Afam4eva:
If you're speaking American accent when you're in the midst of Americans, you're also faking it. Being fake does not only apply when you're talking to a select crowd. It's universal. If you have an Igbotic accent then you have to speak it wherever you go to be considered real.

Afam4eva:
Lol You left out the people who leave Cameroon with an American accent. No be French dem dey speak for Cameroon?

LMAO

Nigerians love to show off.

Afam4eva:
You got it spot on. It's more of trying to sound cool than being coherent.

Lilimax: I detest fake accents. I only speak their accent(American) when I'm in their midst but always speak my Nigerian English(especially pidgin)when I'm in the midst of my Nigerian friends. There is no need of faking it...

A-town:

You guys are wrong. Courtesy demands you speak in a clear and coherent way. (If you can).
What is wrong with me saying pass me that glass of wa-tha as opposed to saying wa-TA when that's what everyone around me says? Why cnt I say Raout as opposed to route if everyone around me says it.
You are only forming when you try so hard to speak ibonics, other than that, you guys are wrong with your assertions

Diasporan: Nigerians that i can't stop laughing at are the ones that resides in None speaking European countries i.e Belgium,Spain,Ukraine that will still want to form foreign accent

sandysprax: Does the term "Nigerian accent" apply to only Nigerians who grew up speaking their native languages hence have very thick Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa accent cos if that is the case, there is no way a white man can hear a word of what you are saying to them. I grew up speaking English in Abuja before going to study in London and I never had problems communicating with the brits (Except for when I went to Liverpool). The big question should therefore be, What exactly is "Nigerian accent"? Cos I think this does not apply to this generation of kids born in cities like Abuja, Lagos & PHC who grow up speaking English.


For the records, My uncle has been in the UK since 1968 and he dishes out Igbo proverbs that is only obtainable from the remotest part of my village. He hasn't picked up any british accent whatsoever.

delors: Siddon there. Look, it's not a matter of fake accent o. As the OP says, our pronunciation and way of drawling when talking is terrible. For instance, a typical Nigerian doesnt know the difference in pronouncing 'cause' and 'course', 'four' and 'for', 'to' and 'two', and annoyingly, 'fate' and 'faith'. Sit down and listen to a Nigerian talking, try to see if u would understand their pronunciation of those last two words. Words like turkey, burn/born, wander/wonder, are very problemtic for Nigerians. Even Ethiopians pronounce better than we do.
So, if you are abroad, and because some uniformed persons are saying you r faking your accent, let them talk. the best way to communicate abroad (esp in the states and Canada) is to sound like them. When u are with you people, correct, pidgin dey flow soosay, but looking for a job? mingling with the whites or foreigners? Bros, adjust that your accent otherwise, you'd be an island in that land.
When i first heard my aunt speak a sentence to a white, I mocked saying why the heck was she yarning like ajebo...she nodded and said 'e nu e lo wa yen' (meaning, u'll soon understand). So forget fake accent o, na survival tactics.
Mean while, in some cases, one doesnt deliberately fake it, it comes naturally when u mingle with these foreigners..like mine. But it makes no sense to sound Americana when u arrive in Nigeria na...na quick invitation to armed robbers be that.

Iv bn in d uk for sometime now,and anytime im discussing wit someone i still maintain my naija accent o! Its nt as if iv nt tried d oyibo accent stuff,but sometimes wen i try to speak like dem,e dey do me like say i dey fool myself. Lol.
Well, as long as pple undastand me wen i talk,im ok.make i no bite tongue because i wan twist am

joeydozzy: The bestu acenti you can get anywiere nwanne m is the Ibo accent
Notu justi Ibo, the thicky one nu ooo

Babies and oyoyo m na adabekes all feeli lovudu by me and ha ncha orluways wanna geti down withi me

drake2005:

That's another way to detect someone faking American accent. Changing the pronunciation from "water" to "wadder" doesn't make it correct either; though it might get you there 80% of the time, but it is wrong. What differentiates American pronunciation of water is they pronounce the "r". The last sound that ends the word water is "r". Try stressing the "r" and you will notice that the "t" becomes silent or sounds more like what we call "flapped t"..it sounds like a "d". So focus on the "r" and leave the "t" silent. This goes the same for words like "motor", "enter" and many others.

linearity: There is nothing new here, it is one of the ways to survival in a foreign Country...some even hire Accent modification professionals to train them.

When you attend an interview, where the interviewer keeps asking you to repeat yourself; then nobody will tell you before you start modifying your speech patterns.

Most times, it will involve speaking more clearly and also more deliberate...in other cases you have to substitute new words and phrases into your linguistic...e.g. in the US they do not understand 'around about'..you have to say 'Circle'...pant and underwear have different meanings...first floor of a storey building have different meanings..there is no dustbin, nothing like booth of a car or trafficator or 'branching' somewhere; nothing like iceblock, touch light, etc..

Afam4eva:
How come Americans don't use WA-TA as opposed to WA-THA when they come to your country. Why should we be the ones trying to change the way we speak to suit others? if you change the way you speak for whatever reason, it's called faking. I wonder if those Americans even decipher when these Nigerians try to fake their accent. I can't stand fake people especially those my Igbotic guys that mix Igbo accent and American accent. That's one of the worst combinations i hate hearing. Tufiakwa.

peppy luv: Moomoo cow u r not funny ok,atleast ur grandfather is chinua Achebe's mate and I bet he doesn't know any English word.or u probably older than Chimamanda but u can't stand up to her,silly!. I knw u r neither Hausa nor Yoruba but 4rm one of those minority tribes in d north with a language spoken by less than 500 pple

A-town:


Here's where you F9ed it. Is english our langiage? They need not change the way they pronounce words because english is not our language. If they did the same thing to ibo yoruba or Hausa, you'd have a valid point.

Afam4eva:
English may not be our languahe but it's our official language. It has become apart of us now. So, we have to own it alongside out native languages. There's a reason why there's American English, British English, Australian English, Portugese and Brazillian Portugese. These people speak and pronounce words based on their unique verbal idiosyncrasies. So when speaking English, we must speak it like Nigerians.

dayokanu: Y'all trippin

A-town:

I get that. I am correcting your statement that americans ought to pronounce words the way we do if they come to naija. Its like telling me that if I go to Brazil or Benin republic, I would be expected to speak yoruba the way they do. Absolutely wrong.

drake2005:

That's another way to detect someone faking American accent. Changing the pronunciation from "water" to "wadder" doesn't make it correct either; though it might get you there 80% of the time, but it is wrong. What differentiates American pronunciation of water is they pronounce the "r". The last sound that ends the word water is "r". Try stressing the "r" and you will notice that the "t" becomes silent or sounds more like what we call "flapped t"..it sounds like a "d". So focus on the "r" and leave the "t" silent. This goes the same for words like "motor", "enter" and many others.

Man_51ut:

very interesting, did you study linguistics? just did it, and you're right!!! my flatmate used to say i said water- wahtah. but the t does become less prominent when i stress the r.