Igbo

Igbo is spoken by more than thirty million people, most of them in south-eastern Nigeria, and by a large diaspora in Lagos, London, Houston and Toronto. It is the language of Chinua Achebe's world, of highlife and of the proverbs that elders say are the palm oil with which words are eaten. Nollywood films and Afrobeats lyrics slip in and out of it constantly, so a few phrases go a long way.

Igbo is a tonal language: the same letters said on a high or a low pitch can be different words, and a question can be carried by the tune alone. It is written in the Latin alphabet with dots under some vowels, ị ọ ụ, which mark a second team of vowels that the rest of the word has to agree with. Verbs barely change shape; small words around them say when. Start with greetings, which Igbo speakers take seriously, and you will be welcomed warmly.