Paper 9

Journal of College of Language and Communication Arts Education, Lagos State University of Education.
VOL 1, NO 1. AUGUST 16, 2022- ISSN: 2971-5067
Lexical Variation in Igbo Language: A Comparative Study of Standard Igbo Language

and Opi Dialect in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State
Eze, Cyprian Chidozie and Eze, Mabel Nkechinyere
D.O.I: 10.5281/zenodo.8278059
Abstract
Whenever we talk of language, we talk of varieties. Varieties bring about dialects. Many have
attempted to group Igbo dialects andin this attempt mopped up non related dialects into a
particular group focusing mainly on geographical location. Opi is in Nsukka Local
government Area of Enugu state of Nigeria. Opi dialect has some distinctive features. Vowel
elision is common in Opi dialect that we even have many words without a vowel. This is
strange to the standard Igbo language although some other dialects in Nsukka Local
Government like Ohodo, Ekwegbe have such examples but this is more prominent in Opi
dialect.We also discovered variation in conjunction, negation and aspects.
Key Words: Variation, Dialect, Language, Lexis and Linguistics.
1.0 Introduction
One of the fundamental units of linguistic structure is the word. In the human ability to use
language creatively, words play an important role. In fact, there is no language without
words. According to Adrian et al (2012), “far from being a static repository of memorized
information, a human vocabulary is a dynamic system”p. 13. They further stated that we can
use words at will. We can even expand their meanings into new domains.
According to Adrian and his group, “our vocabulary has an open endedness that contributes
to our creative use of language’’. According to Pinker (1999), “Children just entering school
command 13,000 words……. A typical high school graduate knows about 60,000 words; a
literate adult, perhaps twice that number p.3
According to Winkler (2012:260-261), “language change is so slow, it is almost not

noticeable, except in the lexicon. New slangs words are commonly acquired and lost as each
generation makes its contribution to a language.” According to him, some of the changes are
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permanent, like the addition of the decades-old slang word cool, word ‘cool’ which dates
back at least to the 1920s.
Collins and Mees (2013:157) stated that lexical variation is where the phoneme chosen for a
word or a specific set of words is different in one accent as compared with another. This can
affect either a very large group of words or a very small group.Lexicons are referred to as the
list of words in any language.
Language changes and as a result of changes, we have dialects and different language or
languages. Elugbe (1990) states thus:
Language changes in patterned way overtimes and

spaces. One language begets dialects in space and then
time makes then divergent that they become separate
languages. In this way, one original language can
become hundreds.p.12
He goes further to say that the fact that language changes in systematic manner means that
given a number of related languages, their ancestral form can be reconstructed with varying
degrees of accuracy, depending on the availability of in-depth synchronic studies of the
modern descendants (daughter-language) of that ancestor.
When we talk of language change, we talk of lexical variation.
As we mentioned earlier, words are so important in any language that no language can exist
without words. According to Rothfuss (2014:2), “words are pale shadows of forgotten names.
As names have power, words have power. Words can light fire in the minds of men. Words
can bring tears from the hardest hearts”.
Background of the Study
Igbo the mother tongue of the Igbo people is one of the three major national languages in
Nigeria. The other two are Hausa and Yoruba; hence Nigeria is operating three national
languages. Azuonye (2002) as cited in Egwuonwu (2016:79) states that Igbo as the native
language of the Igbo people has over 20million speakers around the world. Igbo is one of the
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eight major languages in the Benue Congo group of African languages and has been
classified as a member of the ‘Kwa’ subgroup of the Niger-Congo family.
Igbo has several dialects and it is spoken in all the states in Igbo land. They are Anambra,
Imo, Enugu, Abia, Ebonyi and some parts of Delta and Rivers states. According to
Egwuonwu (2016:79), it is also recognised as a minority language of Equatorial Guinea. It is
also written in the Latin script which was introduced by the British colonialist. As we have
stated earlier, Igbo has many dialects. Some put it to be up to thirty dialects, some of which
are not mutually intelligible. Nwaozuzu (2008:10) grouped these dialects into eight. These
are 1. West Niger Group of dialects, 2. East Niger Group of Dialects, 3. East Central group of
dialects, 4. Cross River Group of Dialects, 5. South Western Group of Dialects, 6. North
Eastern Group of Dialects, 7. South Eastern Group of Dialect and 8. Northern Group of
Dialects.
As a result of these many dialects, there are various ways to spell and pronounce the same
word in different dialects. It is noted that there are different grammar rules and letters in Igbo
dialects (http//ezinaulo.com). Some Igbo dialects include Nsukka, Onitsha, Owerri,
Abakaliki, Ụmụahịa and so on. It is pertinent to note that within these major dialects
mentioned and some not mentioned, there are sub dialects, for example in Nsukka there are
many sub dialects as there are towns. The way an Opi person speaks is not the way Edeoballa
person speaks and the same applies to other towns in Nsukka senatorial zone. For this, this
research concentrates on Opi dialect and how it deviates from the standardized Igbo language
both phonologically and lexically. It will go further to identify the rules leading to the
phonological deviations.
This standardized Igbo dialect is not taken from one dialect of Igbo. According to
Ezikeojiaku (1989), the standardized Igbo are taken from dialects like Owerri, Ụmụahịa and
other Igbo dialects. In spite of the numerous dialects, the standardized Igbo language is
understood by virtually every Igbo native speaker not minding the native dialect.
According to Egwuonwu (2016),
Igbo displays considerable dialects variation yet without ever

seriously hampering immediate mutual intelligibility. ‘Igbo
niile na-asụ n’olu n’olu otu”p.79
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According to Achebe and Nga’ang’a (2007), ‘’Linguists recognize up to five major dialect
clusters and more than fifteen main Igbo dialects in existence’’. They accepted that studies on
Igbo dialectology are ongoing and asserted that the final number is likely to be higher. Many
Igbo linguists have devoted their time to the study of their own dialects or some other popular
dialects resulting in the fact that some dialects have remained largely unstudied. One of such
dialects is the Opi dialect of a sub – dialect of Nsukka in Enugu state.
Nwozuzu (2008) grouped Igbo language into eight major groups. She states that “the study
does not make any pretentious claim of being perfect or final (Nwozuzu 2008:132). Upon all
the numerous studies going on in Igbo dialects, little or none has been done in Opi dialect.
The scientific interest in the study of Igbo language began quite early in the nineteenth
century in missionary circle in Sierra Leone where knowledge of African languages were
seen as a necessary tool in the bid to evangelise the continent (Afigbo 1981:355). According
to Afigbo, this interest had come to take deep root by the middle of the century. Between
1852 and 1900, over ten works had been published in Igbo language mainly by missionaries
and their aides. Most of these were grammar books, word lists and collection of proverbs,
while the rest were translation of the bible into various dialects of the language.
The study of Igbo language and grammar in particular started many years ago. The early
writers of the Igbo grammar books were foreigners. In 1861, Shaw published Grammatical
Elements of the Igbo Language. In 1882, Crowder produced Vocabulary of the Igbo
language. In 1892, Spenser produced A Small Ibo Grammar and in 1901, A first Grammar of
Ibo Language. Three years later, Crowder’s Original primer was enlarged into two volumes
reader, Ibo Reader I and II (Emenyonu 1978:23). In spite of the early beginning in the writing
of Igbo grammar, studies in Igbo grammar had a slow growth.
Among the reasons for the slow growth could be attributed to the orthography controversy
which existed between the missionaries and the inability of the Igbo mother-tongue speakers
to accept a particular dialect as a standard Igbo. Another reason was lack of interest by the
Igbo native speakers to research into their language. Igbo native speakers especially the elites
embraced English language so much that they preferred speaking it to Igbo. In fact an
educated Igbo man was a man who could speak English fluently, a situation which obtained
among other Nigerians as Fafunwa (1990) attests:
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Throughout most of the colonial period 1842-1959, Nigerian

formal education was patterned after the English system. The
accent was in English and an educated Nigerian was one who
was only African in colour but English in thought and culture.
The ability to speak English fluently and if possible with
Oxford accent was the hallmark of excellence, even if the
speaker was empty of thought and ideas. Indeed an illiterate
who could speak English was considered educated even
thought he could not read or write where was a well cultured
Yoruba, Hausa, Edo or Ibo who could read and write in his
mother-tongue was considered illiterate Fafunwa p.9.
It was very strange some years ago to see a graduate of Igbo. Even now some still wonder
why someone should go to the University to study Igbo not to talk of researching in a
particular Igbo dialect.
Thanks to the national policy on Education (NPE 2004) that made the study of Igbo and other
major Nigerian languages compulsory in secondary school, (NPE 1989). This policy has
made the graduates of Igbo language highly marketable. More people are now showing
interest in Igbo language study, though much of the interest is in the field of literature rather
than the study of grammar. It is hoped that interest in language will match that of literature. In
the field of language, little attention has been paid to the area of dialects of Igbo. This has
moved the researcher to work on the Opi dialect a sub-dialect of Nsukka.
LanguageLanguage and variation go together. It is said that variety is the beauty of life. This
can be seen in language just like every other aspect of human life. The only thing that is
constant is change yet the pattern of occurrence is still not static. All human activities
experience change in one way or the other. Language is mainly oral for this change is
inevitable. Language being a means of communication inherently changes from place to
place, person to person, community to community and even time to time.
In this research, attention will be focused on the pattern of language variation in Opi dialect
community and expose how the dialect varies from the standard Igbo language. Attention is
on the comparative approach. Linguistics is the scientific study of language which
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comprises very many field of investigation. This research is based on sociolinguistics which
we know as the study of the relationship between language use and the structure of the
society. The focus here is on the standard Igbo and Opi dialect of Igbo.
Location of Opi Town
Before we go further, it is pertinent that we give insight into the location of Opi. Opi is a town
in Nsukka local government area of Enugu State. Presently is made up of four autonomous
communities which are Idi Opi, Ibeku Opi, Ogbozara Opi and Opi Agụ communities. Opi has
over eleven thousand inhabitants.
According to Eze (1985:1), Opi has a large land area and is the most extensive area in Igbo
Ishi which is made up of Opi, Ede Oballa, Ekwegbe, Legja, Ozalla and Ohodo. According to
him, it comes next in population after Akụ and Enugu Ezike in the present Nsukka zone. Opi
is made up of three major quarters each which consists of several villages. The three quarters
are Idi, Ibeku and Ogbozara.
Opi is located some sixty two kilometres North of Enugu, twenty two kilometres North of
Enugu, twenty one kilometres south of Obollo-Afor and about eleven kilometres south of the
University town o Nsukka. Opi is bounded at the North-east by Eha Alumona, on the North
by Ede-oballa, on the East by Mbu and the North West by Lejja, on the west part of Opi by
Ohodo and on the South is Ekwegbe, a historical friend neighbour. At the far North-east is
Leke while Ugwogo in the present Nkanu local government area shares boundary with Opi on
the South-east. It is at the junction of two important road networks, the ninth mile Makurdi
express road and the smaller east west Ugwogo road which partially divides the town into two
equal halves and as it moves further west it moves along the Idi-Ogbozara borderland.
Eze (1985:2) states, in describing this part of the Northern Igbo land, ethnographers have
traditionally described the fourteen communities of Nsukka zone as Elugwu sub-cultural
group of the Northern Igbo which Opi is one, may be regarded as forming the arrow head of
the Igbo drive Northwards into the wooded Savana of the middle belt.
The population of Opi as of 1930s was 8,928 people by 1963 the population rose to 18,000.
By 1979, Opi had a population of 20,000 and by 2006 the population has gone down to
11,000. The reduction in population may be as a result of migration of many young people to
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the urban areas like Enugu, Onitsha and other states in Nigeria and outside in search of juicy
jobs.
Opi and the rest of Nsukka communities occupy the south-eastern scarp lands. Opi has many
hills, valleys and rivers. The highest of the hills is Ugwurogo in Ibeku Opi. The two major
rivers are Uwhere Ogbozara and Apị Opi in Idi Opi that is worshiped by people from all parts
of Opi. Uwhere is also a river which the Ogbozara people make sacrifice to it’s goddess and a
source of the best sharp sand in the whole of Nsukka senatorial zone. It is a powerful source
of income to the Ogbozara Opi people. The deepest valley in Opi is the Okpooro Ọkwachị.
The Uwhere River and Apị Opi are located half way between Opị Ụlọ and Opi Agụ at Opi
Agụ, there is a network of streams and rivers. Prior to the coming of pipe borne water in some
parts of Opi, the people depended on these streams, rivers, and rainfall for water supply.
The opi na atọ Emelegenyi Ogwuguwu as is referred to, is made up of three quarters Idi Ibeku
and Ogbozara. Opi Agụ is made up of people from these quarters, Idi Ibeku and Ogbozara.
Opi Agụ is made up of people from these quarters. Of recent, Ogbozara, Ibeku, Idi and Opi-
Agu are now autonomous communities recognised and approved by the Enugu state
government.
It is important to note that these four autonomous communities that now make up Opi natọ
Emelegenyi Ogwugwu speak the same dialect that are distinct from standard Igbo and also
from other sub-Nsukka dialects as we will see in this research,
In this paper, lexical variation will be treated. Here we will focus on the alternation involving
lexical items. This implies that while the standard Igbo speakers use a particular linguistic
item, the Opi dialect speakers record a completely different lexical item. It also means that
the items used by the Opi dialect speakers are not cognate (of the same origin) with those
used by the Standard Igbo users. Below are examples in Data 1.1.0
Data 1.1.0
S/N Opi Dialect Standard Igbo Gloss
1. Onyenye Nwaanyi Woman
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2. Paa εka Jarua Too much
3. Ụsebe ajọ ihe Bad thing/evil
4. Ụkpara Ogbenye Poverty
5. nwọ∫ua Ugbua Now
6. oyị Mma Good
7. Gbàlià Kulie Get up
8. εgara Mbem Poem
9. Kaa Ndo/biko Please/sorry
10. Iyeosu Ofe
11. Ote Mgba Wrestling
12. Meyi Tinye Put (as in put soup)
13. Awha Afo Year
14. εchụchụ ụtarị Cane
15. ∫ụa Hịa Twist
16. Mpεrεtε Okpu achara Hat
17. Njịla Eju Snail
18. nkεhụrụ Akupe Hand fan
19. εkprihe Egwusi Melon seed
20. abịa Igba Drum
21. Ivom Ogele Metal gong
22. Opioro Ime ime ụlọ Inner room
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23. n: Nye Give
24. Ịda Akpa Bag
25. Kàá Kwuo Say
26. εmεrεmε Mma Beauty
27. jị Ga Will
28. Wawa Mba No
29. Nwajaa Obere Small
30. Enyekwu Usekwu Kitchen
31. Òkwú Obi Sitting room
32. εhọ afọ Stomach
33. Akpata - Ceiling
34. Oba Iko Cup
35. εwhụrụ Okwute Stone
36. εkεtε ọtọ/ụrọ mme Mud
37. Gbalia Kulie Rise
38. n Nye Give
39. jị Ga Wil
40. Ka Biko Please
41. Nwajaa Obere Small
42. Kaa Kwuo Say
43. εchụchụ utarị Cane
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44. ụkpara Ogbenye Poverty
45. ọmegọ agụgọ Argument
46. Jaara Ogede Plantain
47. Nohu Ebe ahụ There
48. Nonwa Ebe a Here
49. Gbalia Kulie Get up
50 Abia Igba Drum
51 εshị ahụ Pig
52 ekprịhe Egwusi Melon seed
53 Njịla Eju Snail
54 Ize Eze Teeth
55 ụma Mma Knife
56 Mpεrεtε Okpu achara Hat
57 fee Hea Fly
58 fọnye Whanye sequence
59 afọ Awha Year
60 funyụọ whụnyụa blow off
61 fọtuo ite n’oku hotuo ite n’ọk remove pot from fire
62 afọ àhọ afọ market
63 ụfụfụ ụhụhụ Foam
64 ofe Iyeosu Soup
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65 tufuo Tuwaa Lose
66 pụọ f:a go out
67 pụta Fta come out
68 kaa Biko please
Conjunction Variation
The following co-ordinators have been recognized in standard Igbo:
Na (and), mana (but/yet), ka/si (or), ma (including) ma…ma (including…including)

(both…and), nke (nor/not to talk of). Uba-Mgbemena (1993), Emenanjo (1978) recognized
only the following coordinators: na (and), ka…ka (both…and), kwa…kwa (both…and),
ma…ma (as…so).
However, in Opi dialect, we have another variety that differs from some of the coordinators
listed above as we can see below:
Data 2.1.1

1. Nε Na And
2. Mεnε Mana But/yet
3. Ji Ga Will
4. Mε Ma Or
5. Mεnεtε - Even though
5. mε…mε ma…ma Including..including
6. Gε Ga Will
7 Ge Ga Will
The alternation here is the alternation of /a/ sound with that of /ε/ and the alternation of /a/
sound with that of /e/. Wether to use /ε/ or /e/ is determined by vowel harmony rule.
Variation in Numbering
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Variationin numbering in standard Igbo and Opi dialect is also observed in the samples
demonstrated below.
Data 2.1.2
S/N Dialect Standard Gloss
1 mbọ mbụ 1
2 εbọ abụọ 2
3 εtọ atọ 3
4 εnọ anọ 4
5 Ise Ise 5
6 ẹsaa Asaa 6
7 Itegna Iteeolu 7
8 Iri Iri 8
9 Iri nε na Iri na out 9
10 Iri nε εbọ Iri na abụọ 10
11 Iri nε ẹtọ Iri na atọ 11
12 Iri nε εnọ Iri na anọ 12
13 Iri na bọ Iri abụọ 13
14 iri na bọ nε na Iri abụọ na otu 14
15 Iri nabo na εto Iri abụọ na atọ 15
16 Iri nabọ nεεnọ Iri abụọ na anọ 16
Negative Morphemes Variation
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Negative word formation is simple and easy to apply. For the negative – g, dg are used. In
which one to be used is determined by the choice of speaker as in the following:
Data 3. 1.0
1 mag maghị Doesn’t know
2 jedg Jeghi Did not go
3 bịadg bịaghị Did not come
4 hụg/hụdg hụghị Did not see
5 nweg Nweghi Don’t have
6 rig/ridg Righi Did not eat
7 kwug/kwudg Kwughi Did not speak
8 lag/ladg laghị Did not go home
9 mụg/mụdg mụghị Did not give birth or

did not learn
10 madg maghị Did not know
11 hụdg hụghị Did not see
In standard Igbo, the negative is realized by suffixing the morpheme ghị to the verb. There is
however, different realization of this morpheme in Opi dialect.
Opi dialect uses g: or dg: to denote negative.
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In Opi dialect, we would have such forms as:
Data 3.2.2
1 ọ ladg ọ laghị He/She did not go.
2 O ridg nri O righi nri He/She did not eat

food.
3 ọ mag ihe ọ maghị ihe He/She doesn’t know
something.
4 ọ bg Ọ bụghi It is not
5 O mag ọ maghị He/She does not

know.
6 O kwudg O kwughi He/She did not say.
7 O vudg ivu nwụ O bughi ibu ahụ He/She did not carry
that load.
8 Ọ mụg nwa Ọ mụghị nwa He did not born baby.
Whether to use ‘g’ or ‘dg’ tends to be determined by the rhythm.
‘lε’ is also used for negation in Opi dialect as against ‘la’ in standard Igbo. This is well
pronounced in imperatives. For example:
Data 3.3.3
1 Abịalε nonwa Abiala ebe a Don’t come here
2 anwụlε mnyi añụla mmiri Don’t drink water
3 Ekwule okwu Ekwula okwu Don’t talk
4 erile Erila Don’t eat
5 achọlɛ achọla Don’t find
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6 ahụlɛ ahụla Don’t find
7 akwalɛ Akwala Don’t cry
8 aglɛ agụla Don’t sing
9 Agbalε ọsọ Agbala ọsọ Don’t run
10 Ejele aʃụa Ejela ahịa Don’t go to market
11 Atalε an: Atala anụ Don’t eat meat
12 Azlε aʃụa azụla ahia Don’t trade
A close examination to the above list reveals that where to apply ‘le’ or ‘lε’ is determined by
vowel harmony rule. Hence ‘ε’ in Opi dialect are often used in place of ‘a’ which is one of
the four light vowels, /ε/ harmonizes with light vowels while ‘e’ being a heavy vowel
harmonizes with heavy vowels. We then see from the above examples: for ‘ε’ abịalε, (don’t
come) anwụlε(don’t die), agbalε don’t run), atalε (don’t chew).All these in the case of azlε
(don’t trade) where no vowel is between ‘z’ and l, it is assumed that vowel ‘ị’ is silent. For lε
instead of ‘le’ comes in.
‘ε’ harmonizes with light vowels ‘a’ and ‘ụ’. On the other hand, ‘e’ in ‘le’ harmonizes with
heavy vowel ‘u’, and ‘e’.
Perfect Aspect Variation
The standard Igbo morpheme for the perfective is ‘la’. The perfective in Opi dialect is
realized by the suffixation of the morpheme –go/gọ ‘ma; or ‘dema’ as in data below.
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Data 4.1.1
1 O rịama nri O riela nri He has eaten food.
2 Anyị abịagọ Anyi abiala We have come.
3 Uche ejego aʃụa Uche ejeela ahia Uche has gon market.
4 Obi ejedema ụka Obi ejeela ụka Obi has gone to church.
5 Obi erigo nri Obi eriela nri. Obi has eaten food
6 O jedema ụka O jeela ụka He has gone to church
7 Ọ nwụama O nwụola He has died.
8 O riama O riela He has eaten.
9 Ọ laama Ọ laala He has gone.
10 Ọ biama Ọ bịala He has come
At times, suffix, ‘ma’ can be fixed to ‘ma’ or ‘go’ to indicate perfect aspect as in the data
below.
Data 4.1.2
S/N Opi Dialect Standard Igbo English
1 ọ bịamama ọ bịala He has come.
2 O rimama nri Orie ala nri He has eaten food.
3 ọ r:mama ọrụ O rụọla ọrụ He has done work.
4 O rigoma nri O riela nri He has eaten food.
5 ọ gbamama oso ọ gbaala ọsọ He has ran
6 O mechago O mesiala He has finished the

work
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7 O mechagoma O mesiala He has finished the

work.
Comparing Opi Dialect with Other Nsukka Dialects
Comparing Opi dialect with other Nsukka dialect where Opi put ‘dg’ the other Nsukka dialect
would put ‘ng’ as in:
Data 4.1.3
S/N Opi Dialect Other Standard Gloss

Nsukka Igbo
1 Ọ biadg Ọ biang Ọ bịaghi He did not

come.
2 O jedg O jng O jeghi He did not

go.
3 Ọ ladg Ọ lang Ọ laghị He did not go

home.
A studya of the other Nsukka dialects will show that this suffix ‘ma’ is specific to only Opi.
Other Nsukka dialects like Ahaalumona, Ede Oballa, Nru, Nsukka Ohodo, Obollo and Enugu
Ezike will put ‘me’ instead of ‘ma’. However, all both Opi and other dialects of Nsukka use
‘go’ as against ‘la’ in standardized Igbo for perfect aspect. In other Nsukka dialects, we can
see the following:
Data 4.1.4
S Opi Dialect Standard Igbo Other Nsukka Gloss

Dialects
SS/N
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1 Ọ bịama Ọ bịala Ọ bịago He has come
2 O riama O riela O rieme He has eaten.
3 O teama O teela O teeme He has woken.
However, the Opi still share ‘ma’ with other Nsukka in some constructions as in (Data 4.6.4):
Data 4.1.5
S/N Opi Dialect Standard Igbo Other Nsukka English

Dialcts
1 ọ bịala ọ bịala ọ bịama He has come.
2 Ọ nwụọla Ọ nwụọla Ọ nwuama He has died.
A close observation will discover that the other Nsukka dialect use ‘e’ in some verbs where
Opi uses ‘a’ and that brought the slight difference as in:
Data 5.1.1
Standard Igbo Opi Dialect Other Nsukka English

Dialect
Rie Ria rie Eat
Mee Mea mee Do
Wete Weta wete bring
wetere m wetar m wetere m bring for me
Jee Jea jee/jeme Go
Lee Lèá lee Look
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Bee bèá beenge Cut
We know that the target of this research is not to compare Opi dialect with other Nsukka
dialect but we just decide to touch few of the differences to show how Opi dialect is distinct
from other Nsukka dialects. However, every Nsukka person understands one another. An
average Nsukka native dialect speaker will be able to identify Opi native speakers from their
speech.
Variation in Imperatives
In the above, we observe that in the standard Igbo, whereas verbs whose roots end in open
vowels simply duplicate the vowel of the root, those verbs whose roots end in closed vowels
chose a harmonizing open vowel suffix construction. This is the pattern of standard Igbo
construct imperative. In the case of Opi dialect, the vowel ‘a’ is suffixed without considering
the vowel harmony rule as in the following:
Data 5.1.1
Standard Igbo Opi Dialect English
Lee lèá Look

Mee mèá Look
Bia bịa Come
nụọ nwụa Drink
pụọ f:a go out
Buo v:a Carry
chọọ chọọ/choa Find
mụọ m:a Learn
Nwee nwea Have
Laa laa go home
funyụọ whụnyụa Quench
gbanyụọ gbanyụa put off
Pronoun Variation
137
Opi dialect and standard Igbo differ in some pronouns. Opi dialect unlike the standard Igbo
uses ‘a’ , ‘nya’, or ‘anya’ meaning ‘him/her/it’ in place of ‘ya’ of the standard Igbo. At the
same time, Opi dialect uses ‘hɛ’ meaning ‘they’ instead of ‘ha’ of the standard Igbo. Also ‘g:’
meaning ‘you’ is used by Opi dialect speakers in place of ‘gị’ of the standard Igbo as we can
see in diagram below.
Data 6.1.1
1 hɛ Ha They
2 ὺnu ύnὺ You(plural)
3 g: gị You(singular)
4 a/anya Ya Him/her/it
5 a/e a/e Impersonal

pronoun
6 i/ị i/ị You
7 M m/mụ I
8 anyị anyị We
9 Ọ/O Ọ/O He/she/it
10 Onwe m Onwe m Myself
Phonological Variation
There is no case of words spelt the same with that of standard Igbo but pronounced
differently.
Data 6.1.2
1 Aféré éféré Plate
138
2 εchụchụ ụtaarị Cane
3 εkwụkwọ ákwụkwọ Book
4 Maa mmụọ Spirit
5 manụ Mmadu Oil
6 Mbacha Abacha Igbo salad
7 ɛchara Achara Bamboo
8 Manya Mmanya Drink
9 Ns:ka Nsukka Nsukka town
10 jị Ga Will
11 Edziokwu Eziokwu Truth
12 nkehụrụ/ak :pε akụpe Hand fan or

local fan
13 ɛkwụkwụ akwụkwụ Epilepsy
14 ịbɛrịbe Iberibe Misbehaviour
15 ɛchíchá achịcha Biscuit
16 ɛchịcha achịcha Dry cocoyam

porridge
17 madụ Mmadụ Person
18 manụ mmanụ Oil
4.2.9 Segmental Deviation
By segmental deviation here, we mean the segments differ in one way or the other. Without
careful attention, one may think that some of these words sound exactly the same even
though they differ in some cha characters but they don’t. As they differ in character so also
139
they differ in pronunciation. It is believed that all Igbo words are pronounced as spelt and Opi
dialect is not an exception.
Data 4. 5.10
1 ɛb:ba Abụba Feather
2 ọba Iko Cup
3 ɛkɛtɛ ụrọ mmee ụrọ oji
4 Nwajaa Obere Small
5 ɛkɛkɛ ọtọ Mud
6 Ote Mgba Wrestling
7 mbɛdɛ mmegharị Misbehaving
8 ɛjụ Iberibe Misbehaviour
9 Wawa Mba No
10 nɛ Na And
11 Ji Ga will
13 gɛ Etu how
14 Nde Kedu how
15 ɛgal ikorobịa young man
16 Onyeke Nwoke man
17 Onyenye nwaanyị woman
18 Ndtomu Ụmụ nwaanyị women
Conclusion
140

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Journal of College of Language and Communication Arts Education, Lagos State University of Education.

VOL 1, NO 1. AUGUST 16, 2022- ISSN: 2971-5067

Lexical Variation in Igbo Language: A Comparative Study of Standard Igbo Language

Eze, Cyprian Chidozie and Eze, Mabel Nkechinyere

Key Words: Variation, Dialect, Language, Lexis and Linguistics.

According to Winkler (2012:260-261), “language change is so slow, it is almost not

VOL 1, NO 1. AUGUST 16, 2022- ISSN: 2971-5067

Language changes in patterned way overtimes and

When we talk of language change, we talk of lexical variation.

Background of the Study

VOL 1, NO 1. AUGUST 16, 2022- ISSN: 2971-5067

According to Egwuonwu (2016),

Igbo displays considerable dialects variation yet without ever

VOL 1, NO 1. AUGUST 16, 2022- ISSN: 2971-5067

VOL 1, NO 1. AUGUST 16, 2022- ISSN: 2971-5067

Throughout most of the colonial period 1842-1959, Nigerian

VOL 1, NO 1. AUGUST 16, 2022- ISSN: 2971-5067

Location of Opi Town

VOL 1, NO 1. AUGUST 16, 2022- ISSN: 2971-5067

S/N Opi Dialect Standard Igbo Gloss

1. Onyenye Nwaanyi Woman

VOL 1, NO 1. AUGUST 16, 2022- ISSN: 2971-5067

2. Paa εka Jarua Too much

3. Ụsebe ajọ ihe Bad thing/evil

4. Ụkpara Ogbenye Poverty

5. nwọ∫ua Ugbua Now

6. oyị Mma Good

7. Gbàlià Kulie Get up

8. εgara Mbem Poem

9. Kaa Ndo/biko Please/sorry

10. Iyeosu Ofe

11. Ote Mgba Wrestling

12. Meyi Tinye Put (as in put soup)

13. Awha Afo Year

14. εchụchụ ụtarị Cane

15. ∫ụa Hịa Twist

16. Mpεrεtε Okpu achara Hat

17. Njịla Eju Snail

18. nkεhụrụ Akupe Hand fan

19. εkprihe Egwusi Melon seed

20. abịa Igba Drum

21. Ivom Ogele Metal gong

22. Opioro Ime ime ụlọ Inner room

VOL 1, NO 1. AUGUST 16, 2022- ISSN: 2971-5067

23. n: Nye Give

24. Ịda Akpa Bag

25. Kàá Kwuo Say

26. εmεrεmε Mma Beauty

28. Wawa Mba No

29. Nwajaa Obere Small

30. Enyekwu Usekwu Kitchen

31. Òkwú Obi Sitting room

32. εhọ afọ Stomach

33. Akpata - Ceiling

34. Oba Iko Cup

35. εwhụrụ Okwute Stone

36. εkεtε ọtọ/ụrọ mme Mud

37. Gbalia Kulie Rise

38. n Nye Give