Ibibio language

Ibibio is the native language of the Ibibio people of Nigeria, belonging to the Ibibio-Efik dialect cluster of the Cross River languages. The name Ibibio is sometimes used for the entire dialect cluster. In pre-colonial times, it was written with Nsibidi ideograms, similar to Igbo, Efik, Anaang, and Ejagham. Ibibio has also had influences on Afro-American diasporic languages such as AAVE words like buckra which come from the Ibibio word mbakara and in the Afro-Cuban tradition of abakua.

Geographic distribution

The Ibibio people are found in the South-South region of Nigeria in Akwa Ibom State, Cross River State, and Eastern Abia State. Ibibio communities in Opobo Nkoro and Oyigbo LGA's of Rivers State are largely unknown.
Some Ibibios are also found in other neighboring countries.

Phonology

Consonants

are bilabial, whereas is labiodental.
* has two allophones, which occur in complementary distribution: voiceless and voiced.
are alveolar, whereas is dental.
Stem-initial is realized as.

Intervocalic plosives are lenited:

→
→
→ or

Vowels

Image:Ibibio monophthongs chart.svg|thumb|250px|Ranges for Ibibio monophthongs, from

are phonetically near-close.
are phonetically true-mid; is also strongly centralized:.
are phonetically near-open; is central rather than front:.

Between consonants, have allophones that are transcribed, respectively. At least in case of, the realization is probably somewhat different, because the default IPA values of the symbols are very similar to the normal realizations of the Ibibio vowels. Similarly, may actually be near-close, rather than close.
In some dialects, occur as phonemes distinct from.

Tones

Ibibio has five phonemic tones: high, mid, rising, falling and low.

Grammar

Ibibio a tonal language with Subject-Verb-Object word order, rich pronoun markers, and complex verb conjugations for tense/aspect.
Ibibio Subject, Object, Possession, and Morphemes

Number	Subject	Subject Morpheme	Object	Object Morpheme	Possession
Keed	Ami	ń	Mien	n	Mmi
Keed	Afo	à/ú	Fien	u	Mfo
Keed	Anye	á	Anye	Ø	Amọ
Uwak	Nnyin	ì	Nnyin	i	Nnyin
Uwak	Ndufo/Mbufo	è	Ndufo/Mbufo	i	Ndufo
Uwak	Ammọ	é	Ammọ	Ø	Ammọ

Ibibio uses an array of equivalent coordinators for NP/DP coordination.
These are, however, illicit when coordinating verbs and larger verbal constructions. Instead, nyʌ́ŋ is used, which surfaces to the left of the main verb in the second conjunct.
Single Tense Test
Serial verb constructions maximally contain a single tense marker. This property is seen in Ibibio.
Single Negation Test
SVCs commonly allow for only one instance of negation, and this holds for Ibibio, as well. In Ibibio, negation scopes over V1 and V2, but only V1 gets negated. Below are 3 different intended ways of saying "Eno didn't arise" using negation.

Numerals

Ibibio cardinal and ordinal numbers from zero to ten:

No.	English	Ibibio	Ordinal
0	Zero	Ikpoikpo	N/A
1	One	Kèèd	Àkpá
2	Two	Íbà	Udiana
3	Three	Ítá	Ọyọhọ Ítá
4	Four	Ínàañ	Ọyọhọ Ínàañ
5	Five	Ítíòn	Ọyọhọ Ítíòn
6	Six	Ítíòkèèd	Ọyọhọ Ítíòkèèd
7	Seven	Ítíábà	Ọyọhọ Ítíábà
8	Eight	Ítíáìtà	Ọyọhọ Ítíáìtà
9	Nine	Úsúk-kèèd	Ọyọhọ Úsúk-kèèd
10	Ten	Dúòp	Ọyọhọ Dúòp
11	Eleven	Dúòp ye/mme Kèèd	Ọyọhọ Dúòp ye/mme Kèèd
12	Twelve	Dúòp ye/mme Íbà	Ọyọhọ Dúòp ye/mme Íbà
13	Thirteen	Dúòp ye/mme Ítá	Ọyọhọ Dúòp ye/mme Ítá
14	Fourteen	Dúòp ye/mme Ínàañ	Ọyọhọ Dúòp ye/mme Ínàañ
15	Fifteen	Èfịd	Ọyọhọ Èfịd

Base System
The Ibibio language uses a unique base-20 system for number up to 100

No.	English	Ibibio	Ordinal
20	Twenty	Edíp	Ọyọhọ Edíp
30	Thirty	Edíp ye/mme Dúòp	Ọyọhọ Edíp ye/mme Dúòp
40	Forty	Ábà	Ọyọhọ Edíp ye/mme Dúòp
50	Fifty	Ábà ye/mme Dúòp	Ọyọhọ Ábà ye/mme Dúòp
60	Sixty	Atà	Ọyọhọ Atà
70	Seventy	Atà ye/mme Dúòp	Ọyọhọ Atà ye/mme Dúòp
80	Eighty	Anàñ	Ọyọhọ Anàñ
90	Ninety	Anàñ ye/mme Dúòp	Ọyọhọ Anàñ ye/mme Dúòp
100	One Hundred	Íkíè	Ọyọhọ Íkíè
1000	One Thousand	Tosin Kèèd	Ọyọhọ Tosin
2000	Two Thousand	Tosin Íbà	Ọyọhọ Tosin Íbà

If the number isn't divisible by 20 or can have 15 added to the base number, then the number will be built off the base-20 system

Ibibio names

Ibibio names are traditionally significant, often carrying deep meanings and cultural relevance. These names are typically given for various reasons, including the circumstances of birth, family history, and the spiritual or moral qualities parents hope to impart to their children. Below are some notable Ibibio names and their meanings.
Family Positions:Akpan: "First son"Udo: "Second son"Etukudo: "Third son"Udọsen: "Fourth son"Adiaha: "First daughter"Ññwa: "Second daughter"Ete: "Father"Eka: "Mother"Eka- Ete- /eka: eka-ete ete-ete Ekam: Grandmother Etebom: Grandfather Eyen/Ayin- eka Owoden: BrotherEyen/Ayin -eka Owowan: SisterEbe: HusandAnwan: WifeEyin Eyen Eka - Niece/NephewEyin ette/eka - Step brother/sisterEyeyin - Grand child
More familiar names can be built on common root words. of grandmother.
Common names:Idoreyin: "Hope"Ukeme: "Ability"Ayanime: "Long-lasting patience"Itohowo: "Not of human" Imoh: "Rich, wealthy"Abasiakan: "God forbid"Abasi-akara: "God is in control"Mmedăra: "I rejoice"Utomobong: "the handiwork of God"/ "God's work"Ekom: "Thanksgiving"Bāk Abàsi: "Fear God"Idaraobong: "God's Joy"Idọñesid/Idongesit: "Comfort"Itooro/Itoro: "Praise"Mfon - GraceMfoniso - FavourMbọdidem/Mboutidem: "Faith"Uduak-Abasi: "God's Will"Edikan - VictoryNsikak-Abasi: What is hard for God?Toiyo-Abasi - "Remember God"Inemesit -''' "Happiness"

Proverbs

The following Ibibio proverbs with English translations come from The Sayings of the Wise: Ibibio Proverbs and Idioms by Anietie Akpabio, published in 1899.

"Ekpo ufɔk ɔkɔbɔ owo." "Trouble often begins at home."
"Eto keet isikabake akai." "One tree does not make a forest."
"Ikpat eka unen isiwotdo nditɔ." "A hen's feet cannot kill the chickens."
"Ekpo atua ekpo". "One who mocks another may hide their own troubles."
"Idop, idop ewa, enye ata ɔkpɔ unam." "It is a quiet dog that eats the fattest bone."
"Ofum ese ekpep eto unek." "The wind teaches the tree how to dance."