Most of my close Nigerian friends are from Yoruba states in Nigeria so when I gather vocabulary words from the African country it's normally the Yoruba language that I'm soaking up. Then it suddenly occurred to me that I should probably do a better job of asking the few from Imo and Nigeria's other states about their mother tongue. Nothing is more important than being well-rounded in the various dialects/lingos of one African country.

Today's word is a Igbo word used in Nigeria:

kedu - hello, how are you

English is the official language of Nigeria, which means any traveler should be able to converse and navigate their way from Lagos to Jigawa with ease. (Unless you don't speak English.) The country's three main languages include: Yoruba, Ibo (Igbo), and Hausa. Each of the three main languages are named after the people they belong to and carry several dialects within themselves. Motherland Nigeria has an incredible intro to the three languages, Nigerian slang and even a few examples of common Pidgin English spoken. Some audio samples are available as well.

Past Nigerian/Yoruba words: ikun, feran

Filed under: Learning, Africa, Nigeria