Editing Igbo language (section)

== Phonology ==
===Vowels===
[[File:Igbo vowel chart.svg|thumb|The oral vowel phonemes of Igbo, based on {{Harvcoltxt|Ikekeonwu|1999}}]]
Igbo is a [[tone (linguistics)|tonal language]]. Tone varies by dialect but in most dialects there seem to be three register tones and three contour tones. The language's tone system was given by [[John Goldsmith (linguist)|John Goldsmith]] as an example of [[autosegmental]] phenomena that go beyond the linear model of [[phonology]] laid out in ''[[The Sound Pattern of English]]''.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Goldsmith |first=John A. |date=June 1976 |title=Autosegmental Phonology |degree=Ph.D. |publisher=Massachusetts Institute of Technology. |url=http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/dm/theses/goldsmith76.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050322005820/http://www.ai.mit.edu/projects/dm/theses/goldsmith76.pdf |archive-date=2005-03-22}}</ref> Igbo words may differ only in tone. An example is ''ákwá'' "cry", ''àkwà'' "bed", ''àkwá'' "egg", and ''ákwà'' "cloth". As tone is not normally written, these all appear as {{angbr|akwa}} in print.

In many cases, the two (or sometimes three) tones commonly used in Igbo dictionaries fail to represent how words actually sound in the spoken language . This indicates that Igbo may have many more tones than previously recognised. For example, the imperative form of the word ''bia'' "come" has a different tone to that used in statement ''O bia'' "he came". That imperative tone is also used in the second syllable of ''abuo'' "two". Another distinct tone appears in the second syllable of ''asaa'' "seven" and another in the second syllable of ''aguu'' "hunger".
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Valentine speaking Igbo.webm|thumb|Valentine speaking Igbo.]]
The language features [[vowel harmony]] with two sets of oral vowels distinguished by [[human pharynx|pharyngeal]] cavity size described in terms of [[retracted tongue root]] (RTR). These vowels also occupy different places in vowel space: {{IPA|[i ɪ̙ e a u ʊ̙ o ɒ̙]}} (the last commonly transcribed {{IPA|[ɔ̙]}}, in keeping with neighboring languages). For simplicity, phonemic transcriptions typically choose only one of these parameters to be distinctive, either RTR as in the chart on the right and Igbo orthography (that is, as {{IPA|/i i̙ e a u u̙ o o̙/}}), or vowel space as in the alphabetic chart below (that is, as {{IPA|/i ɪ e a u ʊ o ɔ/}}). There are also [[nasal vowel]]s.

Adjacent vowels usually undergo [[Assimilation (linguistics)|assimilation]] during speech. The sound of a preceding vowel, usually at the end of one word, merges in a rapid transition to the sound of the following vowel, particularly at the start of another word, giving the second vowel greater prominence in speech. Usually the first vowel (in the first word) is only slightly identifiable to listeners, usually undergoing [[Vowel reduction|centralisation]]. /kà ó mésjá/, for example, becomes /kòó mésjá/ "goodbye". An exception to this assimilation may be with words ending in /a/ such as /nà/ in /nà àlà/, "on the ground", which could be completely assimilated leaving /n/ in rapid speech, as in "nàlà" or "n'àlà". In other dialects however, the instance of /a/ such as in "nà" in /ọ́ nà èrí ńrí/, "he/she/it is eating", results in a long vowel, /ọ́ nèèrí ńrí/.<ref name="welmers74">{{cite book |last=Welmers |first=William Everett |year=1974 |title=African Language Structures |publisher=University of California Press |pages=41–42 |isbn=0520022106}}</ref>

===Tone===
The Igbo language is tonal in nature. This means that the meaning of a word can be altered depending on the tone used when pronouncing it. Igbo has two main tones: high and low. The high tone is usually marked with an acute accent (´) and the low tone is marked with a grave accent (`).

For example, the word {{angbr|akwa}} can mean "cry, egg, cloth, sew" depending on the tone used. If pronounced with a high tone on the first and last syllable it means "cry". But if pronounced with a low tone on the first syllable and high on the last syllable, it means "egg”. If it is pronounced with low tone on both syllables, then it will mean “cloth” or “sew”.
{{check quotation}}
Another example is the word "eze” which means "king" or "teeth". In either case the first syllable is pronounced with a high tone. If the second syllable is pronounced with a low tone, it means "king". But if pronounced with a middle tone, it means "teeth".
{{check quotation}}
The use of tonal inflection in Igbo language is very important because it helps to differentiate between words that would otherwise sound the same. It can be challenging for English speakers to learn how to use the tones properly, but with practice, it can be mastered.

===Consonants===

Igbo does not have a contrast among voiced occlusives (between voiced stops and nasals): stops precede oral vowels, and nasals precede nasal vowels. Only a limited number of other consonants occur before nasal vowels, including {{IPA|/f, z, s/}}.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center"
|+caption | Consonants of Standard Igbo (with nasal vowels)
! colspan=2 rowspan=2 |
! rowspan=2| [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! rowspan=2| [[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br/>[[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Postalveolar|Post-<br/>alveolar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! colspan=2| [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Labial–velar consonant|Labial–<br/>velar]]
! rowspan=2| [[glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!<small>plain</small>
!<small>[[labialization|lab.]]</small>
|- 
!rowspan="2" |[[Plosive]]/<br/>[[Affricate]]
! <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t}}
| {{IPA link|tʃ}}
| 
| {{IPA link|k}}
| {{IPA link|kʷ}}
| {{IPA link|k͡p}}
| 
|- 
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|b}}~{{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|d}}
| {{IPA link|dʒ}}
| 
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɡ}}~{{IPA link|ŋ}}
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA link|ɡʷ}}~{{IPA link|ŋʷ}}
| {{IPA link|ɡ͡b}}
| 
|- 
! colspan="2" | [[Sonorant]]
|
| {{IPA link|l}}~{{IPA link|n}}
| {{IPA link|j}}~{{IPA link|ɲ}}
| {{IPA link|w}}
|
|-
! rowspan=2| [[Fricative]]
! <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| {{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA link|s}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}}
|
| 
|
| 
| 
|- 
! <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
|
| {{IPA link|z}}
|
| 
| {{IPA link|ɣ}}
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|ɦ}}~{{IPA link|ɦ̃}}
|- 
!colspan=2| [[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|ɹ}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|}

In some dialects, such as Enu-Onitsha Igbo, the doubly articulated {{IPA|/ɡ͡b/}} and {{IPA|/k͡p/}} are realized as a voiced/devoiced labial–velar [[implosive]]. The approximant {{IPA|/ɹ/}} is realized as an [[alveolar tap]] {{IPAblink|ɾ}} between vowels as in ''árá''. The Enu-Onitsha Igbo dialect is very much similar to Enuani spoken among the Igbo-Anioma people in Delta State.

To illustrate the effect of phonological analysis, the following inventory of a typical Central dialect is taken from Clark (1990). Nasality has been analyzed as a feature of consonants, rather than vowels, avoiding the problem of why so few consonants occur before nasal vowels; {{IPA|[CjV]}} has also been analyzed as {{IPA|/CʲV/}}.<ref>{{cite book |first=Mary M. |last=Clark |year=1990 |title=The Tonal System of Igbo |publisher=De Gruyter |doi=10.1515/9783110869095 |isbn=9783110130416}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center"
|+caption | Consonants of Central Igbo (no nasal vowels)
! colspan="3" rowspan="2" |
! colspan=2| [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! rowspan=2| [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Alveolo-palatal|Alveolo-<br />palatal]]
! colspan=2| [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Labial–velar consonant|Labial–<br />velar]]
! rowspan=2| [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
!<small>plain</small>
!<small>[[Palatalization (phonetics)|pal.]]</small>
!<small>plain</small>
!<small>[[labialization|lab.]]</small>
|- 
!rowspan=4 |[[Plosive]]/<br />[[Affricate]]
!rowspan=2 | <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
! <small>unaspirated</small>
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|pʲ}}
| {{IPA link|t}}
| {{IPA link|tɕ}}
| {{IPA link|k}}
| {{IPA link|kʷ}}
| rowspan=2| {{IPA link|ɠ̊͡ɓ̥}}
| 
|- 
! <small>[[aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]]</small>
| {{IPA link|pʰ}}
| {{IPA link|pʲʰ}}
| {{IPA link|tʰ}}
| {{IPA link|tɕʰ}}
| {{IPA link|kʰ}}
| {{IPA link|kʷʰ}}
| 
|- 
!rowspan=2 | <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
! <small>unaspirated</small>
| {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|bʲ}}
| {{IPA link|d}}
| {{IPA link|dʑ}}
| {{IPA link|ɡ}}
| {{IPA link|ɡʷ}}
| rowspan=2| {{IPA link|ɠ͡ɓ}}
| 
|- 
! <small>[[aspiration (phonetics)|aspirated]]</small>
| {{IPA link|bʱ}}
| {{IPA link|bʲʱ}}
| {{IPA link|dʱ}}
| {{IPA link|dʑʱ}}
| {{IPA link|ɡʱ}}
| {{IPA link|ɡʷʱ}}
| 
|- 
! rowspan=4| [[Fricative]]
!rowspan=2 | <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
! <small>plain</small>
| {{IPA link|f}}
| 
| {{IPA link|s}}
| 
| 
| 
|
|
|-
! <small>[[nasalization|nasalized]]</small>
| {{IPA link|f̃}}
| 
| {{IPA link|s̃}}
| 
| 
| 
|
|
|- 
!rowspan=2 | <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
! <small>plain</small>
| {{IPA link|v}}
| 
| {{IPA link|z}}
| 
| {{IPA link|ɣ}}
| {{IPA link|ɣʷ}}
| 
|
|- 
! <small>[[nasalization|nasalized]]</small>
| {{IPA link|ṽ}}
| 
| {{IPA link|z̃}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
|
|- 
!rowspan=2| [[Rhotic consonant|Rhotic]]
!colspan=2| <small>plain</small>
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|r}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|- 
!colspan=2| <small>[[nasalization|nasalized]]</small>
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|r̃}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|- 
!rowspan=3| [[Approximant]]
!colspan=2| <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]]</small>
| 
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|j̊}}
| 
| {{IPA link|w̥}}
| 
| {{IPA link|h}}
|- 
!colspan=2| <small>[[voicelessness|voiceless]] [[nasalization|nasalized]]</small>
| 
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|j̊̃}}
| 
| {{IPA link|w̥̃}}
| 
| {{IPA link|h̃}}
|- 
!colspan=2| <small>[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]</small>
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|l}}
| {{IPA link|j}}
| 
| {{IPA link|w}}
|
|
|}

Syllables are of the form {{Not a typo|(C)V}} (optional consonant, vowel) or N (a [[syllabic nasal]]). CV is the most common syllable type. Every syllable bears a tone. Consonant clusters do not occur. The semivowels {{IPAslink|j}} and {{IPAslink|w}} can occur between consonant and vowel in some syllables. The semi-vowel in {{IPA|/CjV/}} is analyzed as an underlying vowel "ị", so that ''-bịa'' is the phonemic form of ''bjá'' 'come'. On the other hand, "w" in {{IPA|/CwV/}} is analyzed as an instance of labialization; so the phonemic form of the verb ''-gwá'' "tell" is {{IPA|/-ɡʷá/}}.