf I shalltalk
SECilON II-Thc Fttture PedeaThc futtrne perfect i" t; is $rmed by-zuffixing ndgo or nngn .to
the
gt"* *.ti^."d wdting "ki" separar3ly.' Exnmvles:'
I bodg ki ouio xoioiini ^
I shall have come before night falls.
I bfrngnE ti'o il"^i"i- I shall have slept before his arival
PART II COMPREIIENSIONListcn to thi$ passage carefully and aoswcf thc folbsing qu34jl@
(1) WhyThecricket'sTeethArcSlnged?kgoi
"n" Ekirikiri r4 Atggkudu mq timimi.'A ycrin timi kFi lr ffii'
'"'"y" "r"u
r"gti-qgl.. El{{ki4 gba Atggkudu Prini,' A Atglhdu'Uodi ya r"o rno eirrUi y"-" Atggkudu kpq bib€rinfti'Ani &oni'a winipo.g koromi.' " 'A -u pqg ladg mi,'a koro €Nrlbimi. 'A €mbi timi dqin kpq kfnieyee kpg'a mgb.eb"-kpq kgni opuar biqbi"A €mhi sinng-mi, Ekiritiiglu Aiqi,LOopti,ti, "B-ulgg mi tqami oki b€in b99 ki mi oprmru tqa
Uirpi fii"ti"i y"." atESzuCu kpq kqkg ba biberinmi"A koro okimi'" lA'oki-ti-i nq kgni in" umi, EkfiHri Atqgkudu tirrmi' rA
Atggkgdu mi-€mi 6 bomi!i?" Atggkudu'o pan;mi, 'I bo.mi{ ye'' 'A oki
t#ik€"i efie lami, Ekirikiri ba Atggkudu tin didg, 'A Atg-utudu miaie uomlnff" Atg-ukudu
lo p*;*i, "I bomini ye'" ania prg bibiai cycri
kiri a mung. fr{i m'a mQ kqn arg z9z9 pri timi bo kgt{ "1"
t" -i'u".*.gh". Eki4ki4'o tin kpg, kpirein--bs bibi fiegha' Niini'
Atggkudu beniPrl Ygimq famgng.
Ekirikiri bffi oki @in wqri feni tUa tebii ba misi opunru FgFmi''Wo'o nbi" -i-e mi,'wo 'o kqn qmi. 'O po.wgi k-ureNnq @ &mi'om9 dEri kip kia timi mini andil kon mu bgr99 dpg'wo 4t9ry mfqyq,l" inirin kudfi €dti y€. Mi i na wqri dU ni i mq ghmi i pelede qgDcti
ba fa o o o. E--e--+-ff-
Now answer thefoilowing qrcstions in lzgn1 Which other title would you like to give to the lnssage?
2 What reason(s) do think cricket had in mind fc zuggesting
swimming across the river first before eating the only
fruit of thcir labour?
3srhatwiilyousayahoutAtg.ukudu'forhavingagrcodtohavcundertake,n such veirture?
\Idat will you say about the way cricket and
'Atggkqdu' thinks resPectivelY ?
What lesson do you derivo ftrom the passagc?
Do you think it was a retribution effectod bt Ctod to crickct
for having its t€cth singod or it was jurt rn aocident?
69
*
Izgn..- EnglishKign... countKin... hewKonr--. fallS9.." ngbt8a... kill
Fulare PcdedIzqn'O kienne kit rinne ki'O korodqki'A sgdq kiA badeki
EnglhhHe willhave counted
I shallhavehewnHe will have falleirThey wilf have foughtShe will have killed
56
t2
while counting. Hence, in issues of age determination, those who were
bonr in a yftr in which a particular event occurred are declared elders to
those who were bom after such €v€,nt, and similar issues are settled insame way.
Geirerally, there is the counting of a year ago, two years ago'fiveyea111 ago; that is,'Kgni kgrai @dg, ma kgrai bqdg' sgilpn a k.urai b.odq
etc
Note that in place of bqdg','padg'could as well be used.
Wheir referring to an ev€,lrt which is yet to come, two differeirt
phrases are available for use; either ofthem could be used. They are:-
.........K9 or Mi bglo.g a ... ........The number of days or period should bc ins€rted in the blank spaces.
For exarnple, Ma dein kq' or Mi br$o.g a nn dein; that is, more two days
or in two days time. Simailarly, weeks, months or y€axs are countd insame way.
kC
SECTIGN III-The Fature ContinaorNThe future continuous tens€ is obtainad by by lcnthmnimg ahff hst vowelof the audliary verb "timin and writing -mini jointty to it. How rhrdy thefollowing carefully.
Fulure Continaouslzqn Engtish,Ye oki timiimini I shall be swinrmlngIrbt"t timiimini I shall be sleepingA wgni timiimini She will be walking
.Oggtimiimini HewillbewitingA arg timiimini They will be talking
lryn EnglishOki... swimbgng... slee,p
W€ni... walkG9... WriteAr9... talk
SECTION IV-The Ffiurc Pedect CorrtinuousThe fun:re perfect continuous in Izgn is arrived at by writing the giveirword twice separately adding timi and suffixing it with nne", and nriting"ki" separately. Ernnple:-
'Ye'o mie mie timine ki deinI shall have been doing it before night falls.
I ge gE timing ki eneiin laaminiI shall have been writing before the day.
Now study the table below.Futare Perfea Contintuus
Iryn English !4n EnglishGba... say 'O gba gba-timing ki He will have beeir sayingGbcin...sew A gbein gbein timing ki She will have been sewingS9i... dance 'A sei sgi timing ki They will have been dancingPei... listen I p€l p€r timing ki I shall.have been listeiringTun... sing I tun tun timing ki I shall have beeir singing
Note the use of 'nnen inst@d of ndg" suffixed to timi, because it isnasalis€d whe,n pronounced.This is because the nm!.of ntimin is nasal.
68 13
LESSON 6
SECTION l;Pcnorul
PRONOUNSSECTION III-MmthsAgain, therc is a diffenence in the traditional or hmr rnontb and the civilcaleirdar in respect of the months in the year.Whilrc thc ciyil calcndar has
twelve months in the year, the traditional has thirteen. Bascd on thisinformation there is no correlation between the rcnths of thc civilcalendar and thal of the traditional, but they are written down below.
1 January.." Ebi aggmg+wei2 Febnrary... Birernqkiriry3 March... Konu mo kiri mo
Slngdcr
lst person: f; Ye ..- I2ndperson: E; Y€..- You
3rdperson: ',O;'wo; owo He/[tA... She
Plural
O; wo/ owo... We4...'A...
YouThey-do-
t.
These are the personal pronouns in IzQn' Study how ft? T" preseirted'
There is one-point wiich ought to be treated fi'"t b€fore pro.cediilg
further. In the first persc*r plural and third p€rson singular, it could be
d.t td that "wo/oio' app"at. In the dialect used, botb are preseirt but
'wo' shall always bo used anytime the need arises'
Ijtusseehowtheaboveareappliedinseirte,nces.FirsttheffrsLsocd and third p€rson singular'
tnolv bs@tlsA f mugfu--. ldidnotgo
E gbadg?--- Have You said it?
A uggha,.. Shedidnot agree
'O brtnUng... . Hehas slept; orlt has slept
B'Yeendi badq"' lhavekilledafishYe 'o badg?.-' HaveYou killod it?
A okidg.-. Shehas swum'Wo'o miq{ni.-. He did it
NAIE:Thepersonal psonouns used in A always pt""{-" word beginning
with a consonant ornii" tho*. in B a word beginqing with a vor'el' This is
,pgUjrc 1o any other dialoct(s) of lzgn which is similar to the one used
iathisbook.Buttb€thfudp"oo"singularforfernaledoesnotobcythe,1o""; it takcs both cascs-iord$ beginning with a consonanJ or vowel.
-f;ry sorre other wotds oo yoru own as treated abovc'SiJ pov lacvisit thc plunl personal Pronouns'
t4
4 April.".5 May"..6 June.."
!mgnemiwgriaiturugbaBou seinto okenyeir/I(efereKalaOkeyen
7 Opu Okeoyen...Opu 0keyeirI August... KalaAwaran9 September.,. OpuAwaranl0Octotrer... Spgnuoweiyai1l November... Bunibiriyaif2 Dece,mber... Benieyeri aggng-orei13 Seiagqngorei
NOTE: Rernember that the traditional months do not exactly corrcspondwith the civil calendar.
SECTION fV-lteSeasonsThene ale principally two seasons; narnely, the rainy scason and the drys€ason. These arc respectively known and callod as 'Osuo ofic' and
'Baaraa efie. The Osuo efie is sometirnee designated'Buwei cfic'Ihar is,period of flood wliile that of Baaraa is 'Beiri eyeri efie';that is , period oflow water.
SECTION V--YearsYears could be qnnipulatd to correspond with thG B.C md A.D systcrnof counting with the civil caleirdar, but traditinally suc,h is not inpractice.
As thcrc is no markod or gcncrally rcccptd cvcnt rvhich cqrld serveas a base of oouting, references are mrdc to .somc pruormcod events
67
LESSON 23
CALEIVDARDAYSThc fzqn wock c Mitimat week doo not tally with the civil cateirdar.It has cigbt days as follows:-
SBCTION I-:Thc Treditimrl W€€kt Atpf .monai... the day aftermarkd day2 Biribsi-". the middle day or day in-betweeir3 &ryygbai-.. tkdaypriortomarketday,f Akinboi-.. themarketdaymdayofrest5 Akintgmreai6 Btufroi7 FWySbaiI Atinboi
It is obsavod thrl trcro are oly four days which have names that arercpearcAty ountsdto mke up the eight days in the traditional woek; andtherr are forty fiva (4t srd trditional woeks and about five days in they€r.Bofh days aad th traditimm ryo* aro us€d in cormting days accordtng tusitnlion ordesire" So we oftahsarpoople saying:-Me doin bgdg; sgnry a dein bEdq; ma fqr b9d9; taraa fgg nrg nein a
dcin mg @nwhfrt rcryGrtiycty ureans:-Two days ago; five days ago; two rnarkets ago; thre ma*ets and four
days ago.
SECTION II-IacCHWnkThc CiYil Uf6*, as gmal$r known, has seven days. Unfortunately the,reis no exacl y,uds in lzqn for these days but they could be read asfolbws:-
SECTION II-PlamIA O baFmi ... Wcru
AUainmi... YouSbrrnA bainmi .". Theyran
B Wo okimi ... We swama okimi... You swarnA okimi ... 1@ rwamA okimi ... Sho swEm
{D
NorE: In section l1 A above, as already preseirted, o tatcs t wordbeginning with a consonant while n'',on takes a word beginnrrr8 withsifh€r a consonant or a vowel.
Know that the thftd person singular feminine has the samc tm viththe seond person plural-high tone.
The above is precisely hor' ths personal prononns are usod in thedialat.
SECTION lll-PosscssiwSingufar
lst Person: Mine: ror only one ob.iectfor more than ono object
--do---
2nd Person: Yours: Eniye... foronly oneobjoctEnaiy{... formorc tttanoncdirtF.Br.ii.. -do--
IIiV Its: 'Woye/ 'Oniye for on_ly onc objGetWoyay''Oniya/'On4...fin morc one
Ours: Woye... for only one objectWoy{... for more tlian one obirt
2ndPerson' Yours: Aniye... foronlyoneobjectAniy4... for more rhaa one obJoct
3rdPerson: Theirs:'AqiJlc... foronlyoneoblf'Aniy{ for morc tban w obJd'Ani.....-.. {-
3rd Person:
PluralIst Person:
l.Smday.-.2-Mmday-"-3.Trmday..- .Wednesday...5.Thrsday...6.Riday.-.7-SaUday...
Kaq bai.Br$qBbaiMamolkramobaiTaq KaramobaiNeinldanrn baiSqnrgn Karalno baiEmbofoufai
156
I
3rd Person Hers:
S E CTION IV -Intcrto gdiv eWhich... Ti,endiWho-'- Tibg,TibqkqdWhom... -do--Whose... TibqYeni'TibqkqYeni
SECTION AdjoctiwsThis (1)That (2)Th€s{3)Tlios{4)
In sent€nces:-Tiwarini?"' Whichhouse?
drq ki'o mie ni?"' Who did it?
fiUqtqyenif"' Forwhom?
Mitild fq arunif"' Whose shirt is this?
Note that tnu t n*tatioo,oith"'io,""rogative pronouns in Izan are almost
the same.
4. .... gbadg.... gbeleiminiOur fihcrs say-thar poltergeist sornetimes come acmss human bcings.
5. ....tolu....seinigbq ...-. gh"Trial by ordeal does not always show a otlprlt:
6. ...mi a.....timi.....-ni?Who didnotmeet withany man before concqfion ia rhis wsIS
7. Meri......rniIt was Mary who did not meet with any man before conception'
8. ........-ma? Igho did Jesus die for ?
9. ...q ......mi Jesus diod forthe whole world
fO. .......tari...mi He said ererybody should love in his neighbour
1 1 .... .ki ...-kimi.....-ni?Wnat aid ni say tnat will happ€n to anybody who keeps €nmily?
12. ..--..ni,...a.... That p€rson will not go to heavcn
13. .....-aba...."--iti If holy water is sprinklod, it expels evil spirit'
14. ........ a rna.....ni? Where did they crucidy Jesus (to death)?
15. I(alyad.. At a mrmrain callod Cahnry'
Aniyo... for oniY one object
Itii'.i... for more th,ur on€ object
Anai... -do--
G
NOTE;Know that 3 and 4 are the plurals of 1 and 2'respectivoly' But I
and2couldstill.beu'.oirwhatisrefcrlodtocanbe<nllectivelytakentogcthcr. Hcoce, we sometimes hear-
MiPgrgoycama, instead of 3 Bso h PEr'g eyeama; aad
Ani wo nmaarna, instead of 4 'Anai bo wo narnaanra
t6 65
I.ESSON ZZ
RELIGION
Exrmples:-l. Emini ti karibgg ka erri ni? Which religion do you belong to?
z.Imini oru ki karimini I belong to traditional religion(NOIE The use of "onr kari" to mean traditional religioa would be
offensive to some PeoPJe-
I prefer the the following to it. "fzgn KaribBg" or n'Wo dagotu k@ b99")
3.Biett pei k9k9 timi bamini? Does swearing actually kill? .Wyqa pei bign kiini ba Swearing tlrat done secetly does not kill5. Woyin-tpi diamgnini Seeing Black blind snake is a bad omeir
Exrmples:-l.Dadi-owei ........€lni Dadi-owei is possessed by "Benikurukunr"
2. Mi ... rni..ki.....i ke-ri-".rniMany people Ynestled with mo in my dream tast night
3. ....rry......,e.tinmi aba'obqrni arq seirng .....miniDo[d mtion anybody's naine' if you do the person ryill sue
You fa chencfer assasination"
'4
LESSON 7PRONOI'NS CONTII\TIJED
Personal Pronouns in the Ac{ive and Passive VoiceNOTE It is difficult to get the Passive Voice in fzgn. Thereforc, what ispreseirted below as the Passive Voice should not be taken for it.
GeneralSECTION I Singalar PlurullstPerson:'Ye;fm9... Me Wo;Omg;Womg...Wcps2nd Person: E; E mg... You A; A mp...........You3rd Person: 'O;'O nq... He,tlim,It 'A;'A mg.....They[hcnt' A: A "te... She
SECTION IIlst Fersan Singular'Ye okuboo ko.nng'Ye eirdi bade
lst Ferson PlumlWo eremaarimio q4i wgnlng
Eremao mg arlmiFlrimi wo mg wgnimf
SECTION III2ndPenon Singular
E tgbo.g zidgE tgrymi oki bginng
TVbqU e mg zidgTAqmiemgoki bginmi
Okubomi i mg kgnm! The money was takeir by rneEndiimgbami Fishwaskilledbyme
Active VoiceI have takeir the money - ActiveI have killed fish - Voice
PassiveVoice
Active VoieeWe sawtheladyWe have done the work
Passive VoiieThe lady was seen by usThe work was done by us
ActiveVoiceYou have given birth to a baby.You have swunn acmss thcriver
PossivcVoicoA baby was borne by youThe river was swum across by you)
17&
ZtdPerron-PlumlA furuowcikgrideA gbclci finuowci vtpgrni
Furrrowcimi' a mq kqrimi'Funrowcimi a rfigvgrgmi
SECr|ON IV3rdPenon-'Singtbr
'Otpbo.g,t darimo.miA qv"iitsgrni
3dPcnon-Pfurol'A cndi bami'A ry firii weoi mi
Endi'amgbamiFirimi'a s€ mq wgnimi
lst Penon-Singabr(1) okubomiiP4tqnmi(2) Endiipdbami
lst Pcnon-Phral(3) Eremao pri arimi(4) Firimi o pd wenimi
Active YobeYou havc caugbt tho thicfYou beat tho thicf jointlY
PassiwVobcThe thief was @ught bY YouThe thief was jointly beateir by you
ActiveVobeHe rebuked the childShecookedthe food
PossiveVoice
Activc VoiceThey killed fisltThey alldidthe work
PassiveVoiceFish was killed bY them
The work was done bY all of them
s
Nowdothe following:-1. Kirmi €kis€diri ........2. ..-ki .-d€in emi yan?3.....&gn....n94.Eni.....d9?5. Mi.... ki emi6. Ala-ere ....Jrg.
9..-.-..rniniyo1O. -....a........erni
7. Ala-ere ---.---. Ala-ere usually suffer from hard labour in chiH dcliv€ry8. .... -vamuvamu.-. Jnini My carbuncle is thmbbing prinfully.
Slorn'c linimenrt shrivels a swollen part.
Who is tho bcst masscur ia rhis towl?Thc corpc hrr ba takcn to nsttary.
Iryorrumdhcal€d?Thistrbhisinsipid
Ala-ere has Ebdtd hcr pqnrey
Intestinal wonns could cause one to bem lcu.IncubusmHtill.
T$ggmi'omq darimqmi The child was rebuked by him
Fiy.i-i i-q,itg-i The food was cooked by her
SECTION V-Passive Yoice ContinuedThepa.ssivevoicein[zgncouldeverrbeeasilyexpressedbytheuseofthe word "Pri", so *" ot* hear people speaking in the passive voico
with it. Now look again at the iollowing se'tences--the ones in the
passivc voice of all what we have just tr€ated above'
The moneY was takeir bY me
Fish was being killed bY me
The lady was seeir bY us
The work was being done bY us
1863
'Exercises:-1. Ifthe boil has festered, please bave it incis€d.
2. E butlFsci moo, tiye ki e ra ma o? oteinmi tgadg aba,'o kubu e
You look einaciatd, what is wrong with you?3. Ofimqc eyc Qgha timi aladg aba, arru pr! oyamomini"y"
".regnqgnant lady goes withour cafid f* u ro"g i'imJ,rh" usalysUfre13 6ep dizziness.
1'$bq{"i anggga The chitd is sick.l'Tiy"ti tgbgBglamao? whariswrongwithGchild?!.1\fa.aweuve ki oyam-omini ft is suffering io-
"*"ot.to'T.Jpapakaawuunmini I yawn frequently!. F_tq
e dgnmini yan? Are you suffering iiom any pain?9.'Ye asin asin ki bignmini iarn sufferin"e m_ frr*trry10. Kiri'ye aya aggno.woi seri w9{ erni.
r..yeangskis€riimini rj-t:liiHffiJff613y-12. Aniifn,mu eni angg lgg a Their, go and massage your body.13. Angbai ye, i dgnzggwari ka muumini-
No,l would rather go to hospiral14. E bign ki blgnnini aba, blg,ndiri bou e
Ifyou are suffering ftom diarrhoea, take a purgalive.l:'Btili i yamini My ear is irching mel6.Angolokgn'osgglge " Tickleitwithstubborngrassl7. fngfiai{gn -g ggoporei mg ba m!_emi papa kimi k94sh;.small-pox and chickenpox do not affect poople frequently nowadays.!!. fife ti tw fin Tggmini yan? unar is
"rra i" "*ir! ,ingwo.mz
19.'Ani prkimi birisei sare ka mi. Thar leper g"t, urfiofri *"ity20. E lila gbcin rx)o, ye ofuru pglg eirri yan.
21. amgloloku @ibg ki *. r"oo spit often' are you newly pregnant?
Mumps is contacted by making mockery of a victim
NoIE:Ttble not bas€d gl medicar ground but on the commoar sayingpreveiht in&cMcin-speaking district arad its surroundmg
s
2nd Penon-singalar(5) TgbqUep{zimi(6) Tgrgmi epri oki bgfnmi2nd Penon--pluralO Funroweimiap{kgrimi(8) Funroweimi apri gbelei
3rd Penon-singular(9) TBbgBm!'o pri darimgmi(10) Flyaimi a.p4 rr;gmi3rd Perxon-plural(11) Endi'ap{ bam!(12) Firimi'a s9 pd wgnimi
_- A baby was being bom by youThe river was being swum across by you
The theif was being caught by ySuvypmi The theif was Ueing jointly
beaten by you
The child was being rebuked by himThe food was being cooked by her
Fish was being killed by themThe work was being done by aII of them
NorE There is one drawback with the use of 'pri'; it is this. It sornetimesdistorts the meaning and substance of some sentences. In rine with theabove, senteirces I A $, tO and, l2suffer from this defect.In senteirce
f , money is attributed with the right or power to preveirt mefrom taking it but did not use it.
In sentence 4, work is rikewise attributed with the right or pow€r topfevent them from working b"t dii;;;;;ir as we'. The same defect ispres€nt in sentences 6,tO ar:d 12.However, what is clear about iti use is that it is usually aipliod to Iivingthings.
62l9
-----FI
LESSON tTHE USE OF SOME WORDS
In this lesson, the use of some words are treated, pay special attention to
how theY are treated.
l. nan: As a posposition ( Equivalent of the English Pre'position)
Wari a la..' not in/inside the house
Ama a fa... not irVinside the town
Wari atimi'.. live in house
Funiolumg war.i/Sukulu a mu"' go to school
. T$9 a mu.arg a fa"' go to river not in canoe
Its conesponding substitute,"ghon is used in Kolokuma and Nernbe
dialects. "-Gho" in these orttrograptries takes at, in' on' and to in sentences
which require its use' ExamPles:-
Wari gho fa not in/inside the house
ry
33.Bgtgasei... [ran,emaciatcd34. Dgnzgg... Medication35. Duwei... sPrain
36. Dgwgi-tr1a-wa4... MortgarY
37.Ereye... Afterpains38. Erezimg-wari MaternitY
39. Eteghe... ElaPhantiasis
40. Emba darag.. Breathe
41. Eno.gn... Woud, sore,12.Eo.9n-f!na-bid9 Bandage
43. pyglgowei... Masseur
44.Fin... Ringworm45. Gerigeri... Reddish
46. Dr;wgi-dumou The downY hairofnewborm babies
47. [viadgnA{ama-dgn Rheumatism
48. Kubu ... Incise(abscess)
a9.Lvi... Goitre; derbyshire
50. NlmU... MadnessJ-unacY
51. Ofolo... Asthma
52.Ofoni-do.n.. EPilePsY
53. Onugbonu... Nettle-rash
54. Oruru... Cotton-wool55. Otein... BoiI
Dcoi.... Benumbed
Discin... Snoeze .
Dggn... Chcwing rtickEfm... WcdE$in... PturylGs
Esq$n... Intestinal wolmsEmba... Br€ath.
Embglg... Sweet
Eyqlge... Massage
Eyqlgarag.. Masseuse
Fila...FgrT...
Spttle, SalivaSmell
triri ... Craw-crawScrbicd
[mginidgn.. SrnallPox'Kiripglg... MeiroauscIQgnpolei... ChickcnPox1a... LigarncntNiniyai... Nasal Muctu; cnot
Odin... DuneOfoniorcin... CarbrmclcOkilo... L.arno
Opomboro... StamrsOsobo... YcllowfcvcrOyindgn... hopcY
hrmou... Futif,rfitsSiiri... tubSikgi... HiccqrS99n19... TtutbTibi-akrl-gbglU HqdecncTgnl-otoin... StYlcVamuvarur... ThrobYa... Itc& intetcTcrriojbob... Syrlryo
Ygp... BunDpU{p... TctrnruJocltsw
Bulou gho fa
Tin gho eminot insidein or on a tree
did not dodidnot saY
didnot go
s6. Qmbi...57. Pgnki...
64.Tqa...55.Temi...
Hump;hunchIry
fest€r;suppurat€Injection
not the ones58. Sin... Vomise. sidi... Suffocate
60. Siplrsipt]... Jerk
61. Taboloo... Insipid62.To.rya sei... [.oathe; hale
63.To.rgbgin... Teething
3. "Kgmg"(a) As nogativo
Positivc Negative
MiP ... do Miq kurnq"' do not do
G&... Eey Gba kr1mg"""do not say
Mu... io Mu kgmg"""'do not go
ii;... it-o Tig kurnq"' do not stand
Cornpare the abova wtth 2 rbovc' What do you notice?
66. Temi-noun.,. Needdlc forinftrtion67. Wurrr-ogbudu Measlos
68. Zikgrj... Travail; to bc i! Irbou
6120
LESSON 21
IIRdAlgIzAn Engritth
t. Dgna;gwari... nfrmaryf hospital2.Dgnargbg.-. DoctorBhysician3 Agbagbggbab$...TaAorary cramo
c numbnessGonorheaGdnding of teetb
4Asii...5.Akafi...
Iz.qn English. arteryrvcin
D,tlwgidi... IncubusDawai... DreamSeidawai... NightmarcOmoun... SweatAl.oB... CoughSei-alg-u... T.BAnggfa... SickjllAnggri... SnoreAnggs€rii.. High feverApgng... BelchAridgn... MalingerAsin-asin... BloodyAsinfa... RloodlessanarnicAsisi... AbradeAso.n... SoapAsgmai... HissAwofie... Delirium; ravingAfuga... JiggerA^tzt... (Hand)FanAkpg... ExpectoratePidi... PinchBign... Pass stool,dofocate
0
(b) As a quantifier
Jan timi tgmg ti 'o .ro mi It was only three persons that killod it.Sgpr-on a bibi krprng ki'o mq fie mi. It w@.
4.,Fa'This word is used differently as follows:-
i. (a) Fun fa... no booksApia fa... no cutlassNa / san fa... not yet in stockKimi fa... no p€ffion
O) Endi ba fa... no more fishDB ba fa.-. no more storyTin ba fa... no rcr€ trees
Note the addition of ba'incontrast to those in 4 t (a) above
ii. Consider its another use in the following:-Bo timi fx... Keep coming for everY€drimih... Kee,p selling fmcverByng tirni ft-.. Keep steeping for everEye Qr;mi 1a... Koep eeting forcver
In fact timi fa'd€notes exist orreinain for ever
ar. Examine its anothuse in sharp contrast to 4 d (a) above.
6.Akatudgn.. Toothache7.Akdq... Ulcer8: Akgasgma..infiamation of the groin9. Amu... Dizinessl0.Amgbaloku Mumps11.Apipi... Squeezel2.Asin... Blood13.Asin-bign... Dysentery14.Asinkpo.... Clotofblood15. Asinmakpo.. internal clot of blooa16. Afian/Bignyai Feacesptool. excreta17. Avi!'1i... I-gstl8.Awuun... Yawn19. Ayrrrvggye.. C-onvulsion20.Ah... Sploen2l.Atpgyri... Sputumphtegm22.Bd$.h... Yellowpale23.Brh... Pubic louseZ.Bigndiri.. Purgative25. Bign-gbain... Costipation26.8@ib€ni... Watery27.Brcxa-f1m.... Earvax28. Bgin....The folds in fte skin of
sonre fat poople29, Biripuzi... Caosarian section30. Biris€rii... Intestinal colic3 1. Bira sibe/I$ripo.:..Me,nstruate32. Bunr-{-aka.. Milk todh
Ban... Be blindBigndq"... DianhoeaBeni disg... ThirstyB€ri k-urp... hard of hearingBeridgn... Eaxach€Birikoro... AbortionBirikoromg... Carse abortionBiba... (of wound)healBign-wari... ktrineBulou-imgbi H€NmiarupturcBr;[email protected] sichs
Furufa...Seifa---
Etpefr..-Kafa...Kgrpfr...Kolifr...
tvtiey{ mlgfa... tull of imrnratity
full of stealingfull of hadness
full of liesfull of stormtnessfull of power; power,frrlfull ofshortness; dwarf!p
?
&NorE: It should not bc wdtten separatcly ftrom the word it qualifiee as itcould be seeir ftrom abovc if rhis use is applied, otherwise it wouH bcar aditr€rcntmeaning.
60 2l
5. oFi"
(a) This word too has differtnt urcs'ut p'rasented below'
Part III-The Leg
Iz,gn English
1 At9n9... Thigh
2 Emgbele... Knee
3 Erngbele-fqr9.- I(nee caP
4 Bgg-ogbo... Shins
5 B99 abg... InsteP
6 Opub99tibi... Bigtoe7 BUg emgbisa-ama.'Toes
Izgn EngEsh
8 Kunounbgqemgbisa Little toe
Musa{...I sa{de...
go toborlowmoa€'yI bave bornowod nroneY' 9 Bgg-teun'..
10 Bggkubu.-.l1Bg9ernbgl ...
12Bgqtgry.-.13 Bg9 ofou-..
The hoolSoletuchAnkle.Calf
Consider the following: -
Erc rna fidg... the. woman is d€ad
Ayapldiifide-.. the babY is doad
niiL'ipqde... Ebiis dead also
Examin€ the following: -
a-f"-tt" oig" qdg... AL-ere has sworn or takeil oarh'
fi ar*;*";... Ala-ere has eateir her feaces
(d) Considerthe following also:-' ; Yanfaran q.-. to be co-wives'Ye e mqrnq Yanfaranli dgg erni
I would iif"to be a co-wife to your husband
or I would lfteto marry the same husband withyou
ii EYg fi.-. to be friends
I would like to rnake frieird with you - 'Ye e nvry €yq q dqB €nti
iii Fuo fi--. to be in-laws
I should like to be an in-law to you -'Ye e momo: fuo fi dEf emi
NOTE: The word'k tl' ;ld be substitutod for 'f in this contcxt-s
above.
6. ncb€in" This is another word which has diffeneirt uses:-
(a) Bfdq gbein-.- 'to sow cloth
Amuna-ere bid€; gU"it"g"' Amuna-ere has sewn the clothes
Alabo bid€ bibi ;;ott""U"' Alabo has hemmed the cloth
(b) Ogun gbcin... to waSo war\-/ ALm;ft ogun kqn Abalaotu gbeinmi-:Th"
p""Pb of enma wagd-war against the people of Abala'
Afarnaotr'rnOAbahottl mq ogrm gbein mi'-:Th"-p""pdot.lfrma
anA eUahwaged war against each other
(b)
(c)
€
sl
q
2259
LESSON ?.O
l2AkU...l3 Andi...
Part I-The Head and Neck
Izo.n EnglhhI Tibi... H€ad2 Tibi durnoun... Hair3 Okodo... Forehead
4 Tgry etgrng... Eye lashes
5 Tg'rU... Ey"6 Niniogbg... Bridge7 Nini... Nose8 Niniopoolo... Nostril9 Bibi... Mouthl0 Bibiodu... Lipll Kiriekpe..- Chin
PARTS OF THE BODY
22Kqpl.n...
The chestThe face
{zgn Englishl7 Amgba... Cheek18 Okeketu... Jaw19 Mgnimg-ofoni Adam's aPPle
20Meqimq... Thrcat21 Kgo.n-ernba mundness of the
neckNeck
23 Kgo.n-busu...The length of theneck
24 Kglipgbg... Nape258ai... Ear26 Akpgbr$-og.-- The breast
27 Tgry-akpa-.. The eYelid
28 Blb!-btflq9-aka Incisor29 MglqU/BUl-o9.. The tongue
ad
(c) Sei gbein... to nuke feastAbalaotu sei gbein mini - The people of Abala are making feastAsamaotu aya k-urai sei gbein mini- The people of Asama are making their new ycar feast.
(d) Akain ghin... to make tharchAba-owei akain gbeinmini Aba-owei is sewing thatch
(e) Asu gbein... to pull a c:lno€ with a poleE yin argmi a asu gbein timi mi.- Your mother was pulling the canoe with a pole
(Q LB gbein... to cut oil palm fruitAsamaowei lg gbeinowei Asamaowei is oil palm fruit colloctorAsamaowei lg gbeinyg duo bode- Asarnaowei has come from collecting oil palm fruit
(g) Ogbolo gbein... to tlrow sticksBa ogbolo ko.n obirii gbcin k.um Do not throw sticks aI the dog agsin.
(h) Ogbp ghin... to fish with a throwing-netE dag ogbg gbein mini Your father is fishing with a throwing-net
(i) Endi gbein... to fish with a kind of spear with iron point.Embidg embiowei k-on eirdi gbein bami- Embidg killed a fish with a spear
(i) Kin gbein... to cut downEre ma 4in kin gbeinnq The woman has felled the tnee
(k) Gb€in koromg... to fell an object by throwing something af itAladu tin beinyai gbein koromgng Aladu has stoned down a Auit
(l) Gbein gban... to coverahole/ gap with any objrrctAkala atg-u kgn opooloo gbein gbanng- Akala has covered the hole with mud.
la Agqneipo.4... MustacheI 5 Asgmakara-aka. -.Canine16 Tgng-okeke... Eyebrow
Pril II--The Hand and Trunk of theBodY
Izo.n English1 Apcle... Snriutder2 Biracggliyainmg
Elbow jointOpubiratibi...ThumbBira esangbalaama/
Izgn English12 Biraeggli... Elbow13 Atgnlgbulou... Amtpit14 Angasara... Side15 Bri-.. AMomen/BellY16 Ekokutu... HrP
34
Biraelrngbisaama..Fingers lTAninatu/Apq'r$u--- Groin
5 Apanala... Theliver6 Ifunoubbira esangbala...
The Little finger7 Birakubu... PalmS Biratqry... The wrist9 Amabira... Rigbthand10 AbU.." Bact11 Amba".. BellY;bowels
18 Ombu...19 Agbobu...20 Endou...21Endobibi...22 Kgng bira...23 Abgbiri...24Bien...
58
NavelChestBreastNipplekfthandThe backBuftocks
$
{S
23
7. nKidn This word too has differc,nt usm but only two ar€ t€atod below
(a) In atrrmativc slrtcrrots:I firi gtrni ... I apthc one who ssftl ittr kiri anru kantni- I am the one who tse the $irt
(b) As anAdverb of tire:Mi eyee paAe ki kiri i bo mi - This
.hmg had happenod before t cam€
E. 'Mg"(a) As aConjunction
Ebila ry Alale m9 binaotuama Ebila and Alale are reliatives
(b) As an Adverb:tO nrg bgngmi .-. Hothen slePt'O nq bainni -.- He then ran
9. "Ki' As afocus marker
Imini ki namaa bami It was I whokilled the animal
Note that'omini / Amini can go with it.Geirerally, it is used when ever there is a long prcnorm'
10. "Ni"(a) As a relative Particle.-Ani
ere mani angqdgntimi arag ma-That bthe woman who was sick
Mi tubgu ma oi yio *gri fi arar ma - This is the girl whose mother is l,ate
(b) As a linkerMo.,p.o kgri bg ni'o rng furu mi - He stolc boutc bc was too hlmgly
11, Consider the use of these words:-etu; ekPudu; bo and esou
Whe6 any of these words is su11ixed to a wo'rd, it mkes the word plurat
but colloctiveily"Kimi€fit... acrowdofPoqilcNamadu.-- aPackofmimalsEndi etu--- aPackof fish(es)
.24\
€
SECTION II ErendreI Aniwosukulumi.2 Mi wo eye tolumgwari mi.
Solobo sukuluamune.Ama-enefun gggnini
10In! tun-gggblsaa fadg
Now complete the following:-1 ....ftqni...2 .........teride
That is our schoolThis is ourclassrcom
Solobo has gone go schoolAma-ere is writing book
My pen is lost
A snake has bitten apupilThe school has gone on vacation
3 Ada sukulumima eye tolumlwari ki emiThere are two classrooms in the school at Ada
Ani tibi tglumgoweimi That is the headmaster,Omini sukulu-awgg vprp bg mi He whips pupils too much
Atama sukulurni neretimi eyeamafaThere are no seats in the school at Atama
456
789 Asamaotu mg Ebiamaotu mg ki adanmini
The people of Asama and Ebiama are wrostling
3 Ani ..........eirdgna-...........emi ni?How many classrooms are there in the school at your town?
4 Mi ......dirimg laghaThe blackboard in this school is not blackened enougb.
56 Ala-ere kiri-..". kgn eye g99 ..-rnini
......e kpg ..-..rna? Were you beaten by the teacher also?
Al;a-ere is beginning to lem writing with pen.7 Ebi-er,e .........191i bg rni Ebi-e,re's school uniform is too dirty8 { yei ........9 Wo ......-kgni ebi ...- nana wgri emi
My husband is a teacher
Our school has a beautifulgadqll0 Ani...rni ..ka r{- Yow school's field is very big.
ft
I
*s
57
LESSON 19
The sarnp principle appli€s with the rcst; h€Nrce:-
kimi ekPudu--. a grouP of PeoPleNama ekPudu--. a grouP of animals
SCHOOL
Izgn English1 Sukulu/
Funwar.i/Funtolunqwari School
2 Tohungowei... Teacher
3 Sutrututgbqrl PWiV Stud€Nrt
4 Apiatga... Fencing
5 Ada-kiri..- Fiold6 Peretimi-eYe--. S€at
7 Kiribou-.. Garden
8Funkien/Funtiin/Fun go... R€ad
9 Omgbggb$UnBqli' Ball
Ilo.n English
tO f,*-gggbisa.-. Pen
ll Tqu--- Chalk
12 Sukulu-arg.-- Uniform
13 Tom g99+Y€-.. Black-board
14 Eye tolurngwari-.' Class room
15 Eye tolumg/EYedawai l'eam
16 Akpa-.. Bag
17 Gbgl-u.-' Box/ PlaY ball
l8 Apg-.- Fower
19 Apo.Yai--. Flowers
20Fun g9.-- Write
Endi ekpudu... a group offish(es)
13. Examine critically the following:-bgnggha e..' did not sleeP
mu @gha e... did not agrce to go
wgn! saramggha e.-. did not walk fast
These are all assimilated emphasisers
a
Kimi bo-.- the PeoPleNama bo... the animals
Endi bo... the fish(es)
Nama esou... some animals
Endi esou-.. a haul of fish(es)
12. Errphasisers: a o, e, ki, ni, all, tun, ya, and ye
Ti.bg ki eyee mi.e n!?-.. Who did the thing?
E ki4'o migmi an?... Were you the one who did it?
Ti.@ ka o?... Who is it?
Osiarna firij wgni ni ya?... Has Osiama done the work?
Abalama-bain ki bain timi mi..' Abatama was just running'Obgngnie... fl6haq slePt
Wgribodq o mu a o..- Come let us goplease
Alaba ki egberii gba ki t+n It was Alaba who delivered the messageNoTE|Thisword'bo.li'istheadulteratedformoftheEnglishwordnBalln. The fz4n *an i'n-_f* way 9f -plying
ball b."tu th$ of the
westein world.It is called "omguggu$lgn.It was played with at least two
pairs of players- The pui* tf pfiy;;;[y sit opposite each other' with
legs astride, anf eacUltay- fit* o* lT of lhe two who sit opposite
him/her into the *ioarJ"iui*no rcgr- I" this way, two lines of players
are fomrd, *ftn tn"*ttt op*a plece of cloth is folded into the shape
of a sphere or globe, and it it pot "l
the ceirtre of the play€rs' The legs'
supporrd try {he nJr, wiI ie lifted and let fall rythmically which
makes the nglobe' ,o *fi to the rhe one side aad the other' It is usually
accornpanied by any enticing song' H it falls out of the legs at any
extr€me, their it is a goal ugui"ti those who occupied that extreme'
Unforhmately, one rarel5l sees that garne nowadays' and its name bas
suffe,rod at the expense ottn" adulterated wordnbo'li" which has come to
$ay on the liPsthe lzp
fi.gha e.." did not diefiegha e"..did not talk
s
l4.Auxiliary Verbs:
thi, €rni" wgri and sin-Note the use of these words in seirte'nces' Exarnple:-
koro timi -.. to stay on / keep a falleir position
koro emi... is falleirkoro sin-'. complete falU a complete dofcat'
Note:They should be wwritte,n separately frompreceding vcrb'
56
25
t5. Agcrt suffiCs rfrich arc definite articles are mitten together with
thc c/or& tkY $telifv.For emnryf,e:'
Kiniotu"- peopb): Oc'ciottl"mcn; Aw$tbo"' the childrtn;
EYqr onr.-. wones; Yinbo"' trc mtks;fg"i-y-Uq..- full b'rother or sister;
16.In line with the introduction of ihe two vowels-ni" and "9"spelling of some words are changedfor example:-
keme now qrlt kimi"' P€nion
WartAro --do--
b€be -do-Ercwoubao -do-
--rdo--- wari... house
SECTION IIf Oqpanreogtr2 Miaggng-owcidcin3 Okir€[email protected] Aggng-ofonibo efi"-ini5 Ereiin.fadg6 Efin-ar1rydiye7 Obudoubot€inmini8 Aggg-oweimiagbadg9 Ereiinseimini
Now complete the following:-I Erein2 ........gumugumu.......3 ........mi..........de4 Ow.nra ..........:bomini5 ....-ki .....d9gnrini6 ....m9 ....mg....&i biri a ......erni7 Dein..............I ........tipaemi9 Mi......fadeinl0 ..........mini
The srm hqsnot risenThis is amoonlitnight
The harmattan is tm scvereTlebirdsare flying
Thesm has setLookattbafuEraft
The clouds uc flowingIt is nowfullrnoon
The whoalheris getting bad
It is lighteinniagThe day is toohot
It is nowhalfrmnThe sun is.risingIt is about to rain
There is an eclipscNight has fallen
It is amoonless nightThis is a starless night
Thewindis blowing
a'
G
aq... canoe
bibi... word/moutherewgpba... girl
10 Oko-owei agbaradagbunrdu fri ton UaAg
Okoowei is shocked dead by thunder11 Osuobggbo dgba kami Therain eopkts arcactuany big12 Kg,g kime ki pa mig mini { strurg stomr is apemachlng13 Aggngoweimi bira k€*€mini The moon is diminishbg (in sizr)Arao -do- ara+"' hdY
Ako -do-- akF"' bitter/side
Fc -do-- Fi"" ear/die
fUe cnanges should Ue carenrUy ;"t"d There arc many other wotds
which are likewise alfected and ought to navg Ueen enfist"O but tftunwritteir.
lT.TheHYPhenIt is used io nypnenare (to Fin) cornpound words; For exarrple'
Endi-angg... '." Endi-bibi-ipqri"' ba$cls
Beni-seiye... water-snake Ariri-tqg"' meshoffish-net
18..TonesGenerallv. there are only two tonos in [zqn:-High and low'
fnJnieh tone is rnarked this sign 'The low is marked with this sign ' on the word affectod'
Note thrt the third person fernale singuhr has high tone'
d
2655
LBSSON 18
TIIElzgn EngW
1 Agqng. Up/skY/Atmosphere
2 Aggng-obudou..Cloud/Fog3 AdynE... WhtulwindI Osuo... Rain5 pqra... Sun6 Aggng-owei..- Moon7 AgUra... Star
8 Olielic... Wsgail9 Aggrytgn;... Wearher
l0 Bekc+gbein Mango11 Noo... Blue12 Ago-ago... C'r€cn
13 Asaisai... Pled Kingfiser14 Obi...15 Koto...16Fgpn...17 Er€in...
F1ying squinelFdlBlow(Wind)Day/$/hgather
18 S€i doin... lYfosnlcss nighr
19 Soi... Bad
20 S9w9i... Hid€2lEfin... Fli22Abalabala... ButterflY23 Akabofoni...%Agbgitgrgkgrigha. Weaverbird25 Akiy{... Kingfisher26At9l9bibi... ParrotZTAfpqhkpglq Honrbill28 Angg... Egg29 Apb... Wing30Ann... G€fin3 I Arggbgli-owei...Wood Paker32AYinYin... DragonflY33 Elckpukpu... Pigoon
SKYIzo,n Engfsh?4T€m<yelAgpgbiyot/35 Agbaradagburudu....Thrmder36 Afgri... Wind37 Agbalakoko... River-eagle38Aggngofoni... Btud39 Okir€ngh@... Ilamaffan40 Erein matu... I ightenning
4lKirrrc... Stum42 Tgrgtonwein... Homet43 B{-kBi... Muning star
ct
p
LESSON 9MISCELTANEOUS
83CTION I-COMPAR,ATIVE DEGNEECAthough there are three basic comparativc dctts h Ea1!lrb, thc lzgnIangrrage does not exactly follow the same pattcm. Cctrh wofdt hrvc tobc us€d so as to arrive at the desired degree-For cxarnplc,la Enjllrh thewold big is usod to 6mfr€ objats as follows:-
Word Comprdive SuptldiwBig bigger biggest
But its [zd.n counteriart --d+ba can not be used so, excqrt with additionof other words. Look at it now:-
Word Compralive SupcrbiveDgba dgba dgin erni dgba'a s€ dg.in emi
1a F.nglish, the comparative degree is usually applid when there are twoobjects--one is bigger than the other; it is the same in Iz$. "Dgba dginemio means exactly 'is bigger lhann. Sometimes the focus marker --oki'is calld into play: For exarnple;'Ebiotu ki bgtig Alaotu dgin emi"; that is, "Ebiotu is taller than Alaotu.'
In English, the superlative degree is usually usad wheir there are at leastthree distinct ob!:cts. It is the same in IzAn. A long secte,nce has to bemade to indicate the degrw, hence instead of having a single word werather have "dgba 'a sg dgin einin;that is, nbigger rhan all of thernn or 'thebiggest of alln.It could eveir be urritt€Nr ntA sg a dgba doin emin, it mcansthe same thing- The seirse portrayed is this:there are al least throe distinctobjects, and one is bigger than the others. There is not much proble,m,only to add 'dgin emin and n'a sg dgin €Nni" to the giveir word
in the comparative and superlative degrees.
Now look al this table below.
44 Odon...45Dtufsq....t6 Pim...
49 A{;n;...50 Ein-arg...5f Dein...52 Akanghan...
HdAftrnrft
MghtToucan
YcllowBtdWhits
4?Gbongbolu.-. PigEY Kingfi sher
48Agbab9gbdbg... I{mbill
53 Kimi+bimgerein Twilight54 Bdabata... Momingtwilight55 Esqeg...- fubtud56 Odele ... Vulfirc
STOdoko ... Ilaurk58 Odudumgdu/Ifuukur Dove59 Oge... Eagle60 Okilei..- Kite6l Okpudukpudu..- Owl62 otietie... Swallow63 SeiofonilAkrangbelegbe
Harmmerheadod stock
.+
s,Word
{zgn-.- EnglishFinii... wideKoli... shortPina... white
Comparative
finii dgin emikoli dginemipinadginemi
27
Superbive
finii'as€dgin661dkoli 'a sg dgin cnnipina'a 8g dgin crni
54
64 Apianpian Hornbill
1-, .t
KUry... strorgSu... weak
k-ufpdeinemisu dginemi
k-urg'a s€ dgin €misria sg dfin €mi
Now complete the following: -I ............minini?2 .......efiayeir ......mini.3 .....ti €ye ki .....-ni?4 Sala-owei......p4 ..........wqri emi.
Where docs lion live?The dwarf takes in snuffWhatdocs elcphanteat?
Izgn English2,0 Lepele..Brush-tailod Porcupine
(Atherurus africanus)2l Mein-oweV
(Mig-owei?) Blackcobra22 l-alal Akpara... SwamP
Now dothc samc withthe following:-1Fio...2 Si...3 Sei...4 suq...
6Wgni...? Ebi.., good
8 Fanghaan.-. drYish
9 Fanghain.-. bent;crooked
Bin bgmi ... too rnany
Dgba@mi toobig/too great
SeibAn{. toobad
2 Ogbuduu..- gingerJilY3. Adein... Tsetsefly4 Akpgkg... Male lizard5.Agba... Calabash
6. Akpgwei... Corkwood-tree(Musanga cecroPiodes)
7 Akpaikpai... grasshoPPer
8 Amgmg... HouseflY
9 Awiri... Fox10 Dein-asginsqin
Ekirikiri Cricket11 D-oUn... Grub
12Elapglg-owei Mantis13 E19919... Civet
5 Danghain... 10 Andai"'
NOTE: Consider the following: -
Many, More, Most, in tnJsanre order--for uncountable objccts'
ComPntive SuPrlaiveBin-Many Bin &in eini Bin'a sg a dqin erni
Wesomstiffihearpoopleusingthosewords-Jbo.'andka'insenteirces.lrt us cxamine their uses
c}
Bin... rumYD\$a.., bigSei... bad
Table IIIzqn
I Abtrkg...EnglishMonkey
GoniIaMaggotIntmtinal worm
fl6666 ft6 F.nglish equivaleirt of b9' is too'
Now consider the following: -
Bin kami"' actually iluny'muchmany
D$bakami"' actuallY big'much big
Sei kami "' actually bad'rnuch bad
The English equivalent for'ka' $eems to be much'
The above is precisely how the comparative degrees are ussd in lrc'n'
SECTION II-. THE GENDERSThere are two geirders in fzgn-masculine and feminine' The neuter
g€Nrt€risaccording]yassimitateobythesetwo.I-ookatthaseexarrples:-Mi'wo wari"' This islis louse
- masculino
Mi *i wari:" This is her house - feminine
Mi'wo wari"' This is its house'- neul€r
AcarefirlilEminationofthes€l$€nc€saboveshowsthatthereisnodiffere,ncobctweenthcseirteircesintbemascutineandneutergendersin
26 Odumaganlanga..Chamclon
23 Akpg...24Ekatn...25 K9...
27 Ofo...28 Ogun...
32 Or9...33 Otongbolo...34 Vtgbira...35 K9d9k9d9...36 Angala..37 Asi....
Iron-woodTermites
Mahogany
PutradcrMountain
.Giant Rat;MosquitoAntelope
AssponkeyMangrove-tnoo
Horsetailor-ant
29AkaweilOka... Greenrnamba30 Okinikin... ...Boa3 1 Akpalakpa-tun....Wild-c8nna
rs
14 Ele...15 Engulei...16 Esggn.-.17 Gboru... Red Squirrel
(Funisciunrs PYnhoPus)1 8 Ko. ngowei/Bousci.. J.eoPard
19 Qgbg... Redless Trce-squirel
2853
38 Egctcbinasgi...
Iza.n EngBsh1 Bon... Bush/Forest
2 Bor-oma-.(Bush)Wild animal
3 Borrezercba.-. Giart4 Tin... Tree
5 Bousou-owei..- DwarfO Bila/OPuoUori.- ElePhant
7 Seiye/Kirirtani-eYe--SnakreS Ogbokoro-owei-.TerraPin9 Ongsru... CarerPiller
mssoN l7
10D9$...11Sadia...
15 Osi...16 Bagba...
THE BUSH
12Agireghan... Hog-PtumSPondias mombin)
13 Adaka... Lion14 Tuo... Grass
{zqn English18 Angolo-.. Stubbom grass
19Odqg..- Hill20 Bein-owei...
- Hunter
22Pomu... l-eat23Wangban... Hare
24 Bgr;n.". HoneY
25 Bgp-war!. JloneY-comb26 Ambi.Nat(Urticaceae)27 Tonwein..- WasP
28 Tonwein-wari..lYasp nest
29Esingbin...'Milli@e30 Obnrgbomu.-- Centi@e31 Atgm$qmq..- WasP
32 Otomi..- Otter-shrew
33 Wofin-tibi SPotted snakc
34 Ogori..- Bush-cow35 Birai... (Indian) bamboo
36 &okuku... Cabbage-trm
,e
[zgn. with animals or birds, the masculine/neuter is rnostly used. Very
occasionally, the feminine is uscd.
Now consider a hen trying to lay eggs.
Qttzstion: What is that hen trying to do?
Arnwer: It is trying to lay eggs - ncut€ror She is trying to lay eggs. - feminine
In fzq,n:Questinn: Ani ofonimi ti eyekimie dqgmini yan?
Arawer: 'Wo angg ki komnrg dqgmini ye- - masculinc/ncuteror A angg ki kororng dggmini c..-. - feminine
The first sent€,nce, which is in tho neuter gender in English, is spokcn ofin the masculine/neuter gender n[zp.,but the secnnd retains it8 gCnder.
These two sente,nces are used as alteirratives, but the onc in the
masculine is more used than the other. Except in sorne cases ufrcrc the
neuter gender finds such uses in the ferninine, it'is mostly usod in the
masculine.
SECTIOiI ru-- THE IF CLAUSEThe if-clause is obtained in Izqn in ar least throe ways. l,ook at these
examples:-
ffyou are going to martec- E fgp a mumini aba,E fggamuumini egbaaE fgg amuumini enry bg a
If you can do it Ye ekeir'o miqgrnini aba
Ye ekeir'o miggmini e gba a
Ye eke,n'o miggrnini emg b9 a
Ifyou can not sleep Ye ekeir bungqha abaYeekeir bgngghae gbaaYe ekeir bgngghaemA bg a
Now do the same with the following:-I If you can not work 4If You arc sic*2If you can s,ew 5If sh€ will help mc3 If thcy will come 6If he will saY
29
EafifrwormPSrthon
Elephant gnssAbura
l? Ombi....3ush-pig/Red River-hog
SECTION IIl Bouezerebabgtlgkietni Giantisatallbeing
2 Bousou-oweil"iitikoliemi Du/arfisashortbeing
3 Adakak-urqnama Lionisapowerfrrlanimal
4Maopuo-boririrnasptimimi.Twolelqlhalrtswerefighting5 E kpg adaka aridei Have you seeir lion also?
6 Ad€alran{ oborii kpppu wgri'o ko.n fimi'The lion torethe goat and ate it'
? Boutein-oweimikgni opuobori tcin bami'The huntershot dead an elePhant
S Okinikinimi bouteinowei tgbq1rl mqnlm!'The boa swallowed up the hrmte'ds child
9 Ebika ogorm kp keni bagha kin koromgr{'' Ebika fell down an aburatroe with an axe'
.*
s
52
I
Examine the following: -If I had known If she had corne
[nenri wgrirai aba A bo wgrimi aba
Inemiwgrimi e gbaa A bo wgrimie gbaa
fnemiwgrimiemgbga Abowqrimiemgbga
Now do the same with the following:-I If she had said it 4 If they had not come
2lfhehadwashed 5 Ifthey hadnot agreed
3If they had not come 6If he had not slept
SECTION IVNow examine critically the following:-Casc I You arp not going to mir*et. Are you?
My mother has gone to my father's (palm wine) tapping_camp3 E dag kgrppingbenemi ti eyg ka emi ni?
Where is your fatheds (palm wine) tapping_cunp?4 | dag boumi bfba ko.rgama bin emi.t' There are many matured palm wine trees at wncrs my &rtcrt4e .g 5 Eni bina-owei kgrp aggngduo pglgibo loromi.
Your brother fell off palm wine tnee' 6 Eni bina-arag ti eyg ki sfi emi yan o? whe'e.has ri"iie.i";.rd.gr7 Bginmg-kiri ki sii erni.
She has gone worting at the opposite srde (of the town)8 BUrqmia&nibohnimq Re-eirkindletheinrheoven9 Tiki eiri kiribou efinghin mi?
Where is the boundary of your farmland?l0 Ye eni kirirbouu gboogboo sinne?
Have you finished weeding your farnrland?
Complete the following:-I .......emi yan? Where has your mother gone worting?2 I ................,.........ki sii emi
My motherhas gone working in the river{fishing)3 .......................ki a ma wai boomini yan?
Whe,n will she be returning (home)?4 Y6 ....Jdriboumi a .....ti ....rd?
What did you plant in your famrland?5'Ye ........9[a..............ki gboromi.
6 Ani............I planted pepper and cocoyam in my farmhnd.
Yes, I am...No, I amnot
positivenegative
SECTION II1 E yin ama a emi?2 lyn i daU kqrgpingbeire amu emi
7 ..........koIokoIo......S .......-ki kgn ...........-tninfl9 Ama-ebi........?10 ............tangbei
Is your mothe,r in toum?
That is plantain frrmBitter_leaf is bitt6
Palm winc tree is tapped with tapping-knifeHas Ama-ebi learnt bow to swim also?
Swocp away thc ashes
In lTgn: E fo.g a mugha fa ki tUn. E muumini yan?
Yinye,ImuuminiYe... PositiveAngh4 e,! mugha fa e... negative
Case II You were the thief. Were you not?
Yes,l was... PositiveNo,l was not... nagative
In lzgni Emini ki ftruoweii ki trfu".Eminigha?YinYe, irnini Ye--. PositiveAnghd e, iminigha e... negative
u
o
30 51
I-ESSON 16
Table IIzqnI Si...
2 Kiribou...3 Asibai...a D"ung...5 Gbogbo...6 Fgni...7 Gboroye...
8 Efiin...9 Gboro...10 Y9o.l9...l1Yqqr?...12 K99...13 fzp-wunt14Apali...
Arahic !m.n1... K€ni2... Mary3... Taarg4... Nein5... Sgqnrpn
FARMTAND
EnglishTo atteird to oners
duty oroccupationFarrnlandHoeTo clear aplot of landTo cut roughly(afarm)FirowoodAnything plantodto beplantod
BoundaryTo plantFull of fruits,etcSurroundPalmwine treePalmwine(Palm wine)Tapping-
Izgn Englisk30 Esiabg... Okro31Adg.". Barn
32 Bgr9... Oveir33 BgrgfEp... Ashes
S4Kqrgpin.. Tapping35 Kergtqni.. palmtree36Pina... Rip€
37 EsaggggpgEsawg.Ground-nut38 Pouye..Stone;Whetstone39 Pou... Sharpen
40 FE tittla.- To set fire4l Pupou... Hut
42Fgnibgnimg. -re-enkindle fire43 Ogogolopani.. Jerr-can44 Akpara.. Palrn winetree45 Tggwuru/Beke-wum..
DistilldPalm wine46 Kiri.... Ground/ Earth47 Ogugu... Pit48 Wurutggyg DistillerY49 Kiriologbo. Bitter-leaf5O Odu-.. Cocoyarn5l Kokodia.." Coconut52 Kpokoduku SweetPotato
53 Beke-ogbein." lvlango54 Oyinbo."" Eann616
55 Okpu.". Sugar cane
54 Oka Corn55 Oresi... Rice
56 @erebe/Oyinbo)Tag...Sucker
LESSON t0I\TTJMERATION
SECTIONIIn rhis lessonArabic numerals shall be writtcn ffnt h oontrast toprevirous ones in which lzgn words were first gveir, and rftcfc the noedarises, explanatim shall always be nrade.
tr!.
k Arfric lzo.n6... Sondie7... Sgngrra8... NiinaNighina9... Is€10... Oyi
15 Fangbain... Beirt/ crookdl6Emg@8... S€od
17 U. tgta ... Onion18 Wuruq9@... Distiller19 Adgndg... Pawpaw7n Agba... Gourd21Ago.". Orange22 Akan... Bitter-koia23 Berebe... Plantai*24 Bunr.." Yam25 Dabu Kola-nut26 Dabu-tin.J(ola-nut tree
27 lg;lna Pepper28 Embadagha29 Embadkala.......Cassava
f'l.
'5
$
A,s from elevsn to ninetee,n(l1-19), teir is repeatodly countod with any ofthe other numeials-For ex4mple:- 11 is r€ad oyi kgni feni
12 is read oyi mary feni13 isr€ad oyitarg feni14 is md oyinein feni15 is rcad oyi sggnrgn feiri and so on
Nola Fiftee,n could be read'die'also. Die could also be read or uscd anytime when there is rcrmant of fiftren after any numbcr of tcns ortweirties.
It is highly ex@ieirt to make a rcnnrk here in rcspet of the |zgnsystem of counting. When counting on base foun five is rcad eleve,n;thatis, one teir and one left over. When counting on base sevmgen is rradthirtoen; tbat is, one t€Nr and three left over. Again, when counting onbase nine: sixtee,n is read sev€nteeir; that is, one teir and seven left over"Finally, wheir aounting on base.ten:eightoen is rcad eighteen; that is, oneteir and eight left ovetr, and so on.
One would not be wrong to declare that a matheirratir:elinvestigation into the lzgn counting systern reveals that it is denarf ; thatiso on base teir. Heirce the,rp is a stop or note when teir is obtainod rvtile6sun.ing, and the counting is r€peated all over again. Sequcl to thc above,the word "fenin ufiich literally moans 'left over or rcmaindcr. ir alwaysus€d to denotc thar thc counting has crossod the basc. [1rhir wty, cleveNr
3150
rs r€ad "oyi k€ni feni'; that is, on9 ten 31f one left over' Nineteen is rcad
novi ise feni';thatis J,* LOoio" left over'and so on'Twenty also
;:::ffi;; ;o;f*i'. rf i, i, oiriony cxamined, it ub€s twentv the
word "feni" ta*u* ti""oty *" t"o tlYy' Thercafter' thc schlal bosc
co*€s in.Hencthirty;;- rcad'li oyikgni f:tl'T* T:*"twenty and one ,*
"oo "i" r"n over. It does-not it"ely that twenty is the
base. In the-usual Arabic counting syst€m' sev€nty could as well be rcad
nthr€e scores.no t-l rnis aoesiot mn that the scoro is the base'hc
the base is te,n.I **i;;;;it"*," doclalo thatthe[zgn counting
":V.,*t-Jt"t. line with this mathematicat principle'
But a cultural investigaton jnto tho tyst"- reveals that it is on base
tw€,rrty. This system ltiXtnt "i"n"t"ti*t principles which T€ rct in
hafinon:y with the *Oi'f"""f way of "ot-tiog'
fno trditionat wriy of
counting is highly btt"d - **y so that toy ttt*'pt to doviafc ftom it
would rcsuh to # dcfocts,and it g€rilem[y-us€d. Bas€d on tbe above'
U* **aY is us€d in this book as woll'
,o
g
Now orrylete the followingI Ani...........-oi?2 Ye.........lamlnffi3 ...............mini4 ..............-ini5 Ebise.........-n€6 ................mi"i7 Mi.........--..-8 ..................d€
,"Hff:ffir':'ffi;That canoc is going adrift
Alasa is fishing with throwing net
Ebi-e're has paddlod acrcss
The river is riiingThis is abig flood
The flood has recoded
9 ........ ki i ma .....-murnini I am going fishing in the ocean
10 ........-...mi arnn ..-.....- Core let us to bathe in the sandbank
SECTION IIAfter nineteen(19)' thc
"si"; that is, two tens'
numeral aft€rtw€nty'For uanPlcr
rcst next cormting nuir is tv€nty and it is rcad
Gffi;a;"dty counted with anY other
21 is rcad si kgni feni
22isrcad simamqfeni30isr€ad sioYifeni31 is r€ad si oYi kgnifeniii l* teao si oYr trg f€ni and so on'
Note.'As atready expleained,35 is Fad 'Si oyi sggnrln f€ni'lxil oilH
atso bc rcad 'si die feni''Note also that me ailry is anived at sb "**i"g,
tb€r€ is always a
not€ of sto'p. It l, not oo--'ac"otrnt of having r€achcd a bosc brr rather a
counting rmit; for tbe -Vtt*t n^ already t6g[it"d ta "". F-but"'
In linc witb the"'ail' lg r read 'si oyi isc feai';6at' is' w
tw€aty,onetcnandnine.Brrtthemomtitclimbsontoforty(40)'thcni, ir -La 'ma si'; tbrt is , two twcnti€s'
.
Inthiswry; 60isrced taesrSO isrcad noi-asi
I
4,'
o
32
49
Table IIIzon Bngti* lzqn n-dltr
1YqU... Topaddle tl Bowei... Flood2 Yggdi..Knowhowto paddle l2BaanalBenieyeci... Dry Scason
3 Fin... Bait 13 Eyeri... R€cde4B,a,.... Kill 14 W919... Fish(c) scrambling for5 Tgry sii... To go fishing food excitedly6 Tgrybiri... Midriver 15 Weirghele Shak{Bottle/ Canoe)7Bgin... Tocroas l6Esanghan.-. Anenclosure asahap8 Tein... Shoot/Shock
q
fs
l0oisread sggnran silmisr€ad sondieasil4O is read sgngma si16Oisread niinasilg0isread iscnasiZ)0 is rcrd oyi a si
Again note the omission of oa" in the |zgn intapretation of l4o and 160,and the addition of nnan in l8O.
27fi is md oyi kgnisi feni2AA is read oyi ma si feni260 is read oyi tara a si feiri280 is read oyi nei-a si feiri300 is rcad oyi sggnrran feni or Die a si320 is read oyi sondie a si feni-)40 is read oyi sgno.ma si feni360 is read oyi niina si fsni38O is read oyi ise na si feni
SECTION IIIBefore going firther, I would like to make out the difference in Izrpcounting syst€m arnong two classes of thought which arc labellod classA and B rwpectivety.As from forty one (41) especially fifty(io) and above, there is a littlediff:reirce in the way nume,rals are read. while class A forgo using theconjunction omoo, class B always uses it. This is best explaind in thefollowing table-
GroupA4O....Ma si41...Ma si kgni feni45...Ma si sgo.nrgn feni5O...Ma oyi feiri55...Ma oyi sgo.nrgn f€ni67 .. lt an si so. ngrna feirilZ..Iarasi oyi ma feiri84...Nei-a si nein feni
Grcup BMa siMasimgkgnimgMa si nrg sggilpn mgMasimgoyimgMa si mg oyi sgo.nrpn feni rnqTara si mg so.ngma rngTara si mg oyi nulmg feni npNei-asimgnein mg
33
9 Gboin... sedthlow for fishl0 Bilee... To sink
SECTION III Ti eyq ki e ma mumini ni?2 'Ye endii dgg eygkamumini
17 Okun/agblq... Periwinkle18 Okpoku... Clam
Where are you going to?I amgoing (to do) fishing
3 Ti eve ki e m9 kgn endii dgg eyg a mumini ni?With what are you going (to do) fishing?
4 A sii tgrgbiri a mu k.umg o Do not go fishing into midriver5 Sama-ere ygldigha Sama-ere does not know how to paddle
6 A bodg o ygg tgryg @in Come Iet us paddle :lcross tlre river7 Muaniargmiabiygn Gotopassf,eaoesinthatcanoe8 Aladg oki timi oma p{ teinmi
Aladg was shocked by electric fish while swimming9 Akan-owei og@ gbeinmiai Akan-owei is fishing with cast-net
10 Ani beke ary.....That is an eirgine boat
11 Ti eirdiiama ki e mg ba ma o? What fishes did you catch
12 Endiibo bein ye;Sika,Ayin, Oma etc
There are many fishes;Ray, Silver fish, electric catfish etc
13 Ti fin ki e m9k9n siima o? What bait did youuse in fishing?14 E yin sii timi axsg pri bil€emi
Youmotherwas fishing wheir fhe canoe sank
15 Adapnwainbo aryg vgrg wai otoumiThe waves causdtbecmoe to capsired
cl
,!-
$tr
48
I
I
l02..Sggnran si ma feiri Sggran si mg rmrq mgl2?..Sondb a si sgngrna feni...Sondie a si mg sqnQrna mQ
la3..Sppasitargfeni SgngmasimqtarymQ150..Sgnp si oyi feni Sqngna si mg oyr mgl69.Niinr si iso fclti Niinasimqis€mg23O..Oyi k€ni si oyi feai Oyi kg{ si feni mq oyi mpZA2..$wsi malng feni Oyi ma si feni mq mamg mq
Note that as ftrom two hundred and thirty m Group B there is a littlochange. Thc 'feni' which always precedes the last 'm9' i4 othcr
numerals befone it@30), is withdrawn bapkwaxd- It s€rvos as a
demarsatiorc betrvm the twe,nti€s and the t€ns units.An robirsed invcstigation reveals that Group A is almost now extint
in thc Mcin Dfu:hct. ltis Group B that is in use. Bas€d on this ground, itis usod througloutthe rest of this work.
SECTION IVt It mgnfy oryodient to note that four hudred (a'00) was the counting
limit h mst plam in lzan land' cglled "Si o si', 'ondg"pr nandgn,
whilc in fee$ dhstrs it is one thousa*d (1,000), callod 'Egbgwao" Any
number <r mmting was based on {he muhiples of these numerals
respoctively ie thos€ differrent places' As "egbgwa" is travtlling to other
;ffi *trn'* it hd not been used, and on thc grormd thar it rrnkes a
gl€stctrandmgeconve,nientcountingnuit,lshouldliketouseitinthisbook.
Bes€d mr thc *ove" and the systein by Group B of thc two different
claegcgigsrc€imlllofthislesson,thenrwationasfromfourhundrcd will be as f,ollows:-
,tffiisr€ad Siasi'Ond9'A@
LESSON lsTIIN, RIVER
€'.{r
5 Sggbcni Ilightide6 Pglg-benilAmo.gn-beiri.fuwtide 39 Ala.. Saltwater7 Kusughu..- lvleander 4O Bomupali.Sole fish8 Tgrg-finii... River wiilth 41 Asa..-The stwp side of a river9 Ariri-.. Net 42Btob.. The swallow side
Izqn EnglicltI Tinarigha abadi...Oc€an2 Abadi... Sea
3 Tgng... River4 Adagnwain... Wave
10 Beiri-nama... Sea-animalllEndi... Fish12B€ni-ariri... seine-net13 Isakirisa... Drag net
16 Agbamghntegbene..Butterfly fish
17 Okiliyin Soapfish18 Oru.-. Juju19 Aygn... Butter fish?nE;beln... Dolphin2l Ago.".Swiryming crab
23 Edern-ofu-.. Shftnp24 Evutai... Whirlpool25 Abadi-kgri.. sae-sicks25 Abaditgkpa Lighthouse27 Ebi€s€ni Mud-fish
30 lrnpg.".-Catfish{clarias sp'p)
3r lkbi... Tiger-fish32 Ofiyou".. BackwarerSSObubu Puffier-fish
22D9rniniowei... Guinea-worm 55 Agii.. atypeoffish
Izgn English3TUg... Island35 Beke mg.. F.ngtne Boat36 Aqrgmq.,.Shark37 Sika... Ray38 Orna. Electric catlish
45 Bgmo.gn...Sandbank46 Aza,.. lady-fish@lopsl47 Emein.. Manatoe4? Ogbunu...- WaI€r woeds'
50 Otobo.... Hypopotamus51 Abala-arg... Sail-boatS?Egere... Ctocodile53 Sibiri......Alligaror54 Ewiri/Ere{ghaowei...Turtoise56 Agilgg..a seafish;parrot grunt57 Akgdimakgdi.. fresh water fish
58 Ekan bira...fiddler crab(Uca s)
59 Abadi-arg...a sea-going vessel
6O Abadi-okolai... Ctulew61Afgg... nSilverbrcam'
62Akpada... Large shrimp
65 ft-oin... Climbing-perch66 Kina... Nile-pench67 Saradaye...Trawl-line68 Bginm.okiri..The opposite side
la Ogbg... Throwingnet 48 Ogbo... Eel15 Apedi... type of Morrryridfish 49 Awiin/Ak-ula... ltrh
500 isr€ad60Si$rgld?misrreadSffiisc€ad90Ois@adlffii$rad
Mamdqmq*ise mqif based on4O0
Keniondgmgsggoran siryKqniondgnPoYrasimgKqni ondgrngdie asi mgMaOndgMaondgmq sqqffian'sirqEgbgwa or Ma ondg mq ryi a si mQ or
'D
+l
s
28 Ana...Cmaker ( Pseudolithus spp) 63 Ayolo... Ghost shrimp
29Ekpidi... (Gold€nfish?) 64Eweri...Moonfish
3447
10 Taraa Naira yai kgn mi alryani a tga ehlt in tbroe Naira worth (of onion) ilto this bag
l1 Tibg ki mi apg.eagbo ygrimini yan o? Who is selling thcse nails?13 Ebila-owei, bodg o fEg amu Ebila-owei,come let us go to m{rket
SECTION VThe counting systcm is tbc sanp as tcarod above eveir if it ciirnbs overone thousand. Basically" after one thousandjt i$ ss follows:-
1000 is kgni egbgu'a2000 is maegbgwa3000 is tara egbgwa4O00 is neinaegbgwa5000 is sggnran egbgwa6000 is sondieaqgbgwa7000 is smgrna egbgwa8000 is niina egbgwa90rJ0 is isenaegbgwa
wheir it comes to one minion, what will you say? Tmditicm hords thatisbiaiuiri has alwdys be€n used wheir uncountabte situation prevails; thatis, beyond counting. In line with this tradifion, I have no alternativeother than to appiy it for one million.
In ttris way: 1p00,000 is read kgn! igbidibiri or Egbidibiri2pmp00 is r€d ma igbidibiri orEgbidibiri3p00O00 is rcad tara igbidibiri o,
"gUldifiri and so on.
la Adqr+ kpg e np f9d9?...
Now complete the following:-1 .---...rnuuminiyan?
5 Fgpni.......€Nni6 .......Tuomg....mi
Have bought salt also?
Will you go to market?
Things are cheap in the marketThat is Tuomo's rnarket
2 .....-..e mg fE i yarimini ni? Whar will you go and buy for me?3 .......ki emamuminini? Which market are you going to?4 ....... kpg fggmi a emi yan? Are th€rt: books also in the market?
f,
1'lr
7 ..... ki......dggmini yan o? How rnany books do you want to buy?I ....-ki'a ma .... ygrimini yan? Where are they selling books?9 l.....mu.....fe.....mini Iwantto go to andbuy shoe frromthemarket10 .... e ma ...ma? Who did you se,lrd to buy something from the market?
1Ar
,t ''
:C
46 35
F
rJssoN 14
LESSON 11
MEASI]RATIONSECTIONI - . .. f_-^ -iJi,i*"gv, the following rmits were usod by the lzgn rnan m
nr$lurcnr€nt- TheY are-(1) "Bira_isaagbata",tnat is, nfmger.,Hence people sometirnes say, it is\-/
'ffil;r":isangbalan , thal is' ' a fingeds leirgth" '' an tn" other units are applied in similar way'
IT,IARIruT
tr"i
Trble IV# F-nglfidt
I Fo.g... Ma*ef2 Fogkiii... Martensfte3 Fgg-wari... Mdd stall4 Eyedg... DisplaYofgoods5 Ygri... SeIl6 Bidg... Cloth7 Saka... Trursers8 Apgrgdt1..- Nails9 Ary... Ciloc10Dqgi... Jugf l Egodo-yin. Padlock
12Egodo-bira... Kery
13Tibi-zalaye... Crmb14 Qzag... Beans
15 A@... Basket16 Beritgaqe... Euing17 Oyinbu... Sugar18 Fun-g9gbisa."- Pen
19 FqB-arB... C.anoe loadod
20 Ozoboogu..- bmass
SECTION trl Mitifo.gao?2 Mi Bomadi fgg3 Mu kqni egodeym fe i Vgri.-.a FgBmi ti eyg ka emi Yan?--.
lry2l Arya...
Eng[*Onions
22 AOar.m/Emg.ufou... Salt
23 frm... Books?A Ahla -- Bag25 F*ef*e... Saw26 Ygri eye . articles for sale
n Sibeye... gun
28 Anda..- Paint29 Osi... Snail3b Fgrg... Eartheir-ware Plate31 Ekeluku... StaPles
32Esanf@Algtg/Asede Plale33A&maku.,. Plate34 EQodi-{p.um9ye.. camPhor35 Abogidi..- Bucket36 Y9$ry'Ogige-kgriye... Hinges
3TEkeleku-.. StaPleE
33 Fggsai..- To send to rnartet39 Aghl@... Sword4O Pome. qkpa... flashligbt
Which market is this?This is Bomadins market
Goto buy rne apadlogkWhereis the market?
Q)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(e)
"Birazg" fhat is, none handsPann
"Blra-yainmqn, that is,n one cubit'
"niraaangai" that is, nan arn's leirgth'
'liUouu ikisen , that is, nhalf a fathomn
"Agbobu', that is, na fathom' .
"kfrnitp",tnar is, "height of ahrl-nan being'
"Bgg;, that is, na Pace (of the leg)"
"ero", nua is,na folen i tn" """ oUt i"A from the midrib of rafia
ffi - itt equivaleirt, irrespective of the length' Hence we
sometimes bsar people say in response to questions such as " IIos
O""g i--tn" ttob tiO. of tne rivert nMa asu olomu" that is"two
poles dwp")
Apart from the above, the following are also used:-
;ffi. ,* olomu; nmg;re onmi; Ekoku,olomu; apele olomu" that is'
"-A;fu;d;p; mJ dep; waist deep; shoulderdeep"
NOTE: ' ola 6min coulil as weil be used in the place of oolomu"
but nolornun specifically flre'ms ndepthn
SECTIONIIIt is unfortunate that the language has no equivalent words for the units in
the motric system' ifter"iot"-u"io in the metric system are to be
adultcrated. il<:trThe lincartable will be as follows:-
Mi$isnstre will rad nMilimitan
Ce'ntimctnr will read "S€ntimita"Decimstrc will read "Dqsimia'Metre wil! r€ad "Mita"
and its abbreviarion is orffnn
and its abbreviation is nsm"
and its abbreviation is "drn"and its abbreviation is 'm"
5 Endqna fE;-wa{ kimi fg-umi a emi ni?How many ma*et stalls are therc in this mrket?
6 Ti bra ki e m.q kp u-utabo ygrimin! ni?How are you selling the onions?
7 Sqilpn kgoi Nafua ki ygrimini ye- They are sold at five per Naira
S Zqsin ye. Please lower the price a little
9 Ghangban c, ba singha ye No, it shall mt be rcduced any morc
4536
-T28 Ekirainbraqbg$..,29 Bina-owei/Embirei.".30 Bina-arary/Embirag...31Yei...32 Egir€n/Ogireo...33 YabilYin kgriyinbo-owei34 Yaby'Yin kgriyinbo-arag35 Wari/Ekurun...36 Yab(owei) tgbeg...37 Yab(eygno. ) tgbgg...
The first born(fleir)BrctherSisterHusbandEoeinyUncleAuntFamilyNephewNiece
c
r*i
Kilometre will r€ad nKilomita" and its abbreviati*::r is ohrl"NOTE As there is no "c" in the languagc, centimetrp is e"hbreviated tonsmo, but I would prefer the use of nc" in the place of "s" for intcrnationalrecognition.
The mass and weight measure table will be as follows:-Milligramme will read "Miligram" and its abbreviation is "rngnCeirtigramme will read "Sgntigramn and its abhreviation is "sg"Decigramme will rcad nDesigramn and its abbreviation is "drnnGramme will read oGramn and its abbreviation is og"
Kilogramme will read oKilogramnand its abbreviation is "kg",NOTE: The note giveir in respect of centimetre applies to eeirtignmme.
The capacity meirure table (fluid volume) will be as follows:-Millilitre will read nMililitan and its abbreviation is ' ml'Centilitre will read oSg,ntilitan and its abbreviation is ,sl'D€ilitre will read nDgsilitan
Litr€ will road nl-itanand its abbreviation is "dl'
and its abbreviation is 'l'NOTE:\\o note give,n in respect of ce,ntimetre applies{o ccntititre also.
l.'
'1..
'-
M 37
LESSON t2CURRENCY
SECTION IIzgn llnd being not excqrted,Iike any other cormtry in the world before
the cvolution of money as we now have it today,had some objects ufrichwerc usod to satisfy the mon@ry dernands of its daily-activities. Thqse
objt*ts w€re:-
{r} 'Okubotgrgo; that is, cowEr. Coweries were popularly used as
nnn€y in rnany parts of Africa and Asia. It is a srnall shellwhich was tegally t€cognis€d md acceptod as money or an
objoct which was acc€,pted as a modium of exchange.
O) "Ekpdi"; that is, box. It ntas not the box usotl for clothes butthe qn?valent of a carton for drinks. Hence, nWunt ekpedi'which rReans 'a box (carton) of drinks that was used
oontained twelve bottles of itlicit gin.(c) 'Abo" or nAdoo; that is , basket. Financial transaction was
cfratod sometirnes by either a basketful of fish(es), tubem
ofyarrr, coconuts erc or any desired number of such baskets.
(d) 'Egbe"; that is, a type of dnrm that was used for liquidsubstances. Heiace, "Polou egbe' rneans one of such drumfullofpalmoil-
It is only one of the four objects givem above that still comes into use. Itis item (b)--"Ekp€di". n'Wuru ek@i" is used in some traditional issues
today in some places, all theothers have give'n way for mode'rn curreNrcy-
-thcy arc functional no trnore.
SECTI(}N XT
History gtaringly Enaintains that Nageria was once ruled by the British'and as a result the British pound sterling was recognised and used by
everybody in the Country.Though the pound stetling was changed to Naira and Kobo in 1973, but
the faurrrr cunrency still exerts great influe.nce in financial transactions in**me places in IzEn land in some traditional issues and among the
uno&rcstod. It would the,lefore be a wholesome idea if the former
curr€ncy is presentod in her deirominationsJt is as follows:-Ahini...Epqni...
One farthingHalf penny
t
e.t
7T9kpa.................. Lightthelarnp8 ......... beni zu bo Go and draw waler from the well9 Ololm .. The bottle is bqok€n
l0 Ebi..fgni pumini Ebi is chopping wood with an axc
Part trTHE HOUSE CONTII\ruH)
1
IrynI Opu dag...2 Opuyin...3 Foi/Fei/Fuowei...4 Yaforo...5 Agg-owei/Dogho-owei... Brother-in-law6 Aggarag/Yadogho.. Sister-in-law7 Bira-ere...8 Ekie-erp...9 Ta-..10 Yanfanran...11Nana...12Tg1lYeraQi...13 Ofuro...147.t..-t5 Tar1qbgg...16 Dumoun...17 Afinyoun...18 Panye...
21 Kgniyinbo-owei...22Kpjyinbo-arag-..23 Kgaidagbo-owei ...
24 Kgnidagbo-arag...
EnglishGrand farherGrandmotherFather-in-lawMother-in-law
a slave wifeA friendshipmariageWifeCo-wifeMarryDivorcePregnantBomGrand childGroat grandchildGreat greal grand childGreat great great grand child
Frell brotherFuli sisterHalf brotheHalf sister
19 (Afinyoun) Ekpinkpa... Great great great great grand child20 Ekawa... Grandchild of two slaves,
who bears the relation of great -grandchild to the ownerr,'I
.l
25 Kgr{yinbootuzi aw-ogama.. First cousins26 Tibiotu...27 Ko.nptUb-oU/
38 43
TrHe IIIzgn Engbh1 Mi... This2 Ani... That3 Kqnbo.. Bring4 F9... BuY
5 D,.. Look6 Bo... Come7 Fini... OP€NI
8 T€ri-.. Close
9 Tiin... Call
SECTION III,n rhis section, we shall learn how to constnrct. siryle -sentences with the
words with the assistane of those in Table tr'f Agoo di... Lok at the ory2 Mi i daq wili.-- This is my falheds house
f AnieYin... ThatisYorrmother4 Enibinaowei bomini--- Yourb'rotheriscoming5 Ogigcfui.-- QPenthe door
6 Ogigee teri..- Close the door
7 TurmkgniYari--- Bringmethe har
S Edagetiinmini.-- Ymfatheriscallingyou9 Mi k€ili.kglq.-- This is a walking stick
10 Obtuimi baionini- . The dog is running
l1-Obiriiqd€..- Tbdqgisddl2Wari-kirimia$--- Sweqrthefloor13 Iksimi ap€r€rtimi--- Sit m the chair
14I da$ ang-ofa .-- My farher is sick
15 il d;,lmqyin mq s4mini Yonrfafiher rod mothcare quelling
Now corylete the follrowing-I Ekp€dii...2 EYin3 ............ gbolo4 .5i4a-araP bainmini5 Mu .......i Vari6 Bomi
l+2
!z4n EngfshlOGbolo".. Ringll Pu... ftoP(wood)12Fa4... B€at(dntm)13 Pgi... Brcak14F€ni... Wood15 Beni zu.. Drawing water
16Tgni... Ligh(lamp)17 K€ni... One18 Anggfa.. Being sick
Openthe boxYmmotheris calling YouRingthcb€[
Yorr sisler is np4ingCrotobnrY mPddlcCme andbeattnis&um
Kepg/[email protected]'Sele...Sqryo.n a sili...Oyiasili...
OnepennyThree penceSix penceNine penceTwelvep€,ncepiys sfueilingsTe,n shellings
p Kenipo.en Cfweirty shellings)... One pound
Pggnrng sili mg One Guinea
Akpa... One hundred Pounds
To sore poople;wo Naira is always one pound whatever the Naira value
or vice v€rsa. If you come by such situation, divide wharavef, amount ofNaira there is by two and the answ€r. The highest counting limit among
the Ijaws, under this cont€xt, is nAkpan; that is, bag -it is equal to one
hundred pounds (9100). Now that the currancy is changed to Naira, it ispossible to rcad one hundrod Naira (N100;m) as nNaira akpa' but inpractice in many places it is two hundrd Naira (N20Oil0) that rnake up
the nakpa'.
In {zqn,the Naira is read last; for exarr4rle,
Nl ... KgN{Naira N20...Si a Naira ot Oyis Pg$nOnee it is up to forty Naira or above there is little changc--thc reverse
prevails. For example,N40:0o..Nairamasi or Siapo.BnN60:00...Nairatara si or Si oyi apo.gn feniN65... Naira tara si mq sgo.nr-w mQ or Si oui ma pg;n feni ry oyi m9
N70:00 . Nairataxa si mg oyi mg or Si oyi sqBnran pE;n feniN89:00 Naira nei-si nrr.o ise mg or Pggn a ma si mq nei-a pE;n rry oyi lnq
N10ft00 Naira akpa or Akpa ekise or Pggn a ma si rrlg oyl rryN120:fi) Naira sondie a si or Pggn a tara siN135:fl) Naira tara si mg oyr sgnrgn. or diqmq
. or Pggn a tara si rng sQno.ma p99n np oyi mqN147:fi) Naira sgngna si mq sqnqma mq
or Pggn a tara si mq oyi tar4 pQTn feni mq oyi mgNl50:00 Naira sgno.ma si mg oYi mq
or PE;n a tara si mg oyi sgenran pggn feni pg or db mg
39
$
l1
-TN160:00 Naira niina si or Po.pn a nei-a siN185:00 Naira ise na si mg sggnrqn mq
or Po.gn a nei-a si mg oyi *u p-o,Jo feni m9 oyi m9
N196:00 Naira ise na si m9 oyi sondie feni mgor P-o1m a nei-N si rng niina po.gn mq
N200:00 Ma Naira akpa or Kqni sili akpa-if the Pound system is used'
NOTE: Oncc it climbs onto eighty Naira and above, counting in Pounds
bears littlc change, nPo.gnn is mentioned first. Note also the use of the
word "feiri". It comesat the end of any number of pounds. It could occur
twice in som€ cas6s. Examine the above translation thoroughly and
master its use"
The counting treomes based on the multiples of two hundred (N200:00)
once it reaches two hundred or above.In this way;N4OO:0O... Nei-aNaira akpa orma akpa
N600:00... Sondie a Naira akpa or taraa akpa
N800:00... NiinaNaira akpaornei-aakpaNl000:00... Naira egbgwa (Not egbr;wa Naira)
SECTION IIIIf there is any &action on top of any two hundred Naira NZn:Oo), there
is change as follows.N250:00..Naira oyi ma si feni mg oyi mg
or Ma Naira akPa mg ma si mq oYi mgor Akpamg si sgo.nran Pqgn feni mq
N300:00.. "Taara Naira akPa
or Akpamgekisemgor AkpamgPQUn a masimgoYimg
N350:00...TaraNaira akpamg ma si mg oyi mgar Akpa mg pqgn a taara si m9 oyi sQglqon fe'ni mg or die mp
N510:00"......Sggnran Naira akpa mg oyi mgor Ma akpa mg po.Un a ma si mg oyi s99ru9n feni mq or die m9
N663:00....Sondie aNairaakpamq tara si mq targ mq
or Tara akpa mg si oyi kEni pggn fmi mq oyi mq
N876:0O...Niina Naira akpa m9 tara si mq oyi sondie feni m9
or Nein a akpa mg si oyi nina pg;n fc'ni mg ; and so on.
q.'!,
LESSON 13
TiIE IIOUSE
It is assumed that the foreign lcarne.r has beeir acquainted with manywords now, and has also leamt how to pronounce and spell themcorrectly. In gene,ml, it is assumed that the studeirt has grasped theworking of grammar in Izo,n language.It is now time to apply it into use.There are two tables giveir below. Study thern well and do the exercisegiveir.
i1!'r
(:)
Tahlo IIzqn EnglishI Agg... cup2 Panghan... a gourd cup3 Apia/Ogidi... cutlass4lpia-abg,.. scabbard5 Ogoun... :u(e
6 Apala..- atre7 Ekpedi... box8 Kasi... chair9 Ogun... a gourd pot10 Tun... hat11 Obiri... dog12 Adgin... knife13 Asisa... umbrella14 Ogige... door15 Olomu... well16 Egbagi... hob17 Egbomu... bell18 Ozi... drum19 Obori... goat2.0 Alagba... gun21 Amatu... city22 Amila. -. husband-less
woman23 Agg... respect,honour
A Arsqq'... a eartheirjar25 Akpg.gtun Eton cap26 TTkpa.". larnpTl Ololo... bottle28 Ygwgi... paddle29 Aagere... bicycle30 Akppgrg... basket3l Engasi... spoon32 Okoygrg.-. spoon33 Atgng/Ivlgzg... table3 Ak919... walking stick35 Afinyoun... broom36 Dag... father37 Yin... mother38 Bina-owei... brotl'c'39 Bina-arag... sister40 Warikiri... floor41 Tibiso.n... kitcheir42 Angala... charcool43 Beke-odin... pomade,t4 Abggrg... dagger45 Ago-koromg... consumate
marriage;46 Bidg-oku... bodbug47 Obine-a-san... bod-wetting48 Atagba... gun
40 4t