THE DIFFERENT “IS” REALIZATIONS IN IGBO

Abstract

There have been several studies and investigations to the verbs of Igbo language by several scholars. Some of these studies have been on the different verb types in Igbo and their functions. The Igbo copula verbs have also received much study by Igbo researchers. However, to the best of the knowledge of the researchers, there has been no detailed study on the various ways the copula, “is” can be used in Igbo. This study investigates the different ways the verb, ‘’is” can be translated in the Igbo language. It adopts the elicitation method for data collection and a descriptive linguistic approach for data analysis. The results show that the verb “is” can be translated with different words based on the context and word association. Also, in situations where “is” is used as an auxiliary verb or a progressive tense, it is usually accompanied by an open vowel suffix. The researchers therefore, recommend that further research be conducted on the verb “is” in Igbo.