language3-slider-dude.png

Telling Time

Good evening great people, my name is Olimini Godson

I’m really excited to be part of this platform.

Thank you Miss. Igwe Franca Umasoye for this beautiful initiative to promote the Ekpeye language through Speak Ekpeye fluently.

Special thanks to the team of tutors, our mother Prof. Gloria U. Obozur and our solid rock audience.

It’s my pleasure to bring to you the third lecture of the day as titled Telling Time which is translated in Ekpeye language as (gwụ ka la ùgɓè or èkèlè).

Lecture Objectives:

Imagine being invited to a family gathering and you are left to make speech or an age grade meeting and you are asked to greet the house, how about a scenario where you are required to address your community. This program is aimed at solving all of that. Hopefully at the end of this lecture, we should be able to know:

  1. Time of the Day.
  2. Greetings that suits hours of the day.
  3. Days of the Week.
  4. The Ekpeye monthly calendar.
  5. Seasons.

The lecture will be done in English language and translated to ekpeye language which will last for an hour from 8pm to 9pm.

  1. Time of the Day.

There are 5 key important times or part of the day, thus includes:

Midnight:  this is the middle of the night (00:00 hours)

This is called: echì àbàlì

Morning:  this is the time from sunrise; it’s the time from midnight to midday

It is called: oyukwè

Midday:  this is the middle of the day also called noon

In Ekpeye languaget it is called: echì èyè (12:00)

Afternoon: this is the time from midday (noon) to evening which is called: èyè

It ranges from 12:00 hours to approximately 18:00 hours

Evening: this is the time from the end of the afternoon to midnight. It’s approximately 18:00 hours to 00:00 hours.

It’s called: ịlà

  • Greetings that suits hours of the day.

One of the basic things to note in knowing hours or time of the day is to use them in greetings.

ụ̀mà: Uma which means good is a suffix attached to the hour of the day to form greetings

When ụ̀mà is attached to Oyukwè it automatically changes Oyukwè from being just morning to good morning.

The following are greetings that befits the hours of the day

Oyukwè ụ̀mà: good morning

This goes with a corresponding respond:

Jalị Oyukwè: fine morning

Jalị on theother hand means something of great quality.

Èyè ụ̀mà: good afternoon

Jalị Èyè: fine afternoon

ịlà ụ̀mà: good evening

Jalị ịlà: fine evening

  • Days of the Week.

The term Days of the Week refers to the period of time from Sunday to Saturday, as it appears on the calendar but in the context of this lecture it refers to the days of the market week: which are:

uɗyè:  day of the market week

Èke: first day of market week

ìzù: third day of Ẹkpẹyẹ week

ẹ̀họ: fourth day of Ẹkpẹyẹ week

These four days summed up the ekpeye calendar week which is called:

ụ̀gbàkoniozù (week, period)

  • The Ekpeye monthly calendar.

January                  Ibebazu

February                 Nwowo

march                     Ebilika

April                        Egbuluka/ Olowe

May                         Ime

June                         Ujidhu

July                          Esabo

August                      Esato

September                  Ugbedhe

October                         Udhi

November                     Ukwu

December                     Ibebanu

  • Seasons.
  • January to April                  Utala
  • May to August                     Uwoni
  • September to December     Ulamini
  • Conclusion

Today I have identified five (5) key important times or part of the day, the greetings that suits the hour of the day, the days of the week, the ekpeye monthly calendar and the seasons all in ekpeye language which I believe will be reflective in our thinking process.

KP

Parts of the Human Body in Ekpeye language

  1. Head             ishî
  2. Hair              ụkaze, ụka!ze
  3. Forehead        àkpè
  4. Eye                 ekpeleni
  5. Nose               emî
  6. Ear                  ẹtệ                                                                
  7. Tooth              izie
  8. Tongue           iɗhô
  9. Lip                  ụgbanụ
  10. Throat, Neck   ẹ̀kịɗhì ̣
  11. Heart                ekpemà
  12. Mouth               unù
  13. Chest                 unukùma
  14. Stomach, belly    ụwo
  15. Navel                   ìkpècî
  16. Shoulder              ẹwaekâ
  17. Hand                    ẹkâ
  18. palm (of hand)     ẹ̀daṇẹkâ
  19. Right (hand)         ikẹ̀ghâ Left (hand) ìbìda
  20. Thigh                    Ogbô
  21. Brain                     ụ̀pyà
  22. Body                      ẹ̀lị
  23. Toe                       ụgbanuƙo
  24. Finger                   ụgbaneƙa
  25. Elbow,                  ukpunueka
  26. Knee                    ukpunuko
  27. Foot                     edanuko
  28. Bone                   ukpo
  29. Waist, hips          òkpù
  30. Chin                    abûukpò
  31. Cheek,                 àgbà
  32. Liver                   ìmèlècî
  33. Leg                      ukõ
  34. Ankle                  okwuta ukõ
  35. armpit                 ẹ̀bụdà
  36. Heel                    ichinunuko
  37.  Beard                  aza
  38. Abuekpeleni        eyebrow
  39. Shin abaa
PARENTAL ROLES

Parental Roles in Language Preservation

I don’t know about you…  But My father barely speaks Ekpeye with me, we communicate in ekpeye only when it’s a serious issue or when he’s pissed off. I forgot to add and when he wants to give me a private information in public… I summed it to be 30%.

My mother communicates with me 70% percent of the time in ekpeye, she only speaks English when she’s damn serious, and all hell has been let loose.

Sincerely I owe my mum for the little ekpeye I can speak, although my ekpeye was deficient it is not completely malnourished like that of my younger siblings, my parents no kukuma try for that side o, unlike me they communicate with them almost all the time in English, as the years rolled by, the ekpeye language diminishes.

But I managed to get cure for my ekpeye deficiency not with my parent’s medication, but my Grandmother’s medication and some other ekpeye folks whom I spent part of my teenage age with.

Dear parents or future parents,

Aside good education and responsible upbringing, your child has the right to his or her mother tongue, don’t deny them that soku soku (Please)….  mo dio yo odio uko meh zhi li ele (My knees are on the floor).

The home is the place a child voices out his first words, speaking your native language to them at an early age won’t stop them from speaking queens English, or being fluent in other their 2nd Languages, no not at all.

At least the basics of their Mother tongue should be taught to them, your mother tongue is supposed to be your first language.

I have watched learned people from other tribe speak polished English and their mother tongue is still very much alive.

Speak Your Language Every day and keep the language threats away

Excerpts from Umasoye..