Editing Igbo language (section)

== History ==
The first book to publish Igbo terms was ''History of the Mission of the Evangelical Brothers in the Caribbean'' ({{Langx|de|Geschichte der Mission der Evangelischen Brüder auf den Carabischen Inseln}}), published in 1777.<ref name=Oraka21>{{cite book |last=Oraka |first=L. N. |year=1983 |title=The Foundations of Igbo Studies: A Short History of the Study of Igbo Language and Culture |publisher=University Publishing Co. |page=21 |isbn=978-160-264-3}}</ref> Shortly afterwards in 1789, ''[[The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano]]'' was published in London, England, written by [[Olaudah Equiano]], who was a former [[Slavery|slave]], featuring 79 Igbo words.<ref name=Oraka21/> The narrative also illustrated various aspects of Igbo life in detail, based on Equiano's experiences in his hometown of Essaka.<ref>{{cite book|last=Equiano |first=Olaudah |page=9 |year=1789 |isbn=1-4250-4524-3 |title=The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FXVkAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA9}}</ref> Following the British Niger Expeditions of 1854 and 1857, [[Samuel Ajayi Crowther]], published an Igbo primer coded by a young Igbo missionary named Simon Jonas, who travelled with him to [[Aboh]] in 1857.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dGAyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA132|title=Reconciliation in Northern Nigeria: The Space for Public Apology|last=Oluniyi|first= Olufemi Olayinka|date=2017|publisher=Frontier Press|isbn=9789789495276}}</ref>

The [[language]] was standardized in church usage by the Union Igbo Bible (1913).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fulford |first1=Ben |title=An Igbo Esperanto: A History of the Union Ibo Bible 1900-1950 |journal=Journal of Religion in Africa |date=2002 |volume=32 |issue=4 |page=478 |doi=10.1163/157006602321107658 |jstor=1581603 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1581603 |access-date=18 July 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Central Igbo, is based on the dialects of two members of the Ezinifite group of Igbo in Central Owerri Province between the towns of Owerri and Umuahia in Eastern Nigeria.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Association |first=Umunna Igbo Manitoba Cultural |title=Umunna Igbo Manitoba Cultural Association |url=https://umunnaigbomanitoba.ca/igbo-history |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=Umunna Igbo Manitoba  Cultural Association |language=en-US}}</ref> From its proposal as a literary form in 1939 by [[Ida C. Ward]], it was gradually accepted by missionaries, writers, and publishers across the region.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Association |first=Umunna Igbo Manitoba Cultural |title=Umunna Igbo Manitoba Cultural Association |url=https://umunnaigbomanitoba.ca/igbo-history |access-date=2025-01-17 |website=Umunna Igbo Manitoba  Cultural Association |language=en-US}}</ref>

Standard Igbo aims to cross-pollinate Central Igbo with words from other Igbo dialects, with the adoption of [[loan words]].<ref name=Oraka21/>

[[Chinua Achebe]] passionately denounced language standardization efforts, beginning with Union Igbo through to Central and finally Standard Igbo, in a 1999 lecture sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese in [[Owerri]].<ref>{{Cite speech |title=Tomorrow is Uncertain: Today is Soon Enough |first=Chinua |last=Achebe |location=Owerri, Nigeria |date=1999 |website=Columbia University |url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/igbo/achebe/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031225010722/http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/igbo/achebe/index.html |archive-date=2003-12-25 |accessdate=23 October 2022 |translator-first=Frances W. |translator-last=Pritchett}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00fwp/igbo/igbohistory.html |title=A History of the Igbo Language |last=Pritchett |first=Frances W. |website=Columbia University |accessdate=23 October 2022}}</ref>