''Before English there was Igbo. Igbo is the lost tribe of Israel''
Igbo kwenu! I always feel like crying whenever I see teachers or parents flog their children because they were speaking Igbo language. They want their children to speak English not knowing that the English they want their children to speak was borrowed from Igbo. Do you know that there are more than a thousand words in English, French, Latin, Hebrew and other languages that were borrowed from Igbo Language. Did I just hear you say ''na lie'' ? Ok. Because of space, let me only give you 25 English words stolen from Igbo language. If you need more, you can contact me.
1. Cherubim – Borrowed from Igbo phrase ‘’chere ubim’’ which means ‘’guard my home’’
2. Book – Borrowed from Igbo phrase “bu uka’’ meaning ‘’carries the facts’’
3. Water – Stolen from Igbo word ‘’wuta’’ which means ‘’pour’’
4. Nurse – Coined from the phrase ‘’noro nso’’ meaning ‘’stay near’’
5. Animal – Coined from the Igbo phrase ‘’anu malu’’ which when translated means ‘’meat that knows’’ or ‘’flesh aware of life’’ or ‘’meat is conscious’’
6. Bank – Got from the phrase ‘’uba na aka’’ meaning ‘’wealth at hand’’
7. Harlot – Coined from ‘’ha laa otu’’ meaning ‘’they had sex’’
8. Say – stolen from Igbo word ‘’Si’’ which means say
9. Answer – got from ‘’nsa’’ which means ‘’response’’
10. Carpenter – coined from the phrase ‘’ka apita’’ which means ‘’carve out’’
11. News – got from ‘’nu zuo’’ which means ‘’hear it all’’
12. Soccer – coined from ‘’oso ka’’ which means ‘’running is greater’’ or “there is more running done’’ or ‘’greater at running’’
13. Patrol – got from ‘’puta uli’’ meaning ‘’come out for strolls’’
14. Sabbath – coined from ‘’Asaa bu taa’’ which means ‘’today is seventh’’ or ‘’seventh is this day’’
15. Amen – got from ‘’ya mee nu’’ which means ‘’may it be done’’
16. Genesis – coined from the phrase ‘’jee na isi isi’’ meaning ‘’go to the very beginning’’
17. Conquer – got from ‘’nku ka’’ which means ‘’break down’’
18. Queue – borrowed from ‘’kwih’’ or ‘’kwunye’’ meaning ‘’join in’’
19. Music/Musical – got from ‘’mee uzu ka’’ which means ‘’make the greatest noise’’
20. Quote – got from ‘’kwute’’ which means ‘’make mention’'
21. Page – coined from ‘’pia jie’’ meaning fold
22. Boy – got from ‘’bu oyi’’ which means ‘’be friend’’
23. Girl – coined from ‘’ga alu’’ meaning ‘’will marry’’
24. Embassy – coined from the phrase ‘’mba zie’’ which means ‘’nations message’’
25. Catastrophe – coined from the phrase ‘’akata asi tufia’’ meaning ‘’when mentioned the Igbos eject saliva from the mouth and say ‘tufia’ ‘’
Hope you are now convinced that before English there was Igbo and Igbo is the lost tribe of Israel. For those who don't know, Igbo is a tribe from south eastern part of Nigeria. Read more about them on Wikipedia. How una see am. Igbo Kwezuo nu!
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