Why I stopped mispronouncing my Igbo name

In Nigeria, the language spoken by one of the largest ethnic groups, the Igbo, is in danger of dying out – which is odd because the population is growing. In the past this didn’t worry Nkem Ifejika, who is himself Igbo but never learned the language.

When he is in Nigeria, he says his parents are Igbo. He might throw in that he partly grew up in the United Kingdom. In Britain, He says he’s Nigerian, though he often adds explainers about having been educated at British schools and lived outside Nigeria since he was 12 years old.

Nkem Ifejika can speak English, French among others. However, he can’t speak the language of his ancestors. Igbo is a tonal language, so the words with the wrong stresses and tones either change their meaning, or worse, become unintelligible. In Igboland, as it’s informally known, names have meaning and history. Nkemakonam means “may I not lack what is mine”, while Ifejika means “what I have is greater”. By mispronouncing his names, he was throwing away generation of history, and disregarding his parents’ careful choice.

His indefatigable and proudly wife, who is also Igbo, helped him out when they met. Now he knows how to pronounce his name properly, with the correct tones and with pride.

Fonte: BBC NewsWorld Service

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