Word for the Travel Wise (06/08/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Considering the amount of Nigerian friends I have you’d think I’d be off in a rush to check out their hometown digs, but the truth is I’m not. Well at least not right away. It’s sort of how some people find travel to, from or through Africa as a whole dizzying; I get that feeling a lot more about Nigeria than any other country. Lonely Planet sums up my thoughts perfectly in the opening to their online guide by stating things like the country has over 250 different peoples and languages! That’s almost well beyond a melting pot and I can only give you what I know, so for today we learn some more Yoruba.

Today’s word is a Yoruba word used in Nigeria:

odabo – goodbye

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 / Igbo words: ikun, feran, kedu

Word for the Travel Wise (04/23/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

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

Dead Bird Smuggler Nabbed

by Erik Olsen on

First we had the head smuggler, which was bad
enough, but now we’ve got folks trying to
smuggle dead birds into the country. Where will the madness end? Yes, it was at the Miami International Airport
(always Miami!) where customs officials caught a man with a dead bird stuffed in his luggage. Why carry a dead bird
into the country? Can’t one easily find plenty of dead birds already here? Well, such probing questions go unanswered
for the moment, though the man did say he was going to use it for a religious ceremony. Ah, the old religious ceremony
excuse. Seems that one never gets old. So what are our dutiful customs officials to do? Well, after confiscating the
dead bird, the man (from Nigeria apparently) was released. And probably went straight out to find himself another dead
bird.

Africa Travel: Nigeria

by Adrienne Wilson on

As I may have
mentioned once or twice in the past during my weeks long babbles on Trinidad & Tobago there is a rather large
population of Nigerians residing in the country. So I don’t get side tracked, the point I’m trying to make is you
needn’t go all the way to Nigeria to experience things like Iyan. Iyan also known as pounded yam is a favorite dish
among many Nigerians and served with a spicy stew which I sampled during my TT days. My first attempt with the odd
tasting play-doughish yam went well, though it takes a lot of getting used to. Quite frankly I couldn’t make much sense
about the popular Nigerian food my friend raved about with bright eyes.

However, I’m sure there is nothing
like good old Iyan direct from the lands of Lagos in Nigeria as my friend described. You’ll have to ask around for the
best places to sample the dish when and if you arrive. This post is more to get you curious about the food. To further
your searches check out these incredible shots of
Nigeria and other African countries from Betty Press. The way she captures this man and his pestle hard at work is
pretty awesome. If the photos inspire you to cook up some pounded yam start with this recipe found here.

Word for the Travel Wise (02/20/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

The folks who have so kindly allowed me to bounce back and forth from their homes here in Trinidad are any and everything, but ‘Trini to deh bone.’ In addition to the large East Indian and well, West Indian population here on the island there is a rather large community of Nigerians residing in Trinidad. Strangely enough I’m staying with a handful of them as opposed to my long time pen pal who is Trinidadian. That’s a story I’ll save for another time. Anyhow they have extended themselves so much as to make sure I have unlimited internet access to blog my heart and travel tales to the dear Gadling readers and have even contributed in making today’s word possible.

Today’s word is a Yoruba word used in Nigeria:

feran – like or love depending on use

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 Yoruba words: ikun