The historical emergence of ‘Union Igbo Bible’ and its impact on Igbo language development in the twentieth century

Abstract

Language is generally seen as the quintessence of humanity. Thus, with particular emphasis on the Igbolanguage, credit for its development should be given to the Anglican Church in Nigeria. Recall that theAnglican Mission in Igbo land undertook the first bold attempt to standardize Igbo language with thepublication of Union Igbo Bible in 1913 (which centenary was marked by the Church of Nigeria,Anglican Communion in different parts of south-eastern Nigeria in 2013). This breakthrough byArchdeacon T.J. Dennis and his assistants led to a great standardization/ orthography debate that ragedfor the greater part of the twentieth century. Against this backdrop, this paper examines the historicalemergence of the Union Igbo Bible and the consequent standardization debate. Diverse secondarysource were put into use, while in the main the eclectic method of analysis will be adopted. The paperalso adopts the cultural accommodation theory as a framework of analysis, and argues that anunderstanding of the people (Igbo) and their history is vital in appreciating the myth and realities ofIgbo language standardization debate of the last century. The paper concludes by stressing thatalthough opponents of standardization may have some points; but standardization of the Igbo languageis very vital as it would enhance the general development of not only the language, but, the Igbo nationas a whole.