IE
Idenze Ezeme
Founder of Ozikoro and co-founder of Ozituma. Sets what the record covers and answers for what it says.
Banyere anyị · About
A dictionary,
and a record.
Ozituma is the dictionary of Ozikoro — meanings, dialect variants, pronunciation, example sentences and proverbs for the languages of Africa, free to read and free to build with.
“A language is not kept by a dictionary nobody reads.”
16,594published entries
5languages with content
39,101meanings recorded
48dialect varieties
Ozituma × Ozikoro
One project.
Two records.
Ozikoro keeps the history and the archive. Ozituma keeps the words. They are separate sites because they are separate jobs — and one project because neither stands without the other.
Ozikoro
The history, archive, cultures, societies and indigenous knowledge systems of Africa — including the work of correcting what has been said about them.
Visit Ozikoro ↗ — another site: ozikoro.comOzituma
The words: meanings, varieties, pronunciation, examples, proverbs and the linguistic record needed to keep languages accessible to present and future generations.
Explore the dictionary →The name
Ozituma is a name
with two readings.
It is not a coined word. It brings together two words from two languages — reflecting what the dictionary itself is built to do.
Ozi
Igbo · message
Ozi is Igbo for message.
Tuma
Ibani-nye · true / correct / legitimate
Tuma is used in Ibani-nye, an Ijoid language spoken in Opobo and Bonny. In this name it carries the sense of true, correct or important work.
A true message. Work done right.
Both readings are meant. The name is read in two languages because that is what the dictionary does: it began with Igbo and is built to carry the languages beside it, Ibani among them.
How it started
A response to a record that was too scattered.
Ozikoro was founded by Idenze Ezeme out of frustration with African history and language material that was thin, scattered and often repeated from sources that were never trustworthy in the first place. Ozituma answers the part of that problem a dictionary can answer.
Idenze Ezeme
Founder of Ozikoro and co-founder of Ozituma. The project began with Igbo because it is the language the founders speak and the record they most needed to build.
William Ezekiel Pepple
Co-founder of Ozituma, working on languages beyond Igbo. The project was never intended to stop with one language.
What we are trying to do
More than a list of translations.
A useful African-language dictionary must record the details that make a word meaningful: which variety uses it, how it is pronounced, what it is used to say, and who still says it.
01
Meaning & grammar
Meanings are recorded in order with the part of speech rather than presented as a bare translation.
02
Dialect & variants
Regional varieties, spellings and variants are kept visible rather than flattened into one form.
03
Pronunciation
Recordings are attached to the exact word or dialect spelling they represent.
04
Example sentences
Words are shown in constructions so readers can see how they live in actual language.
05
Roots & relations
Related words, roots, synonyms and antonyms reveal how vocabulary connects.
06
Proverbs & Ndebe
Where available, entries connect to proverbs and Ndebe, the Igbo syllabary.
The record today
What one search can give you.
Ozituma is growing, but it deliberately states the limits of the record rather than implying a breadth it has not earned.
16,594published entries
39,101meanings recorded
48dialect varieties
46,190published voice recordings
41,672example sentences
2,889personal names
826proverbs with a meaning
5languages with content
∞room for the record to grow
Beyond the dictionary
Built to be used,
not just read.
There is more here than browsing entries. Ozituma turns the record into tools for learners, researchers and developers.
Practice
The practice section turns dictionary entries into questions: choose a meaning, identify a word from a recording, or place a spelling in its variety.
Open practice →Public API
Developers can create a free API key from their account and build keyboards, learning applications or translation tools without first collecting a word list.
Explore the API →Accuracy & editorial standards
The record is allowed to say
“we don't know”.
Material is gathered from printed dictionaries, published papers and recorded speech, then checked against the language rather than copied from the first source that contains it.
No guessing.
A reading we are not sure of is not published. Where a proverb is corrupt or fragmentary, the English is left empty rather than filled with an invented interpretation.
No mismatched recordings.
A recording belongs to the word it is of. A dialect recording belongs to its dialect spelling. If the exact word has no recording, the entry shows none.
Corrections improve the record.
Anyone can propose an edit on an entry. An editor reads every proposal before it is published.
Uncertainty stays visible.
The goal is a trustworthy record, not an artificially complete one. Missing information is preferable to confident invention.
The people
Built by people who care about the record.
Founders, speakers, researchers and contributors add knowledge to a living record. Every recording is credited to the person who made it, and accepted corrections remain attached to the entry they changed.
WP
William Ezekiel Pepple
Co-founder of Ozituma, working particularly on languages beyond Igbo.
You can be part of it
The record grows
because people contribute.
You do not need a title or formal role. Knowledge is the contribution — words, meanings, recordings, corrections, collections and family records all matter.
Three ways to help
Add — send a word or recording.
Correct — propose a correction on any entry.
Support — help pay for the time spent building and checking the record.
Share material — word lists, recordings, printed collections and family histories of names are especially valuable.
Building with the data?
The public API is free. Create your own key from your account and build tools that use the record.
Get started with the API →Want to contribute language knowledge?
Become a contributor →Frequently asked questions
Questions people ask about Ozituma.
Is Ozituma only for Igbo?
No. It is a dictionary of African languages. Igbo is where the work started and where it is deepest; Yoruba is being built now, and more languages are registered and waiting for material.
What is Igbo izugbe?
Igbo izugbe — izugbe on its own means central — is central Igbo: the variety the dictionary writes its Igbo headwords in, and the one a spelling is compared with when an entry says a dialect has the same spelling as Izugbe. It is the standard the other varieties are read against, not a claim that it is better than them.
Is it free?
Yes, to read and to use through the API. There is no paid tier.
How do I add a word?
Sign in, then use Contribute. An editor reviews every submission before it is published.
I found a mistake — what do I do?
Every entry, name and proverb has a proposal form on its own page. It goes to an editor, and if it is right it goes in.
Can I record my own pronunciation?
Yes. Any entry page can take a recording from a signed-in account, and your name is shown as the speaker. The recorder shows a waveform while you speak.
Can I help if I have no title here?
Yes. Most of what is wanted is knowledge rather than a role — especially words, meanings and recordings in varieties we do not have yet.
How do I delete my account?
Write to [email protected] from the address on the account. What happens to contributions is set out in the privacy page.
What does it cost to run?
Time, mostly. That is what the donation page is for.
Support the work
Help preserve African languages for people who will need them later.
Ozituma runs on the hours spent adding entries and checking them. Your support helps keep the record growing and accessible.