Ukwuani Language
Beginner Ukwuani Language Lesson
About this Course
The Ukwuani language is spoken in 61 broad communities: It is a branch of the Volta-Niger language family and have slight dialectal differences in the Language based on their closeness to the four ethnic groups at their borders. These are: Igbo, Urhobo, Edo and Ijaw. The influence of these Languages is manifest in slight variations in their pronunciation manifesting in different dialects namely: Onuaboh dialect (Ndosumili area), Akashiada, Utagba (kwale) and Osissa dialect.
The one spoken by the majority of the people is the Utagba dialect. It is easily understood by the speaker of the other dialects and it is the dialect that is used for Ukwuani language studies. Ukwuani language is also included in the list of 27 Nigerian languages approved by the Federal Government for the purposes of “mother tongue education”.
There are numerous Ukwuani dialects, some of which are not mutually intelligible. In this course, we have adopted the standard Utagba and our team of researchers and experts are working to standardize the language across all the communities where it is spoken.
This course has been carefully structured and designed to help you get grasps with the language; stringing words into sentences and communicating in Ukwuani language as quick as possible.
We have put in more emphasis on areas that will enable you learn to communicate using the Ukwuani language, while toning-down on the linguistics.
Course Contents
01. Lesson One
Ukwuani Alphabets
There are iri ẹtọ ni ẹsatọ (39) letters in the Ukwuani Alphabet, which can be called MKPỤLỤ OKU, or Abidii (A B D). The English letters not found in the Ukwuani alphabet include C, Q, and X.
There are various ways to order all of the alphabets in the Ukwuani language. Here is one popular way to order the letters in the Ukwuani alphabet:
| Letter | Letter | Letter | Letter | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-a | B-b | CH-ch | D-d | E-e |
| Ẹ-ẹ | F-f | G-g | GB-gb | GH-gh |
| GW-gw | H-h | I-i | J-j | K-k |
| KP-kp | KW-kw | L-l | M-m | MM-nn |
| N-n | NN-nn | Ṅ-ṅ | NW-nw | NY-ny |
| O-o | Ọ-ọ | P-p | R-r | S-s |
| SH-sh | T-t | U-u | Ụ-ụ | V-v |
| W-w | Y-y | Z-z |
Ukwuani Vowels
There are ẹsatọ (8) different vowels in the Igbo alphabet. The vowels with (“dots/points”) under them are pronounced differently than the vowels without them.
Ukwuani, an Igbo language dialect, has nine distinct vowels: /i/, /I/, /e/, /ɛ/, /a/, /o/, /ɔ/, /u/, and /u/ These vowels are divided into two harmonic sets, with /a/ belonging to both.
Vowel Harmony:
Ukwuani, like many other Igbo languages, exhibits vowel harmony, meaning vowels tend to group into sets based on their articulation (e.g., front vs. back).
Ukwuani Consonants
Ukwuani consonants include b, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, p, s, t, v, w, y, and z. Additionally, Ukwuani orthography uses digraphs like ch, gb, gh, gw, kp, kw, nw, ny, sh, and zh.
Detailed Breakdown:
Consonants:
Ukwuani has a total of 18 consonants. These are: b, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, ñ, p, s, t, v, w, y, and z.
Digraphs:
Ukwuani also utilizes ten digraphs, which are combinations of two letters that represent a single sound. These digraphs are: ch, gb, gh, gw, kp, kw, nw, ny, sh, and zh.