Earl W. Stevick

Name: Adapting and Writing Language Lessons — Appendix F: A Lesson for Discussion by Readers (Igbo)
Author: Earl W. Stevick

Adapting and Writing Language Lessons… (1971)

Summary

“Adapting and Writing Language Lessons — Appendix F: A Lesson for Discussion by Readers (Igbo)”, published in 1971, is a work by Earl W. Stevick. It explores elements such as Igbo, consonants and pronunciation.

Quotes from Adapting and Writing Language Lessons… (Earl W. Stevick)

Earl W. Stevick, Adapting and Writing Language Lessons… (1971)

“ For one not used to a second language, and particularly a tone language, accurate pronunciation is difficult to achieve; but it is also crucially important. The drills that may seem monotonous at first are actually a golden opportunity to learn to control pronunciation at the outset, so that habits of sloppy pronunciation will never have a good chance to develop. At the same time, every utterance in every drill is a perfectly good and natural utterance that will be found useful in daily life.
The details of Igbo pronunciation will be outlined step by step in the early lessons. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Earl W. Stevick, Adapting and Writing Language Lessons… (1971)

“ Lesson L.
In a fairly long Igbo sentence, there may be a large number of different levels of pitch; but every pitch can be described in terms of one of three alternative possibilities at any particular point in the sentence.
First, the mark ’ represents a phenomenon which we will call "step". The pitch of a vowel or m or n or ŋ so marked is never low. In any Igbo utterance, each-"step" is a little lower than the preceding one. You can only step down, and once you have done so you cannot climb up again until you come to a pause at the end of a phrase or sentence. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Earl W. Stevick, Adapting and Writing Language Lessons… (1971)

“ However, they may also appear before consonants; in such cases, they are syllables by themselves, with their own tone. Be sure you don't use a vowel either before or after such a syllabic nasal; just hum-m-m it and then go on-n-n to the next consonant. As you will soon learn, m is also frequently written as a word by itself; in such cases also, it is syllabic and has its own tone. Syllabic m also appears occasionally at the end of an Igbo word; apart from a few cases of this type, all Igbo words end with vowels. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Earl W. Stevick, Adapting and Writing Language Lessons… (1971)

“ As you begin to learn Igbo vocabulary. remember that the tone is an integral part of the word, and must be learned along with the consonants and vowels. It is true that tones sometimes undergo alternations that will surprise you, somewhat as the f in English wife changes to v in the plural wives. But the existence of this alternation in English does not permit us to interchange f and v whenever we feel like it; neither does the existence of variant tonal forms in Igbo permit us to ignore tone. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Earl W. Stevick, Adapting and Writing Language Lessons… (1971)

“ There are also some consonant sounds that will be strange to you; you will be helped with them as difficulties arise. Drill 1. Each of the following sentences begins with the sequence"step-low", and continues with syllables that are "low" to the end. Thus each sentence has a melody somewhat like the English sentence "THEY were coming." Remember that in Igbo, however, the higher pitch at the beginning has absolutely nothing to do with emphasis. After the English is read aloud, each student should repeat each sentence in direct imitation of the model until his pronunciation is acceptable. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Earl W. Stevick, Adapting and Writing Language Lessons… (1971)

“ A. Below are ten Igbo words without tone marks. Each one has either the sequence step - same (like ánụ) or the sequence step - low (like ázụ̀. You will hear each word pronounced at least twice. Mark the tone in either of the above ways, as you hear it. (The words should be read to the students from the following page.)
The correct markings will now be given to you. Indicate each error by a check mark, and then make the appropriate correction.
B. Below are another ten Igbo words without tone marks. This time, each word has either the sequence low - low (like ite) or low - step (like ikó) . ”

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Source: Wikisource

Earl W. Stevick, Adapting and Writing Language Lessons… (1971)

“ Second, the mark ‘ indicates "low". A "low" is distinctly lower in pitch than a "step" either before or after it. The sequence "step - low - step" is something like the melody at the beginning of the World War I song "Over There". ”

Earl W. Stevick

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