This dictionary is the fruit of a five-year research work on the meaning of Igbo names, an indispensable resource material for all those who are interested in the culture of the Igbo ethnic group in general, and the cultural dimensions of Igbo names, in particular. Spoken by about 30 million people in southeastern Nigeria, Igbo is the mother tongue of diverse people groups who have their homeland in a block of territory delimited to north by the Edo-Igala-Idoma ethnic groups, Urhobo to the west, the Bights of Benin and Biafra to the south and the Ibibio-Anang to the south. These groups who live in the area so delimited are referred to as Igbo and use the Igbo language to communicate their experience of being-in-the-world as well as their overall worldview. Igbo names are not mere biometric elements or identification labels tagged onto the individual to distinguish them from others; they reflect socio-cultural, philosophical and religious beliefs. They are an expression of long-held societal ethos and often communicate personal life-journeys and life-time family experiences, or even those of the clan. Also, names could reflect parents' aspirations for their children. In other words, names have important meanings and often encapsulate the epistemology and life experiences of their bearers. Suffice it to say that Igbo names are the most important part of a person's identity. It is this wealth of cultural information that this dictionary places at disposal of its user's . The book is divided into two parts for boys' names and girls' names respectively; and each name has not just an English translation, but also a cultural comment as to its inspiration, as well as a pronunciation guide. These two parts are preceded by the technical and theoretical study of Igbo linguistics, phonetics and phonology presented in the introduction. This section is aimed at eliminating the difficulty non-Igbo speakers encounter in pronouncing Igbo words/names. The work is completed by a rich bibliography for further cultural exploration.

From an author who adopted an African name as an adult comes the most inclusive book of African names. Obama, Iman, Kanye, Laila—authentic African names are appearing more often in nurseries, classrooms, and boardrooms. The African Book of Names offers readers more than 5,000 common and uncommon names organized by theme from 37 countries and at least 70 different ethnolinguistic groups. Destined to become a classic keepsake, The African Book of Names shares in-depth insight about the spiritual, social, and political importance of names from Angola to Zimbabwe. As the most far-reaching book on the subject, this timely and informative resource guide vibrates with the culture of Africa and encourages Blacks across the globe to affirm their African origins by selecting African names. In addition to thousands of names from north, south, east, central and west Africa, the book shares: A checklist of dos and don'ts to consider when choosing a name—from sound and rhythm to origin and meaning A guide to conducting your own African-centered naming ceremony A 200-year naming calendar

A selection of 1,000 proverbs in Igbo language, each accompanied by a usable English translation.

Uniting a sense of the political dimensions of language appropriation with a serious, yet accessible linguistic terminology, The African Palimpsest examines the strategies of `indigenization? whereby West African writers have made their literary English or French distinctively `African'. Through the apt metaphor of the palimpsest ? a surface that has been written on, written over, partially erased and written over again ? the book examines such well-known West African writers as Achebe, Armah, Ekwensi, Kourouma, Okara, Saro?Wiwa, Soyinka and Tutuola as well as lesser-known writers from francophone and anglophone Africa. Providing a great variety of case-studies in Nigerian Pidgin, Akan, Igbo, Maninka, Yoruba, Wolof and other African languages, the book also clarifies the vital interface between Europhone African writing and the new outlets for African artistic expression in (auto-)translation, broadcast television, radio and film.Hailed as a classic in the 1990s, The African Palimpsest is here reprinted in a completely revised edition, with a new Introduction, updated data and bibliography, and with due consideration of more recent theoretical approaches.'A very valuable book ? a detailed exploration in its concern with language change as demonstrated in post-colonial African literatures? Bill Ashcroft, University of New South Wales ?Apart from its great documentary value, The African Palimpsest provides many theoretical concepts that will be useful to scholars of African literatures, linguists in general ? as well as comparatists who want to gain fresh insights into the processes by which Vulgar Latin once gave birth to the Romance languages.' Ahmed Sheikh Bangura, University of California, Santa Barbara ?As Zabus? book suggests, it is the area where the various languages of a community meet and cross-over ? that is likely to provide the most productive site for the generation of a new literature that is true to the real linguistic situation that pertains in so much of contemporary urban Africa.' Stewart Brown, University of Birmingham