[8] The narrative also illustrated various aspects of Igbo life in detail, based on Equiano's experiences in his hometown of Essaka.

[12] 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.

Emenanjo (1978, 2015)[18][17] counts just eight, which occur in pairs of opposites: ukwu 'big', nta 'small'; oji 'dark', ọcha 'light'; ọhụrụ 'new', ochie 'old'; ọma 'good'; njọ 'bad'.

The language's tone system was given by John Goldsmith as an example of autosegmental phenomena that go beyond the linear model of phonology laid out in The Sound Pattern of English.

In many cases, the two (or sometimes three) tones commonly used in Igbo dictionaries fail to represent how words actually sound in the spoken language .

[check quotation syntax] The use of tonal inflection in Igbo language is very important because it helps to differentiate between words that would otherwise sound the same.

On these grounds, Emenanjo (2015) asserts that the suffixes called extensional are bound lexical compounding elements; they cannot occur independently, though many are related to other free morphemes from which they may have originally been derived.

[17] Igbo does not mark overt case distinctions on nominal constituents and conveys grammatical relations only through word order.

It has been proposed, with reservations, that some Igbo verbs display ergativity on some level, as in the following two examples:[17] Nnukwubigmmīriwaternà-ezòAUX-falln'iro.PREP-outsideNnukwu mmīri nà-ezò n'iro.big water AUX-fall PREP-outside'Heavy rain is falling outside.

They do not employ overt relative markers or resumptive pronouns, instead leaving a gap in the position of the relativized noun.

'Igbo lacks the common valence-decreasing operation of passivization, a fact which has led multiple scholars to claim that "voice is not a relevant category in Igbo.

"[17] The language does, however, possess some valence-increasing operations that could be construed as voice under a broader definition ÓgùOgua-vó-ọ-laPREF-be.open-SUFF-PRFÓgù a-vó-ọ-laOgu PREF-be.open-SUFF-PRF'Ogu has become disgraced.

Among the meaning types commonly expressed in serial verb constructions are instruments, datives, accompaniment, purpose, and manner.

[24] Nsibidi is an ancient system of graphic communication indigenous to peoples in southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon in the Cross River region.

[26] Before the existence of any official system of orthography for the Igbo language, travelers and writers documented Igbo sounds by utilizing the orthracyologies of their own languages in transcribing them, though they encountered difficulty representing particular sounds, such as implosives, labialized velars, syllabic nasals, and non-expanded vowels.

In the 1850s, German philologist Karl Richard Lepsius published the Standard Alphabet, which was universal to all languages of the world, and became the first Igbo orthography.

It contained 34 letters and included digraphs and diacritical marks to transcribe sounds distinct to African languages.

The new orthography, created by the International Institute of African Languages and Cultures (IIALC), had 36 letters and disposed of diacritic marks.

In 1976, the Igbo Standardization Committee criticized the official orthography in light of the difficulty notating diacritic marks using typewriters and computers; difficulty in accurately representing tone with tone-marking conventions, as they are subject to change in different environments; and the inability to capture various sounds particular to certain Igbo dialects.

More recent calls for reform have been based in part on the rogue use of alphabetic symbols, tonal notations, and spelling conventions that deviate from the standard orthography.

[32][33] The script gained notable attention after a write-up from Nigerian linguist Kola Tubosun on its "straightforward" and "logical" approach to indicating tonal and dialectal variety compared to Latin.

[citation needed] In modern times, Igbo people in the diaspora are putting resources in place to make the study of the language accessible.

[41] This perception may be a contributor to the negative attitude towards the Igbo language by its speakers across the spectrum of socio-economic classes.

[40] Igbo children's reduced competence and performance has been attributed in part to the lack of exposure in the home environment, which impacts intergenerational transmission of the language.

Aside from its role in numerous facets of daily life in Nigeria, globalization exerts pressure to utilize English as a universal standard language in support of economic and technological advancement.

[41] Newly coined terms may fail to conform to a dialect's lexical formation in assimilating loan words.

[41] Proverbs are an essential component of the Igbo language that convey cultural wisdom and contextual significance to linguistic expression.

Everyday usage of Igbo proverbs has declined in recent generations of speakers, which threatens loss in intergenerational transmission.

[45] A recent study of the Ogwashi dialect of Igbo demonstrated a steep decline in youth's knowledge and use of proverbs compared to elder speakers.

[41] In this study, youths employed simplified or incomplete proverbial expressions, lacked a diverse proverbial repertoire, and were deficient in their understanding of proper contextual usages as compared to elders who demonstrated competence to enhance linguistic expression with a diverse vocabulary of proverbs.