tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-204966369268413571.post5447436358421973877..comments2023-10-15T04:32:28.243-07:00Comments on Nigeria Otedo News And Blogs: General Rule Learning Edo - Nigerian Languageotedotv@gmail.comhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17905489388015579796noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-204966369268413571.post-79382131902542498932014-02-11T06:51:48.361-08:002014-02-11T06:51:48.361-08:00The Edo Alphabet:
A Look At The Benin Letters And ...The Edo Alphabet:<br />A Look At The Benin Letters And Sounds By RICHMOND .E. IDAEHO<br /> <br />It is specifically important at this point to direct attention at the alphabetical system of the Edo people, considering the present circumstances of the Edo language, which is almost fading away as a result of the influence of<br />other cultures within and outside the Nation state, Nigeria, in which the Edo<br />ethnic group occupy the present Edo state´ and by extension, parts of Ondo,<br />Delta, and Anambra states. Language, it should be noted, is part of a people´s<br />culture. It is the one most important means of expressing a people´s culture,<br />values, and beliefs.<br />It is used for communication, interaction and exchange of ideas. Consequently, the extent to which a people´s language is developed and influenced necessarily reflects upon the culture of the people, and a change or<br />loss of language invariably affects the perception of the people; viz their<br />culture and socio-cultural realities. thus, language is a means of<br />experiencing, and perceiving the environment and at same time, of communicating<br />same to others. In view of the foregoing, the Edo language is therefore the<br />medium of interaction within the cultural frame of the Edo people. The unit<br />constituents of language are the alphabets, and to properly understand the<br />nature of the Edo language, it is important to have recourse to the alphabets<br />and sounds which make up the language. In this piece, the focus will be the Edo<br />- Benin/Bini tribe of the Edoic race or ethnic group. The objective of this<br />paper is to present the Edo alphabet and sounds in relation to the Edo language<br />as core to the people´s socio cultural´ development and survival, and to expose<br />certain misapplication of. the language and/or introduction´ of foreign letters<br />and sounds into the Edo alphabet. Here the words Edo, Benin and Bini shall be<br />used interchangeably. There are 24 alphabets in the Edo language with 7 (vowels<br />and 17 consonants. Interestingly, there are also 7 pairs of consonants (that is<br />the pair or double consonants) which though are not part of the 24 consonant<br />letters.<br /> <br />They occupy a special category in the Edo alphabetical system and are pronounced differently from the single consonants. The Benin letters include the following: a/aa/; b/bi/; d/di/; e/a; e/e/; f/fi/; g/gi/; i/i/;; h/hi/; k/k<br />a I; 1/1 a I; m/mi/; n/nil; o/;Q/or/ p/pi/; r/ril; s/si/; tltil; u/uu/; v/vi/;<br />w/wi/; y/yi/; z/zi/. The vowels include a; e;e;i o/o;and u, while the<br />consonants are b• d• f• g. h• k• I• m• n• p: r• s• t• v• w• y. and z The double<br />consonants, which are combinations of two consonant letters and sounds, include<br />the following: gb, as in Ugbowo; gh, as in ughe; kh as in Ekhosuehi; kp as in<br />Akpakpava; rh, as in Erhun; mw as in Omwan; and vb as in Ovbokhan. These´<br />double consonants are pronounced together and not separately or arbitrarily<br />choosing and pronouncing one of them as most people, of other ethnic groups,<br />do.<br /> <br />There are also corresponding double consonants in other Edoic groups or tribes. For example bh, as in Ibhadomen; kp as in Okpebho; gh as in Ighalo in Esan. In Etsako, there is vh as in Ivhador etc. The bh in Esan and vh . in<br />Etsako, are closely pronounced like the vb in Benin. Also to be noted is wh as<br />in Emoborowho; kp as in Akpo; gh as in oghene; rh as Omoriobokirhie; in Urhobo<br />and ts as in Oritsejafo in Itsekiri etc.• It is clear from the above that there<br />is no j/ji/ in the Benin alphabet nor is there the shl C / or kr/kri/ double<br />consonants or sounds. It is therefore surprising how certain ,words purportedly<br />claimed to be Bini words are then pronounced or even spelt with “j” and “sh”,<br />“kr”, etc. This is. rather a misnomer and a far shift from the Bini language,<br />hence the people´s socio-cultural reality. A people´s alphabetical system<br />constitutes the basis of their word formation (morphology) and the sound<br />dictates their pronunciation (phonetics).<br /> otedotv@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17905489388015579796noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-204966369268413571.post-7747757142718599642014-02-11T06:47:48.450-08:002014-02-11T06:47:48.450-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.otedotv@gmail.comhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17905489388015579796noreply@blogger.com