Fiji zigaboo---(role of "Igbo" tribe?)

[Wilson Gray]

I know it only from hearing it spoken by I(g)bo friends. Of course,
they were speaking English and, no doubt, used the English
pronunciation. So, I concede your point, Larry.

Interesting story, Charlie.

-Wilson

On 3/30/07, Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Fiji zigaboo---(role of "Igbo" tribe?)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> At 10:12 AM -0400 3/30/07, Wilson Gray wrote:
> >Is "Igbo" pronounced [igbo] in French? In English, it's pronounced
> >[ibo], whether spelled "Igbo" or "Ibo," in line with the native
> >pronunciation, [ibo].
>
> Really?  At UCLA they taught us it was indeed [i (gb)o], or whatever
> you have to do to denote a voiced labiovelar stop (*not* a cluster or
> sequence of g+b), with the syllable break as indicated above.
>
> LH
>
> >  Of course, there's nothing in either English or
> >French to prevent the spelling pronunciations, [igbo] and [ig at bo].
> >
> >-Wilson
> >
> >On 3/30/07, Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at umr.edu> wrote:
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> >>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> >>Poster:       "Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at UMR.EDU>
> >>Subject:      Re: Fiji zigaboo---(role of "Igbo" tribe?)
> >>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>
> >>     Still in full speculative mode: One of the tribes in Nigeria is
> >>the "Igbo." For the French they would be "les Igbo," which might be
> >>misinterpreted slightly as "les Zigbo." Then with the insertion of
> >>schwa (as in U.S. variant "athuhlete" = athlete): Zigabo.  For
> >>French influence in Nigeria see
> >>
> >>     http://muse.jhu.edu/demo/history_in_africa/v032/32.1okafor.html
> >>
> >>     "Fiji" has nothing to do with Africa but was viewed popularly
> >>by Americans as a primitive, exotic place with a dark-skinned
> >>population, and I suppose that's why "Fiji" was linked to "zigaboo."
> >>
> >>    If at all possible, I'd like to avoid the etymology of
> >>"zigaboo/jigaboo" being invented as nonsense syllables. Hence the
> >>present search for alternatives.
> >>
> >>     Also, I note the following website on Google
> >>http://www.termpapergenie.com/Thingsfallapart.html
> >>
> >>and what interests me is the mention there that the African Igbo
> >>tribe had been regarded as savages or mindless tribals. That
> >>misperception is all that would be needed to propel "les Igbo" into
> >>an ethnic slur in the early 20th century. The full statement on the
> >>website is::
> >>
> >>    'Chinua Achebe has penned the book "Things Fall Apart" as
> >>retaliation against the Western books portraying African cultures
> >>and tribal religions as brutal, savage and animalistic. He attempts
> >>to portray through his book that the people of the African Igbo
> >>tribe are not savages or mindless tribals, they are a people with a
> >>history and a culture and a well thought out way of life. He also
> >>tries to give a realistic portrayal of the Igbo tribe`s traditions,
> >>festivals, social hierarchy and religious activities, along with
> >>the effect of Imperialism on the tribe and its people, with special
> >>reference to the hero of the book, Okonkwo, drawing a parallel
> >>between his fall and the tribe`s fall in the face of colonialism.'
> >>
> >>Gerald Cohen
> >>
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> >>
> >
> >
> >--
> >All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> >come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> >-----
> >                                                      -Sam'l Clemens
> >
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> >you through times of no dope.
> >-----
> >                                         -Free-Wheeling Franklin
> >
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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--
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
                                                      -Sam'l Clemens

Dope wil get you through times of no money better than money will get
you through times of no dope.
-----
                                         -Free-Wheeling Franklin

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org