Editing Igbo language (section)

=== History of Igbo orthography ===
Before the existence of any official system of orthography for the Igbo language, travelers and writers documented Igbo sounds by utilizing the orthracyologies of their own languages in transcribing them, though they encountered difficulty representing particular sounds, such as implosives, labialized velars, syllabic nasals, and non-expanded vowels. In the 1850s, German philologist [[Karl Richard Lepsius]] published the [[Standard Alphabet by Lepsius|Standard Alphabet]], which was universal to all languages of the world, and became the first Igbo orthography. It contained 34 letters and included digraphs and diacritical marks to transcribe sounds distinct to African languages.<ref name=":23">{{Cite journal |last=Ohiri-Aniche |first=Chinyere |date=2007 |title=Stemming the tide of centrifugal forces in Igbo orthography |journal=Dialectical Anthropology |volume=31 |issue=4 |pages=423–436 |via=Hollis |doi=10.1007/s10624-008-9037-x |s2cid=144568449}}</ref> The Lepsius Standard Alphabet contained the following letters:
* a b d e f g h i k l m n o p r s t u v w y z gb gh gw kp kw ṅ nw ny ọ s ds ts<ref name=":23"/>
The Lepsius orthography was replaced by the Practical Orthography of African Languages (Africa Orthography) in 1929 by the colonial government in Nigeria. The new orthography, created by the [[International Institute of African Languages and Culture|International Institute of African Languages and Cultures (IIALC)]], had 36 letters and disposed of diacritic marks. Numerous controversial issues with the new orthography eventually led to its replacement in the early 1960s.<ref name=":23"/> The Africa Orthography contained the following letters:
* a b c d e f g gb gh h i j k kp l m n ŋ ny o ɔ ɵ p r s t u w y z gw kw nw<ref name=":23"/>

==== Ọnwụ ====
{{Main|Igbo alphabet}}
[[File:Book of Mormon - Igbo.jpg|thumb|Igbo version of the ''[[Book of Mormon]]'', with the letters Ị, Ọ and Ụ visible]]

The current Ọnwụ alphabet, a compromise between the older [[Standard Alphabet by Lepsius|Lepsius alphabet]] and a newer alphabet advocated by the [[International Institute of African Languages and Cultures]] (IIALC), is presented in the following table, with the [[International Phonetic Alphabet]] equivalents for the characters:<ref>{{Cite book|title=Igbo Dictionary & Phrasebook|last1=Awde|first1=Nicholas|last2=Wambu|first2=Onyekachi|author-link2=Onyekachi Wambu|publisher=Hippocrene Books|year=1999|isbn=0781806615|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/igboenglishengli00nich/page/27 27]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/igboenglishengli00nich/page/27}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!Letter
!Pronunciation
|-
|[[A]] a
|{{IPA|/a/}}
|-
|[[B]] b
|{{IPA|/b/}}
|-
|[[Ch (digraph)|Ch]] ch
|{{IPA|/tʃ/}}
|-
|[[D]] d
|{{IPA|/d/}}
|-
|[[E]] e
|{{IPA|/e/}}
|-
|[[F]] f
|{{IPA|/f/}}
|-
|[[G]] g
|{{IPA|/ɡ/}}
|-
|[[Gb (digraph)|Gb]] gb
|{{IPA|/ɡ͡b~ɠ͡ɓ/}}
|-
|[[Gh (digraph)|Gh]] gh
|{{IPA|/ɣ/}}
|-
|[[Gw (digraph)|Gw]] gw
|{{IPA|/ɡʷ/}}
|-
|[[H]] h
|{{IPA|/ɦ/}}
|-
|[[I]] i
|{{IPA|/i/}}
|-
|[[Ị]] ị
|{{IPA|/ɪ̙/}}
|-
|[[J]] j
|{{IPA|/dʒ/}}
|-
|[[K]] k
|{{IPA|/k/}}
|-
|[[Kp (digraph)|Kp]] kp
|{{IPA|/k͡p~ƙ͡ƥ/}}
|-
|[[Kw (digraph)|Kw]] kw
|{{IPA|/kʷ/}}
|-
|[[L]] l
|{{IPA|/l/}}
|-
|[[M]] m
|{{IPA|/m/}}
|-
|[[N]] n
|{{IPA|/n/}}
|-
|[[Ṅ]] ṅ
|{{IPA|/ŋ/}}
|-
|[[Nw (digraph)|Nw]] nw
|{{IPA|/ŋʷ/}}
|-
|[[Ny (digraph)|Ny]] ny
|{{IPA|/ɲ/}}
|-
|[[O]] o
|{{IPA|/o/}}
|-
|[[Ọ]] ọ
|{{IPA|/ɔ̙/}}
|-
|[[P]] p
|{{IPA|/p/}}
|-
|[[R]] r
|{{IPA|/ɹ/}}
|-
|[[S]] s
|{{IPA|/s/}}
|-
|[[Sh (digraph)|Sh]] sh
|{{IPA|/ʃ/}}
|-
|[[T]] t
|{{IPA|/t/}}
|-
|[[U]] u
|{{IPA|/u/}}
|-
|[[Ụ]] ụ
|{{IPA|/ʊ̙/}}
|-
|[[V]] v
|{{IPA|/v/}}
|-
|[[W]] w
|{{IPA|/w/}}
|-
|[[Y]] y
|{{IPA|/j/}}
|-
|[[Z]] z
|{{IPA|/z/}}
|-

|}
The graphemes {{angle bracket|gb}} and {{angle bracket|kp}} are described both as coarticulated {{IPAslink|ɡ͡b}} and {{IPAslink|k͡p}} and as implosives, so both values are included in the table.

{{angle bracket|m}} and {{angle bracket|n}} each represent two phonemes: a nasal consonant and a syllabic nasal.

Tones are sometimes indicated in writing, and sometimes not. When tone is indicated, low tones are shown with a grave accent over the vowel, for example {{angle bracket|a}} → {{angle bracket|à}}, and high tones with an acute accent over the vowel, for example {{angle bracket|a}} → {{angle bracket|á}}.

==== Other orthographies ====
A variety of issues have made agreement on a standardized [[orthography]] for the Igbo language difficult. In 1976, the Igbo Standardization Committee criticized the official orthography in light of the difficulty notating diacritic marks using typewriters and computers; difficulty in accurately representing tone with tone-marking conventions, as they are subject to change in different environments; and the inability to capture various sounds particular to certain Igbo dialects. The Committee produced a modified version of the Ọnwụ orthography, called the New Standard Orthography, which substituted {{angbr|ö}} and {{angbr|ü}} for {{angbr|ọ}} and {{angbr|ụ}}, {{angbr|c}} for {{angbr|ch}}, and {{angbr|ñ}} for {{angbr|ṅ}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Oluikpe |first1=Esther N. |title=Igbo language research: Yesterday and today |journal=Language Matters |date=27 March 2014 |volume=45 |issue=1 |pages=110–126 |doi=10.1080/10228195.2013.860185|s2cid=145580712 }}</ref> The New Standard Orthography has not been widely adopted, although it was used, for example, in the 1998 ''Igbo English Dictionary'' by [[Michael Echeruo]].

More recent calls for reform have been based in part on the rogue use of alphabetic symbols, tonal notations, and spelling conventions that deviate from the standard orthography.<ref name=":23" />

There are also some modern movements to restore the use of and modernize nsibidi as a writing system,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blog.nsibiri.org/ |title=Nsibidi |website=blog.nsibiri.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://sugabellyrocks.com/2013/01/update-on-the-ndebe-igbo-writing-system.html |title=Update on the Ndebe Igbo Writing System |website=Sugabelly |date=2013-01-05}}</ref> which mostly focus on Igbo as it is the most populous language that used to use nsibidi.

==== Ndebe Script ====
In 2009, a Nigerian software engineer and artist named Lotanna Igwe-Odunze developed a native script named Ndebe script. It was further redesigned and relaunched in 2020 as a standalone writing system completely independent of Nsibidi.<ref name="Tubosun">{{cite web|url=http://popula.com/2020/07/13/writing-africas-future-in-new-characters|last1=Tubosun|first1=Kola|title=Writing Africa's Future in New Characters|website=Popula|date=13 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://saharareporters.com/2020/07/05/nigerian-woman-lotanna-igwe-odunze-invents-new-writing-system-igbo-language |title=Nigerian Woman, Lotanna Igwe-Odunze, Invents New Writing System For Igbo Language |website=Sahara Reporters |date=2020-07-05}}</ref> The script gained notable attention after a write-up from Nigerian linguist [[Kola Tubosun]] on its "straightforward" and "logical" approach to indicating tonal and dialectal variety compared to Latin.<ref name="Tubosun"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Elusoji |first1=Solomon |title=The Igbo Language Gets Its Own Modern Script, But Will It Matter? |url=https://www.channelstv.com/2020/10/03/the-igbo-language-gets-its-own-modern-script-but-will-it-matter/ |access-date=18 November 2020 |work=Channels Television |date=3 October 2020}}</ref>