The modern Igbo alphabet (Igbo: Mkpụrụ Edemede Igbo), otherwise known as the Igbo alphabet (Mkpụrụ Edemede Igbo[1]), is the alphabet of the Igbo language, it is one of the three national languages of Nigeria.[2] The modern Igbo alphabet is made up of 36 letters,[3] which includes only a 23-letter set of the ISO basic Latin alphabet minus Q and X, which are not part of Abidịị Igbo. C is not used other than in the digraph 'ch' and proper names. The alphabet uses the dot above on the letter , and the dot below on , and .

Mkpụrụ Edemede Igbo
Ásụ̀sụ́ Ìgbò
Niger-Congo, Atlantic-Congo, Volta-Congo, Volta-Niger, Igboid
Languages
ISO 15924
ISO 15924Latn (215), ​Latin
Unicode
Unicode alias
Latin
 This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

There are numerous Igbo dialects, some of which are not mutually intelligible. The standard written form of Igbo is based on the Owerri and Umuahia dialects of Igbo.

A New Standard Orthography has been proposed for Igbo, and it was used, for example, in the 1998 Igbo English Dictionary by Michael Echeruo, but it has not been otherwise widely adopted. In this orthography, diaeresis replaces the dot below (ï ö ü), and the ch digraph is not used.

Letters

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The 36-letter alphabet is called Mkpụrụ Edemede or Abidịị, featuring 28 consonants (mgbochiume) [clarification needed]and 8 vowels[4] (ụdaume).

Igbo alphabet
Aa
IPA: a
Bb
IPA: b
CHch
IPA: t͡ʃ
Dd
IPA: d
Ee
IPA: e
Ff
IPA: f
Gg
IPA: g
GBgb
IPA: ɡ͡ɓ~ɓ
GHgh
IPA: ɣ
GWgw
IPA: ɡʷ
Hh
IPA: ɦ
Ii
IPA: i
IPA: ɪ̙
Jj
IPA: d͡ʒ
Kk
IPA: k
KPkp
IPA: k͡p~ɓ̥
KWkw
IPA:
Ll
IPA: l
Mm
IPA: m
Nn
IPA: n
IPA: ŋ
NWnw
IPA: ŋʷ
NYny
IPA: ɲ
Oo
IPA: o
IPA: ɔ̙
Pp
IPA: p
Rr
IPA: ɹ~ɾ
Ss
IPA: s
SHsh
IPA: ʃ
Tt
IPA: t
Uu
IPA: u
IPA: ʊ̙
Vv
IPA: v
Ww
IPA: w
Yy
IPA: j
Zz
IPA: z

See also

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References

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  1. ^ ezinaulo. "Igbo Alphabet". Ezinaulo.
  2. ^ "Discover the fascinating history, language and culture of Nigeria". World Travel Guide. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  3. ^ Nkamigbo, Linda Chinelo (2011-10-14). "Phonology in Teacher Education in Nigeria: The Igbo Language Example". African Journal of Teacher Education. 1 (1). doi:10.21083/ajote.v1i1.1593. ISSN 1916-7822.
  4. ^ Agbo, Maduabuchi Sennen (2013-09-30). "The Morphosyntactic Coding of Focus Structure in Igbo". Journal of Universal Language. 14 (2): 53–78. doi:10.22425/jul.2013.14.2.53. ISSN 1598-6381.
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