I was jejely minding my business when Sugabelly said I should take part in what I thought was a strictly Igbo Challenge. I now see that it is in fact a Language Challenge. Anyway, Sugabelly said I should make a video of myself speaking Igbo. Video? Me? For the internet? Speaking Igbo in it sef? Sugabelly, please! But alas, there was a way out.
I don’t know whether I should celebrate the way out or not. If there wasn’t a way out, I wouldn’t have had to do the challenge. But Sugabelly said I could do just audio, and audio I did. It took me more takes than I care to mention. And in between, I may have exclaimed more than a few not-so-Verastic words, but I will not share them.
When I agreed to do the recording, I thought that only Sugabelly and her readers would care to listen to it. But apparently, part of the rules – which I clearly did not know before entering what now became a binding contract – was that I had to post it on my blog, too. Well, who knew? Okay, no problem. I also had to join SoundCloud, and yes, yours truly now has an account there – since I am currently not disjionted enough by being a part of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Skype >>Verastic, LinkedIn, Flickr, and Google+ (which I’m still trying to figure out). So yes, I have added SoundCloud to the mix 😀
Like I was saying, I thought it was only going to be a small thing. But SoundCloud gave me the option of sharing my recording on Facebook and Twitter, and I thought, sure, why not? People actually listened and commented. Surprise, surprise. Although I did not hear it, I can swear they were rolling on the floor laughing at my Igbo. It got so bad that I went to my church picnic on Saturday and people were talking about it there, too! Even Mrs. A, a full blooded Yoruba woman was laughing at me. She said, “Oh, come, you’re the one that was speaking Igbo abi?” And then, she burst out laughing. *Gasp* Yes, it’s that bad. *bows head in shame*
Anyway, since everyone has been laughing at it, who am I to deny you of the pleasure. It was a lot harder than I imagined. But before you listen, I have a few disclaimers:
(1) If you are interested in learning how to speak Igbo and are thinking about contacting me to be your teacher, then don’t. I am not the best Igbo speaker.
(2) This post would have been a lot easier if I wasn’t trying so hard to not include English words.
(3) It’d really help my self esteem if you don’t laugh and instead say, “OMG, Vera, your Igbo is superb!!! And don’t even get me started on that voice :D”
Alright, enjoy the Igbo already …
For everyone who may need one, here’s a translation: My people, good day. My name is Vera Ezimora. I blog at www.verastic.com. I host an online show at www.blogtalkradio.com/verastic. Sugabelly said I should speak in my language, but I don’t know how to speak my language very well. My mom says my Igbo isn’t “done.” The reason is that when I was little, I could not speak English, and my parents wanted me to learn English, so they spoke only English and not Igbo to me. I don’t know what else to tell you, but it’d be nice if you follow me on Twitter: @verastic, so we can tweet each other and laugh. You understand? [INSERT MY LAUGHTER]. Talk to you next time. Sugabelly, I thank you very much. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do this. Thank you. God bless you.
rotflmao!!
dats something!
Ewoooo! So after saying that you shouldn’t laugh, you’re now rolling on the floor and laughing. *smh*
No comments!
Loool funny!
I probably speak Igbo better
Prove it! When I hear it, I will know for sure.
OMG, Vera, your Igbo is superb!!!
Need I say more…?
Thumbs up!
Tehehehe. Thank you, Babz! You coulda added how dangerously sexy my voice is too. But I guess I can manage for now 😀
Hehehehehe Vera, you tried jo. I like people that speak Igbo with your speed because learners like me can understand it clearly!!!!!!! 😀
This is for Vera’s Self Esteem-OMG, Vera, your Igbo is super super superb!!!
Hahaha. Anon, I don’t know how to take this your comment oh. You like the (VERY SLOW) speed I used to speak it, ehn kwa? But thank you for not walking all over my self esteem. LOL.
You did well, I love your igbo and your accent; so your igbo was spoken with an american english accent, so what, people understand you dont they, and igbo people understand what you are saying and you understand what you are saying, so I think you communicated it well. Well done again Vera. It’s only a matter of time, before it becomes overdone :).
Dalu, nne. I knew you’d be on my side! LOL. They sure do understand me oh! And me sef, I definitely understand myself, of course. So you, too, think I spoke it with an American accent? Chei! America has spoiled business for me. I will have to rerecord this thing without the accent. I cannot take it!
Vera. I speak Igbo better than you even if I only speak one sentence and am from the ofenmanu tribe (and btw I don’t find the term offensive, there is usually a river of oil flowing above the stews of those not yet in the know about health risks etc but I digress). So oyinbo is an Igbo word? I thought we owned it. Well, you tried small :), your laugh sounded Igbo. :D.
LOL @ being from ofe mmanu. You should hear Funmie when she insults Yoruba people as ofe mmanu. Ha! Yeye girl, she is. But yes, I do see that river of oil. The thing dey fia me oh! Sometimes, you think it’s a pot of oil, only to realize that meat has actually sunk to the bottom. Mm mm mm. But I won’t lie, the thing dey sweeeeeeet!
LOL @ my laugh sounding Igbo. Gbam! Sebi I’ve been saying it since that I laugh in Igbo.
I think you did a good job! What dialect is that if you don’t mind me asking?I find that it’s harder to look at the English and try to translate vs. saying something in Igbo that you originally thought about in Igbo.
I tried to do the translation and it’s not that easy!
Dialect, kwa? It’s Igbo naaaah! Well, Anambra dialect of Igbo, I guess. LOL. Specifically, Adazi-Nnukwu dialect, but don’t take my word for it. My parents may beg to differ. I spoke the Igbo first before I translated it. It was only difficult because I was trying to avoid English words. Oh, well. Thanks for listening!
LOL!!! I don’t understand a lick of what you said, but it sure sounds hilarious. Like u were struggling! Ndo o, Verastic. Lo ko ede e dada!!
Hey, J, so you’ve joined my enemies in laughing at me? Okay! LOL. I was struggling, but it could have been better if I wasn’t so conscious of it. I don’t understand that last thing you said ooo
Couldn’t understand a word…….but Igbo sounds beautiful. I picked up “Chineke” Lol.
MSA, you picked up the best one! Chineke means God 🙂
Thanks for listening. Yay!!! *Dancing*
Bwaahahahahahahahahahah!!!!!! Sorry, my kid was doing something funny.
Nwunye! Nwunye!! Nwunye!!! How many times did I call your name? Kpacha lu anya gi oh! Don’t be laughing at my omalicha Igbo-speaking skills. Which kin kid is doing something funny? Stop it oh!!! You have been warned. LOL
you’re anambra right? ‘mama m si na igbo mu egheghe eghe’. my mum says that to us ALL.THE.TIME. na-amuchali.
i love your voice.
Yeah , That my “mama m si na igbo mu egheghi eghe” was downright hilarious. Also when she went ‘when m di obere’. I started laffing all over again.
You try shaa nwa Ada. I Odighi ofele biko.
Ginger, I was about to say I have always known that this our friendship will not stand the test of time. You keep coming here and vexing me. How can you be laughing at my omalicha Igbo with such fearlessness?
But since you kinda ended it on a positive note, I guess our friendship will live till another blog post. LOL.
And yes, odiro ofele at all! Ifa aburo moi moi.
Awwwwwww! Thanks, Leggy. Wait, why am I just saying thanks like it’s not a big deal? You should see me here oh! My head don swell pass bowl of garri. You love my voice??? OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL.
And yes, I am from Anambra. From Adazi-Nnukwu to be precise.
Awwwwwww! Thanks, Leggy. Wait, why am I just saying thanks like it’s not a big deal? You should see me here oh! My head don swell pass bowl of garri. You love my voice??? OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOL.
And yes, I am from Anambra. From Adazi-Nnukwu to be precis
I haven’t lost too much of my Igbo then as I seemed to understand most of what you were saying – thanks to the fact that you were speaking slower than normal conversation rate.
You did well for someone who has been abroad for as long as you have. give yourself a hug.
you couldn’t speak English as a child? rotfl…I no dey laf u oh…lol.
Babe, I had a complicated history which I decided not to include in the audio. I didn’t want to confuse people even more. Yes, I did not speak English. I spoke only Russian. Yes, strange, I know.
Thank you jare for telling me that I did well — sort of. Better person!
That was the cutest thing I have ever heard in my life! I could feel the beads of sweat on your brow. Oh you are so cute!!!! Your joy when you had bonafide english words like Twitter was fantastic!!
Hahahaha. Caramel, nw kwa’m oh! I told Sugabelly that this her challenge get as e be oh. And yes, when I listened to it, even I could tell the difference in my voice and tone. The confidence and boldness of speaking English! LOL. O ga di cha mma jare.
You try no be small!!! *rolling my eyes*!!!lol
Thanks, NoLimit! I will ignore that your yeye eye rolling. How dare you? LOL
Nne you try sha. Mine is actually worse. I think I only speak Engiri-Igbo
Lucid, EglIgbo is the best! There are some words that I swear are not in Igbo! I was trying so hard to not do EnglIgbo, and that’s why this challenge was a bit more difficult for me. If I had done my regular EnglIgbo, in fact ehn … levels for done change!
LWKMD!!
Vera mgbe i si na mama gi na gwa gi na igbo gi egheghe ye bu mgbe’m dapucha ochi. Oge ozo m fukwa gi i ga suo’m that particular line.
Your igbo is cute! Don’t stop trying to learn. A trick I learned was to think in Igbo, I challenged myself to do so for a week at a time and I watched living in bondage and listened to igbo gospel a lot whenever I did that. The bad thing is your Igbo is disjointed because you learn words from so many different dialects. For example I say “fa” instead of “ha” as in “fa si na” and not “ha si na”
One3Snapshot, I cannot believe you’re laughing at me! You, of all people. You and I used to be cooler than this ooo! We were like 5 and 6. But now that you wanna be laughing at me, that’s fine. Your day of reckoning is fast approaching. LOL.
Per the dialects, nne, sometimes I don’t even know which one is mine anymore. I don’t know if other languages have as many dialects as we do, but it is definitely confusing.
omg…. be grateful lol… My yoruba speaking skills are terrible…
doesn’t mean I don’t understand though 😉
lol
Mikki, you don’t have to tell me. I can only imagine how terrible your Yoruba is. Tehehehe. Americana! 😛
hahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Ana m akpoleghali n’ani ebe m na-achi ochi n’Igbo I sulu ebe a ….! :):):)
I like the way you speed up when you are approaching an English word like Twitter. It’s like hurrying up to get to a life line.
But you have a sexy laughter joo, when you laughed after Iwotago? :):):)
In short ehn, if not that I love the recipes on your site, I’d have just told you something now. LOL @ the way I speed up when I get close to an English word. Nne, don’t blame me ooo. Odiro easy! This Igbo is not easy at allllll! But English, ehen! LOL.
Yay at having a sexy laughter. Woot, woot!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ll start laughing more often.
Girl, you tried well well. I like the way you blamed you parents. lol. I will have to use my ibo more often. I certainly don’t want to lose it. Well done. :o))
LOL @ the way I blamed my parents. But it’s the truth nau!!!!! They didn’t speak Igbo to me. It’s their fault, darn it! LOL.
Well done Vera, your Igbo is very segzy! LOL…
Myne, dalu nne! Better person!!! From now on, I’ll even host my show in Igbo sef.