Igbo Archival Dictionary Project

Igbo belongs to the Benue-Congo branch of the Niger-Congo language family of Africa and is spoken in seven states in Nigeria—Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi, Abia, Enugu, Delta and Rivers—as well as among large and growing émigré populations in the United States and Europe. There are Igbo linguistic retentions in the Caribbean islands among Igbo descendants forcibly trans-shipped between the 16-19th centuries during the Atlantic traffic. Linguists recognize more than 15 Igbo dialects in existence but studies in Igbo dialectology are ongoing and the final number is likely to be higher.

Among languages spoken by a major proportion of the world’s population, numbering in the tens of millions of people, Igbo arguably is one of the more under-resourced. The Igbo Archival Dictionary Project (IADP) is dedicated to redressing this imbalance and saving Igbo from endangerment. The project represents one step in a larger effort to promote the exchange of intellectual resources between the African and English-speaking worlds. First inaugurated in 2001, IADP has over the years opened up an extensive program of research on the Igbo language. This international research effort has brought together scholars from across disciplines – anthropologists, computer scientists, historians, and linguists – and across nations and institutions, in undertaking the task of collecting data on the various dialects of the Igbo language. To date the IADP has undertaken comprehensive lexicography for the Igbo language and produced the book - A Composite Synchronic Alphabet of Igbo Dialects (CSAID) as well as the Igbo keyboard layouts that enable seamless and convenient reproduction of digital Igbo texts using common word processing applications. We continue our research and development efforts to produce more digital tools and resources to accelerate and enable development of digital applications using Igbo as the human-computer interface.