Grammar 1: Igbo Sounds :: Mkpọtụ Igbo

Where do you start when you want to learn a language?

At the beginning of course!

You can't learn Igbo if you don't know the sounds that make up the Igbo language so this is probably one of the most important lessons to learn.

Igbo is made up of consonant sounds and vowel sounds.

The consonant sounds are not a big deal, it's the vowels you should keep an eye out for. 

Because Igbo is a tonal language, each of the vowels have different tones (ranging from high to low).

The most common tones are High and Low, but occasionally, you'll come across a tricky mid tone that is always rising.

Vowel Sounds

Listen   A (AH) as in Cat	Listen   E (AY) as in Fame	Listen   Ẹ (EH) as in Bed
Listen   I (EE) as in Pin	Listen   O (O) as in Show	Listen   Ọ (O) as in Hot
Listen   Ụ (U) as in Put	Listen   U (UU)as in Shoot

Consonant Sounds

B (as in Bee)	Listen   CH (as in Chair)	D (as in Dog)	F (as in Food)	G (as in Goat)
Listen   GB (as in Gbenga)	Listen   GH (as in Ghee)	Listen   GW (as in Guido)	H (as in House)	J (as in Jump)
K (as in Kangaroo)	Listen   KP	Listen   KW (as in Queen)	L	M
N	Listen   NW	Listen   NY	P	R
S	Listen   SH	T	V	W
Y	Z (as in Zebra)

These are the basic sounds needed to speak Igbo