Edonaze

Ihe

=

Into

into

Vb’ihe

=

X

Multiplication

Yan/Yaen

=

And

And

Kevbe

=

+

Add or Plus

ẹirrọ

=

-

Menos

Afian

=

/ or ÷

Divide

Ukhionmwen

=

1/2

Half

ọrẹ / ọre / ẹrẹ / ẹr'ọh

=

( = [is]

Equal to / is

Vbe

=

in, and, of

In

Debae

=

(+)

With

Deghe / Deghẹ

=

If

If

ukhun

=

Xⁿ

To power

ukhun eva

=

V²

To power 2 (V²

Afian ihe eva

=

½

Divide into 2

Afian ihe eha

=

⅓

Divide into 3

Afian ihe enen

=

¼

Divide into 4

Afian ihe isen

=

⅕

Divide into 5

Isen vb’ihe ukhun eirrọ vbe ọkpa

=

5⁻¹/ 1/5¹

5 to power menos 1

ẹirrọ vbe ọkpa

=

-V + 1

Bellow 1 , V < 1

ọkpa ẹirrọ

=

+V - 1

X => 1 menos 1

Totọ ehia /Totọ

=

Total / Sum

“The total of all…”

Ni /na

=

That

That

Ah,ih,oh,eh,ẹh,uh

=

h(a,i,o,ọ,e,ẹ,u)

Add-in-Vowel / Pronoun

Pronunciation and usage of new words not common or present in Edo grammar

Every new word (English, Latin, French or Spanish) are written and pronounce base on Edo alphabet, consonants and vowel sounds. E.g. International = intanasiona, chemistry = kẹmisiri (note: no “ch” in Edo consonants), Nigeria = Naigirria, etc.

Given generally acceptable name compose with Edo consonant, vowel and alphabet with its corresponding interpretation for recognition and utility. E.g. “Space Science” space = Idagbo ne ọh rr'iso / Idagbiso. Idagbo means empty / open place/space while “Iso” is “sky”. Empty place in the sky (planet space) could be represented in Edo as “Idagbiso”. “Science” could be applied as “saensi” or sanyensi and “Space Science” interpreted “Sanyensi Idagbiso”

“V” and “X”

“V” was used in place of letter “X” on above symbols because letter "X"do not exist in Edo Alphabets. Any word that take X is translated as "zi" in Edo Grammar . e.g. Oxford = Ọzifọdi

Ukhun (to power “V²”

ukhun = 1. Up (e.g odẹ ukhun also writing as “odukhun” or “od´ukhun” (“ode”=way / part / route)) /. 2. Medicine. 3. Raise “to power” in mathematical terms ]

Two numbers combine to mean one

Two or more numbers combine to mean one, indicate multiplication of said numbers. E.g.(a) “iyisen isen” i.e.100 x 5 = 500 (b) “uri iyisen ekigbesiyeha” refers 200 x 100 x 50 =1,000,000 (one million)

Accent on letter “ẹ” or “ọ” :

We are told in English that an accent is a manner of pronunciation peculiar to a particular individual, location, or nation. An accent may identify the locality in which its speakers reside (a geographical or regional accent), the socio-economic status of its speakers, their ethnicity, their caste or social class, their first language (when the language in which the accent is heard is not their native language), and so on. Accents typically differ in quality of voice, pronunciation of vowels and consonants, stress, and prosody; although grammar, semantics, vocabulary, and other language characteristics often vary concurrently with accent, the word 'accent' refers specifically to the differences in pronunciation and the word 'dialect' encompasses the broader set of linguistic differences; often 'accent' is a subset of 'dialect'. Edo accent in this case is to dinstinguish pronounciation of three basic letters and vowel sound e and ẹ, o and ọ, inclusively y and ý.

Edo accent could mean amukhun (up accent like in "ý") and amotọ (down accent as in “ẹ” and “ọ”, [Ama = Mark, Ukhun = up,(although “Ukhun” also means “medicine” Odukhun as upward and odẹ as way/path]
Accent on “ẹ” and “ọ” in Edo language is to be at the bottom of corresponding letters while "ý" (new letter introduce by this author) takes accent upwards. “ẹ” sound like egg, earth, death, etc while “ọ” sound like bought, dot, door, four.

Names of persons could take capital letters for easy identification and recognition in Edo language like in English language. E.g. Uyi, Ogieva, Ọmonsigho, Agbonlahor, Ẹdokpọlor etc.
Names could also be notified with capital letters

E.g Naigiria, Edo, Ọba, Osanobua, Amerika, Eko (lagos) etc.

Eliminating use of “e” before noun.
E.g. e-Toni, e-Naigiria The use of “e” before nouns should be totally removed to allow free flow of speech, reading and writing easy, constructive and legible.
Instead of:e-Toni w'uh wẹdo / Tony extend his greetings to you

Better: Toni w'uh(we uh) wẹ do / Toni we do

Accents are:

(1) necessary to differentiate the sound of vowel “ẹ ” from “ e” and "ọ" from "o" E.g. (i) as in: owọrọ, obọ, etc. This also applies to no identical letters with variation on vowel sound in a word like owiẹ-morning, ẹkọ-custard, egbọ-planting, ẹdo-Edo, ọghomwen-mine, ẹgbo-bush etc,

(2) necessary if vowel sound of identical letter e and ẹ varies in the sound of a word with neither having “n” as proceeding letter. E.g. ọdọ, ẹdẹ, ẹgbẹ, ọghẹdẹ, ọfọ, etc

(3) necessary when vowel sound “ẹ” or “ọ” varies in sound too, with niether having letter “n” as proceeding letter. E.g. (a) ọkpa, ọgban (sound as in color, culture, taught etc). (b) “ẹ” as in “ẹkpo” (sound as in health, egg, get, etc)

(4)necessary if after "en" or "on" , there appears another vowel sound as a third letter. (as in the case of most Edo nouns or names.) E.g , Enogie, Eni, etc.

(5) Not necessary if “ẹ” takes letter “n” as subsequent or proceeding letter. “en” in Edo grammar, sounds as with vowel sound “ẹ” E.g. (a) iyisen (sound as in tent, dent, fend, hen, ten, vent etc). Same applies if “ọ” takes letter “n” as proceeding letter. E.g. (b) ihinron (sound as in font, fond, don’t etc).

(6) Not necessary in "ne" because "ne" already sound like "nen" as if have "ẹ" and "n" added to it, as subsiquent letters.

(7)Again, not also necessary in "me" because "me" already sound like "men" as if have "ẹ" and "n" added to it, as subsiquent letters.

Apostrophe

According to wikipedia, an apostrophe is used in English to indicate possession. The practice ultimately derives from the Old English genitive case: the “of” case, itself used as a possessive in many languages. The genitive form of many nouns ended with the inflection -es, which evolved into a simple -s for the possessive ending. An apostrophe was later added to replace the omitted e, not his as is and was widely believed. In English, the apostrophe ( ’ , often rendered as ' ) is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritic mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet or certain other alphabets. it serves two main purposes: the omission of one or more letters (as in the contraction of does not to doesn’t), and the marking of possessive cases (as in the cat’s whiskers).

Similarly, apostrophes in Edo language are to notify missing letter (ikpẹmwen) not pronounce or written after or before a complete word at the begining or extreme, when reading or writing a sentence. It could refers to: (1) Two different word together. (2) An omitted letter (Ikpẹmwen) e.g. “vb’ẹdugie” above. Left and right apostrophe NOT PROPER in btw words same time. e.g. vb’‘dugie (3) once apostrophe is used in between words, there must not be a seperation. e.g. Ẹdo n'imose, Ogieva vb'Uwaila, etc.

Edo apostrophe could means “Amuke” (‘ ’, [Ama = Mark, uke = top]Amuke n’oberọmwan = right apostrophe while Amuke n’obiyọmwan= left apostrophe [Oberrọmwan (“right hand” on literal translation) ought to be separated as “obọ erra ọmwan” but join together to mean a single word. Same applies to “obọ iye ọmwan” to “obiyọmwan” (“left hand” on literal translation]
Writers could make use of right apostrophe when next word has a vowel as its first letter i.e. “n’” as in “Ọba n’ọkpọlor”/ Ọba is great. "Gioni we uh rhuẹse" / Gioni w'uh rhuẹse"= John said thank you, while left apostrophe when previous word ends in vowel letter.

Apostrophe “ ' ” is use when in two words one ends with either "e" or "ẹ" and the other starts with a vowel. e.g. Vbe ọh khin? = Vb'ọh khin? (What is it?)

Example Aa:

John and Edugie came to campus yesterday to greet Professor Omorodion

Gioni vbe Ẹdugie rrie kampọs nodẹ do tue Profẹsor Ọmonrọdion. ..(Simple sentence)

Gioni vb’Ẹdugie rrie kampọs nodẹ do tue Profẹsor Ọmonrọdion…. (Complex sentence)

(Debae means join while vbe = and, with or plus.)

Example Ab:

Gioni debae Ẹdugie rie kampọs nodẹ do tue Profẹsor Ọmonrọdion.

Gioni deba’Ẹdugie rie kampọs nodẹ do tue Profẹsor Ọmonrọdion.

Example Ba:

I love Jully for her character.

Ih rhuẹmwen Giuli zẹvbe uýinmwen ne ọh mwen

Ih rhuẹmwen Giuli zẹvb’uýinmwen ne ọh mwen
Others could write and pronounce like:
Ih rhuẹmwen Giuli zẹmw’uýinmwen onren

Ih rhuẹmwen Giuli zẹmw’uýinmwen onren
Ih rhuẹmwen Giuli vb’uýimwen onren

Ih rhuẹmwen Giuli vb’uyimwen onren

Example Bb:
Me rhuẹmwen Giuli vb’uýimwen onren

Me rhuẹmwen Giuli zẹvb’uýimwen onren

Me rhuẹmwen Giuli zẹmw’uýimwen onren

Me rhuẹmwen Giuli zẹvb’uýinmwen ne ọh mwen

Me rhuẹmwen Giuli zẹmw’uýinmwen ne ọh mwen

Example Bc:

Ih rhuẹmwen Giuli yẹ uýinmwen ne ọh mwen

Ih rhuẹmwen Giuli yẹ uýinmwen ne ọh mwen

Ih rhuẹmwen Giuli y’uýinmwen ne ọh mwen

Ih rhuẹmwen Giuli y’uýinmwen onren

No separation in between words that has apostrophe applied to indicate pronounces as one word, which could take the positions to be a noun in some cases. Usually indicating an omission of a letter, usually “e”, “ẹ”, “ọ”, “o”

Silent Letter “r” and “h”

“R” is silence in pronunciations while double “RR” is not. E.g. “ihinron”, “erenren”, uri etc.

“h” is silent only when at extreme in a word and mostly present with newly introduce words like: ọh, ah, eh, ẹh, ih, uh (Applicable as adjective, pronoun and article) e.g “the”, “you” etc

New “add-in-vowel” i.e. h(a,i,o,ọ,e,ẹ,u) as “ah”, “eh”, “ẹh”, “ih”, “ọh” “oh”, “uh”

(mostly use as pronoun and adjective)

Have argued that all vowel sound that represent a pronoun, should take letter “h” as to differentiate it from a single alphabet or consonant i.e. (ah, uh, oh, ọh, eh, ẹh, ih). E.g (1) Ih rhuẹmwen wẹ = I love you. (2) De ẹmwen n'uh ta maen nodẹ? = what did you tell him yesterday?. Ih = I , uh/wẹ = You , eh, ọh, ẹh = He/she : (3) ọh zuọrọ rha? - Is he/she crazy? (4) uh ghi tamaen - do tell him. (5) Ih ma (ghi) kha vbe rriọ - I didn't say so (6) ẹh ghi rre evbani - it's no longer there. As in the case of an article: a, the, (7) eh dọkitọ ni, ona khin - this is the Doctor / that Doctor is this.

“Eh” will help very much to distinguish it from "e". E.g. (6)“Osato ẹr'ọh khuẹ eh kẹpkẹyẹ ni fua” meaning “Osato drove the duck away” You can see that “eh” above represent “the”. This only apply when what begin the noun is not a vowel sound (a,o,ọ,u,i,e,ẹ,)

(7) “Ogieva ẹr'ọh yaen owa ni” (Ogieva is the owner of that house) meaning “Ogieva owns that house” you could see that “Ogieva” and “Owa” has no need of “eh”. ( The man is quity / that man is quity /that man takes the guilty / okpia ni ẹr'ọh rrie abe (okpia-man, ni-that, ẹr'ọh-is, ọh-the, rie-takes, abe-quit) / okpia ni rie abe (9) Eh vbe ah kor ọrẹ ah rror - You reap what you sow (Benin proverb). See tables for more illustration:-

Table 1

(i) N’uh is a combinations of “ne” and “uh” meaning “to” is the mending of “that” and “you”

(ii) W'uh is a combination of "we" and "uh" i.e. "said" and "to"

(iii) Use of “ẹ” in “wẹ” as a pronoun (meaning you) as in table 1 indicates it is a singular pronoun while the use of “a” as in “uwa” in table 1 and 2 refers to “you” of a plural pronoun “all”

Table 3

Table 4

·

ọtuen n'okpia rre do tue ima nodẹ / Your brother came to visit us yesterday. (eten, ọtuen, ọtien, ọten, etionren)

Ah ighi mien ebe ne ọbar..= he/she can no more get red paper. "ah ighi" is use in negative sense. "ai" only use in the case of a noun..i.e. when writing a name of a person. e.g. Aibuedefe, Uwaifioku, Aigbobo, etc. "ẹh ighi" ,and "ah ighi" is also represented by other scholars as "ẹi" and "ai".

"ghi / gha" (positive or negative as the case may be)

"r" (silent) e.g owọrọ, evbare while "rr" (sound heavy) e.g. rrie, rra, rrerre,

"ẹ" (accent necessary only without "n" as the next letter). Sound like iden, aden, owen.

"ọ" (accent necessary without "r" as the next letter ). Sound like dọlor, kor, gbor, vior, talor, tọlor, vọlor, tieyor, bor, zuor, fior, gor, lor, kuor, vor, yor, zor.

"on" do not need accent on "o" : whenever there is" n" after "ọ" , accent on "o" is no longer necessary because sound as if its already there. e.g. Osamwonyi not Osamwọnyi, Ihion not ihiọn, ihinron not ihinrọn.

"j ": Not present in Edonaze alphabet. e.g. John (in english) is translated as Gioni. , "gi" is the equivalent translation of j.

"y" (as in iyobo)(light sound, tongue roll). sound like yo, yogut, young, etc, while "ý" (tongue touch up and sleep, mount wide as in iýan, iýen) sound like yankky, yank, etc. (combination of j / y in pronounciation)

"q" not present in Edonaze but takes "kui" or "ki" as equivalent as the case may be. E.g queen = kuini.

Letter “c” is written and pronounce as “k”(ka) as in kampọs/campus while like in circle = saiko

"rh" is use when the pronounciation is dragging between r/h. e.g. rhen, rhuẹse, rhuẹmwen, etc.