craziebone:


not just proper education. I know some professors who still speak with typical Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa accent.

Majority of those who speak this distinct Nigerian accent are those who are below 35 and grew up in the city far away from their villages. These people were taught in somewhat good primary schools by teachers who are not native speakers of the English language and thus, do not have a foreign accent.

That is precisely my point.
You just put it in better shape.

airsaylongcon:


We aren't talking about pinpointing were in Nigeria you come from. We are talking about been able to say "He is Nigerian" based on one's accent. If anyone can say one is Nigerian because of one's accent then there IS a Nigerian accent. And if you may know, there are huge differences in accents in their UK. Try and listen to Steve Gerard speak and compare that with a Londoner or a Scouser. There IS a Nigerian accent with regional variations

The bolded part goes to prove a point I was trying to make.


it's simple for u to know a Nigerian accent when u hear it, not same for foreigners caz as they meet with people from different parts of the country they become more confused.

junnyjake:


I still disagree with you, Language varies depending on the region, I'm from the North and there are certain words we form and would

sound totally new to someone from the south, different semantics depending on the region has it's effect on the English we speak.

With the names you mentioned up there, listening to them I can with pronunciations they sometimes make, I would easily know which part of the country they are from.

There's a confusion of how a Nigerian accent sounds like, a confusion that drove Will Smith into inventing an accent foreign to the African continent.

I've heard speakers from different countries and yes I can speak like someone from New York or Alabama, I can also speak like an English man from London, I play with the Indian accent, let alone the 3 popular Nigerian accents.

if you can tell, that means they are not speaking the neutral Nigerian accent. If Genevieve wasn't a celebrity or doesn't have an Igbo look, when she speaks, you will definitely tell that she is not british, neither is she american, south african, Kenyan or Uganda; but you WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TELL IF SHE WAS IGBO! YOU WILL DEFINITELY KNOW SHE IS NIGERIAN (THAT'S IF YOU CAN IDENTIFY THE NEUTRAL NIGERIAN ACCENT). IF YOU ARE VERY CONVERSANT WITH MANY ACCENTS ACROSS AFRICA, THE ONLY CONFUSION WOULD BE THAT YOU MAY THINK SHE'S SIERRA LEONIAN, BUT THAT DIFFERENCE IS STILL THERE.

Also, we are not talking about the meaning of words or the formation of new words we import into the various english we speak. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HOW YOU SOUND WHEN YOU SPEAK THE SAME ENGLISH OTHER NATIONALS SPEAK. By how you sound, we are talking about pronounciation of some words which includes how you stress, and what part of a word you stress. It also involves your rhythm as you speak for a considerable period of time.

Comapring Alabama, NY or cockeny accent with the neutral Nigerian accent, is a bit off point because we all know the difference is clear! A proper comparison will be between Nigerian accent and all the other accents in countries that were colonised, mainly sub saharan Africa.

If we have an Angolan who speaks English, and can tell the various neutral english accent of many colonised African anglophones, and we keep a Nigerian, Ghanaian, Kenyan, Ugandan, Liberian and black south African, this Angolan will be able to tell which country each one is from from the way the speak.

craziebone:


if you can tell, that means they are not speaking the neutral Nigerian accent. If Genevieve wasn't a celebrity or doesn't have an Igbo look, when she speaks, you will definitely tell that she is not british, neither is she american, south african, Kenyan or Uganda; but you WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TELL IF SHE WAS IGBO! YOU WILL DEFINITELY KNOW SHE IS NIGERIAN (THAT'S IF YOU CAN IDENTIFY THE NEUTRAL NIGERIAN ACCENT). IF YOU ARE VERY CONVERSANT WITH MANY ACCENTS ACROSS AFRICA, THE ONLY CONFUSION WOULD BE THAT YOU MAY THINK SHE'S SIERRA LEONIAN, BUT THAT DIFFERENCE IS STILL THERE.

Also, we are not talking about the meaning of words or the formation of new words we import into the various english we speak. WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HOW YOU SOUND WHEN YOU SPEAK THE SAME ENGLISH OTHER NATIONALS SPEAK. By how you sound, we are talking about pronounciation of some words which includes how you stress, and what part of a word you stress. It also involves your rhythm as you speak for a considerable period of time.

Comapring Alabama, NY or cockeny accent with the neutral Nigerian accent, is a bit off point because we all know the difference is clear! A proper comparison will be between Nigerian accent and all the other accents in countries that were colonised, mainly sub saharan Africa.

If we have an Angolan who speaks English, and can tell the various neutral english accent of many colonised African anglophones, and we keep a Nigerian, Ghanaian, Kenyan, Ugandan, Liberian and black south African, this Angolan will be able to tell which country each one is from from the way the speak.

With this reply, there is no doubt I've learnt something new, Thanks.

I just de argue as though na English I read 4 school.

Perhaps, the problem might be with me, my not being able to to know what the neutral Nigerian accent sounds like


*Extends an E-handshake* I'm inventing that if it never existed.

junnyjake:


With this reply, there is no doubt I've learnt something new, Thanks.

I just de argue as though na English I read 4 school.

Perhaps, the problem might be with me, my not being able to to know what the neutral Nigerian accent sounds like


*Extends an E-handshake* I'm inventing that if it never existed.

i do not have a degree in English either. I only listen more to them. Listen to more people from other African countries especially and then you will be able to tell it in the long run.

Lot's of people confuse speaking good English with speaking with a foreign accent. Most(not all) of what is referred to as the Nigerian accent is just incorrect English tbh. Although I do agree that a lot of Nigerians fake foreign accents tho. I guess they think it makes them sound posh ( their own cup of tea anyway) But living for a long time abroad can certainly change the way you pronounce certain words but I doubt if it will change your whole accent, unless of course you want it to

DedeNkem:
I traveled to europe 15 years ago and my friend traveled to U.S. at the same year.

We met recently and he tried to speak "yo men" to me. I scolded him to not try that sh*it with me. He then switched to the accent I expected of him.

I speak dutch and french and have spent many years in both France and Netherlands. I still have Nigerian accent and the same as my Nigerian friends in Europe.

If you know anyone who weren't born abroad or didn't go there as a little kid, the person is faking the foreign accent!!

I can mimic french or dutch accents but they're not my normal accent. When I speak with french people I mimic their accent and they like it. The same applies to dutch people when i speak to them in their accent. Even in Nigeria, we like foriegners who speak any of our local languages with its accent.

So if you were not born abroad or didn't go there as a little kid, you're faking it!!

that's not straightly true (in Jon Sow's voice).

I am Nigerian, from the north and born in Lagos. If not for my secondary and tertiary education, i wouldn't have been out of Lagos before. I also have never been out of the shores of Nigeria. I speak a near British accent because i made effort on my own part by using the Intensive English JSS1-SS3 and focussing on the speech part.

You know in that book, they will tell you how to position your tongue in such a way that the right sound is what you are going to pronounce if you follow their guide. I also listened more to the BBC world service radio, Aljazeera English and i watched TV series like Merlin, Pillars of The Earth, Spartacus, The World Without End, Borgias and finally, the altimate Game of Thrones. In these series, if you have watched them, they speak impeacable British accent for the most part. The only reason why i am not perfect speaking it already, is because i listened a bit to those who thought i was 'forming'. If i had known, i would have paid no attention to those who were only been intimidated even though they also could embark on a self improvement exercise and score a higher result than i could ever achieve perfecting my british accent.

You are not faking it if you speak with a foreign accent and have never been abroad before or you went there as a child. Yes, some people may be faking it, while others are on their way making real effort to perfect it and the reason they sound very terrible is either because they are still at the early stages of trying to perfect it or they are learning it the wrong way.

With the necessary and right help, and with the strength of character to ignore the likes of you (and i am not trying to get at you here, but only trying to make a point), who are either uncomfortable (to put it nicely) when you hear others do it well, or are ignorant to know that there is nothing wrong speaking a language like the native speakers would speak it; these people who now sound terrible, can become perfect.

There are times i would board a bus in Lagos and because i am not use to speaking anything but proper English to strangers, and i begin to converse with the conductor, people do begin to give me a kind of look. Many times i don't even notice they are giving me a kind of look because it is normal for me to speak that way outside of my house. When an arguement breaks out and i can see they are not getting me when i speak proper english, i sill just switch to pidgin english and because of the way i also speak the pidgin english, they will go like: "ehen, so you sabi talk like this na em you dey form Yankee"?

There are other times when i help my mother to sell beside the road; people would come to by and because i am not use to speaking the anyother language to strangers, i will speak i english and when i do, sometimes, i notice an attitude from them. When there is an arguement and i switch to Yoruba, they will go like: "o, o tie le so Yoruba". They all think i am forming.

Now, the message to alot of you guys is this: when someone speaks with a foreign accent, he is not trying to make a point of superiority as that person is only trying to make himself better. There is nothing wrong in speaking a language like the native speakers speak it. Also, when he speaks like that, he is not making a statement that he doesn't speak Nigerian languages especially his own native language fluently(i have got into this situation manytimes before where my own people are surprised when i speak differently). Like i said, they are only trying to make themselves better.

Have you ever listened to a latino switch from English to Spanish before, or a chinese american switch from american english to Mandarin? The switch is effortless and smooth. It is beautiful!

So pls you guys should understand it and allow us to be. We are only going about our normal activities to better ourselves. Pls understand it.

junnyjake:
[/b]


The bolded part goes to prove a point I was trying to make.


it's simple for u to know a Nigerian accent when u hear it, not same for foreigners caz as they meet with people from different parts of the country they become more confused.

You can hear those variations because youyou are Nigerian. But do you know loads of other Africans cannot tell them difference between a Ghanaian accent and a Nigerian accent? Can you for example accurately tell the difference between a Kenyan accent and a Ugandan accent? Can you tell the difference between an American accent and a Canadian accent? Between a French Cameroonian one and an Ivory Coast French accent?

craziebone:


that's not straightly true (in Jon Sow's voice).

I am Nigerian, from the north and born in Lagos. If not for my secondary and tertiary education, i wouldn't have been out of Lagos before. I also have never been out of the shores of Nigeria. I speak a near British accent because i made effort on my own part by using the Intensive English JSS1-SS3 and focussing on the speech part.

You know in that book, they will tell you how to position your tongue in such a way that the right sound is what you are going to pronounce if you follow their guide. I also listened more to the BBC world service radio, Aljazeera English and i watched TV series like Merlin, Pillars of The Earth, Spartacus, The World Without End, Borgias and finally, the altimate Game of Thrones. In these series, if you have watched them, they speak impeacable British accent for the most part. The only reason why i am not perfect speaking it already, is because i listened a bit to those who thought i was 'forming'. If i had known, i would have paid no attention to those who were only been intimidated even though they also could embark on a self improvement exercise and score a higher result than i could ever achieve perfecting my british accent.

You are not faking it if you speak with a foreign accent and have never been abroad before or you went there as a child. Yes, some people may be faking it, while others are on their way making real effort to perfect it and the reason they sound very terrible is either because they are still at the early stages of trying to perfect it or they are learning it the wrong way.

With the necessary and right help, and with the strength of character to ignore the likes of you (and i am not trying to get at you here, but only trying to make a point), who are either uncomfortable (to put it nicely) when you hear others do it well, or are ignorant to know that there is nothing wrong speaking a language like the native speakers would speak it; these people who now sound terrible, can become perfect.

There are times i would board a bus in Lagos and because i am not use to speaking anything but proper English to strangers, and i begin to converse with the conductor, people do begin to give me a kind of look. Many times i don't even notice they are giving me a kind of look because it is normal for me to speak that way outside of my house. When an arguement breaks out and i can see they are not getting me when i speak proper english, i sill just switch to pidgin english and because of the way i also speak the pidgin english, they will go like: "ehen, so you sabi talk like this na em you dey form Yankee"?

There are other times when i help my mother to sell beside the road; people would come to by and because i am not use to speaking the anyother language to strangers, i will speak i english and when i do, sometimes, i notice an attitude from them. When there is an arguement and i switch to Yoruba, they will go like: "o, o tie le so Yoruba". They all think i am forming.

Now, the message to alot of you guys is this: when someone speaks with a foreign accent, he is not trying to make a point of superiority as that person is only trying to make himself better. There is nothing wrong in speaking a language like the native speakers speak it. Also, when he speaks like that, he is not making a statement that he doesn't speak Nigerian languages especially his own native language fluently(i have got into this situation manytimes before where my own people are surprised when i speak differently). Like i said, they are only trying to make themselves better.

Have you ever listened to a latino switch from English to Spanish before, or a chinese american switch from american english to Mandarin? The switch is effortless and smooth. It is beautiful!

So pls you guys should understand it and allow us to be. We are only going about our normal activities to better ourselves. Pls understand it.

My guy, listen you are forming. There is absolutely NO WAY you can acquire a British accent by using Intensive English! How can Intensive English teach you British accent and not Australian or New Zealand accents? And what British accent have you got? Cockney? Scousers? Geordie? Mancunian? Brummie?

Was born and breed here in Nigeria but too much watching of American movies as a kid had permanently altered my accent. At first, i tried imitating them which was quit fun. Then it started getting uncontrollable whenever am given a textbook to read in class.. Currently, i still have the accent and sadly, it has stick. Even to speak my local language is war. Doesn't sound like the real deal.

if the lationo can switch between English and Spanish and speak each of the languages very well, and also the chinese american switch from english to mandarin and his accents are perfect, why can't an Africa switch between english and say Yoruba, Hausa or Igbo and still speak each language with the perfect accent?

Why should the African be seen as someone who is faking it when he switches from perfect english accent when he speaks english, to perfect Yoruba accent when he speaks Yoruba?

mykel20:
Lot's of people confuse speaking good English with speaking with a foreign accent. Most(not all) of what is referred to as the Nigerian accent is just incorrect English tbh. Although I do agree that a lot of Nigerians fake foreign accents tho. I guess they think it makes them sound posh ( their own cup of tea anyway) But living for a long time abroad can certainly change the way you pronounce certain words but I doubt if it will change your whole accent, unless of course you want it to

you are absolutely right!

Being a good speaker of English or anyother language for that matter has got more to do with your grammar and a deep understanding of the idioms and the use of tenses (in the case of English language), and proverbs (in the case of African languages) rather than how well you pronounce some words.

For me, grammar comes first before accent. If you do not speak a proper grammar and you go on ahead to speak with the accent, you will only end up making a mess of yourself.

With a good grammar and local accent, people will find it beautiful listening to you. But with a good accent and poor grammar, you need to record yourself when you speak and just listen to how terribly you sound afterwards! Lol

moral lesson: Grammar comes first!

airsaylongcon:


My guy, listen you are forming. There is absolutely NO WAY you can acquire a British accent by using Intensive English! How can Intensive English teach you British accent and not Australian or New Zealand accents? And what British accent have you got? Cockney? Scousers? Geordie? Mancunian? Brummie?

first of all, i have not said i speak pure british accent, go back to that post you quoted and you will see where i said "near british accent" and i also gave the reason why i have not perfected it.

It is absolutely possible to learn british accent from the speech part of intensive english if you can follow the diagrams of the human head + the way the tongue is positioned and also, if you follow the instructions on how to pronounce sounds. Using the dictionary to know what sounds are in a particular word, words you are not sure its pronounciation, can be very helpful too.

I did not say i used only the intensive english textbook. I also mentioned listening to the BBC, Aljazeera English and watching those tv series. The tv series i mentioned here are series in which they spoke standard british accent for the most part. If you have watched those movies before, you will know that they spoke british english for the most part. The only way i could have mentioned series in which they spoke british english, is if it is a deliberate step on my own part to select the series in which the speak the accent i want to learn. Did you hear me mention 24, prison break, legend of the seeker, et al? This is because i just want to focus on getting my prefered british accent.

As for the exact accent i want to perfect, it is the standard one. The same type you hear from Amapour, Pierce Morgan, Richard Quest, Khamal Santa Maria, Hazem Sika, Theresa May, George Osborne, David Cameron, the Queen herself, Zainab Badarwe, Russel Fuller, Ros Atkins, Femi Oke, Nigeria's minister of Environment, i think my accent is better than Kemi Adeosun's, etc.

devvland:


And from your village you travel to warri at 20 and still learn the Waffi pidgin even though all you knew previously was your village version of "broken english"
How's that possible?

Just because we can't do something, let's not mock it and deride those who can. Some people spend 18 years getting educated (primary, secondary, university) yet they can't spit a word of English... When they hear someone else speak with ease, they mock them, while secretly wishing they could be that good.

Naija is full of haters... Puzzies who hate other Puzzies and criticize them for being Puzzies.

D'Phuq!

You are so dumb for this post. Have you even travelled to Ghana. You shut up and listen to people who know more than you.

mykel20:
Lot's of people confuse speaking good English with speaking with a foreign accent. Most(not all) of what is referred to as the Nigerian accent is just incorrect English tbh. Although I do agree that a lot of Nigerians fake foreign accents tho. I guess they think it makes them sound posh ( their own cup of tea anyway) But living for a long time abroad can certainly change the way you pronounce certain words but I doubt if it will change your whole accent, unless of course you want it to

craziebone:

you are absolutely right!
Being a good speaker of English or anyother language for that matter has got more to do with your grammar and a deep understanding of the idioms and the use of tenses (in the case of English language), and proverbs (in the case of African languages) rather than how well you pronounce some words.
For me, grammar comes first before accent. If you do not speak a proper grammar and you go on ahead to speak with the accent, you will only end up making a mess of yourself.
With a good grammar and local accent, people will find it beautiful listening to you. But with a good accent and poor grammar, you need to record yourself when you speak and just listen to how terribly you sound afterwards! Lol
moral lesson: Grammar comes first!

Absolutely correct!!! Accent, English grammar and words pronunciation are three different things entirely! Totally different! Do you guys know there are Americans that were born here in the U.S who DO NOT speak good English and CANNOT read, write and spell correctly. They have their American accent, never lived outside the U.S or been on an airplane but still they do not speak the correct grammar... I work in HR and do you wonder why corporate job descriptions here require Excellent verbal and written English skills

GossipHeart:
My kid sister was born in the united States and she's now 24
She speak igbo pass some people wey dey Nigeria

RichYoungNigga, Ihateyorubafool, chinaImporter, Atheist

Welcomme:
RichYoungNigga, Ihateyorubafool, chinaImporter, Atheist

What did you smoke .?

craziebone:


first of all, i have not said i speak pure british accent, go back to that post you quoted and you will see where i said "near british accent" and i also gave the reason why i have not perfected it.

It is absolutely possible to learn british accent from the speech part of intensive english if you can follow the diagrams of the human head + the way the tongue is positioned and also, if you follow the instructions on how to pronounce sounds. Using the dictionary to know what sounds are in a particular word, words you are not sure its pronounciation, can be very helpful too.

I did not say i used only the intensive english textbook. I also mentioned listening to the BBC, Aljazeera English and watching those tv series. The tv series i mentioned here are series in which they spoke standard british accent for the most part. If you have watched those movies before, you will know that they spoke british english for the most part. The only way i could have mentioned series in which they spoke british english, is if it is a deliberate step on my own part to select the series in which the speak the accent i want to learn. Did you hear me mention 24, prison break, legend of the seeker, et al? This is because i just want to focus on getting my prefered british accent.

As for the exact accent i want to perfect, it is the standard one. The same type you hear from Amapour, Pierce Morgan, Richard Quest, Khamal Santa Maria, Hazem Sika, Theresa May, George Osborne, David Cameron, the Queen herself, Zainab Badarwe, Russel Fuller, Ros Atkins, Femi Oke, Nigeria's minister of Environment, i think my accent is better than Kemi Adeosun's, etc.

Goodluck in your attempt. Nigerians will see you as forming, Brits will still struggle with your acquired British accent. And please disabuse your mind that you can can acquire a foreign accent from reading a book on Oral English. The Oral English book used in Australia is the same one used in South Africa and England. And none of them speak with the same accent. Professor Soyinka probably has authored loads of English books, taught in top schools in the UK and US and still doesn't speak with a British or American accent

craziebone:
if the lationo can switch between English and Spanish and speak each of the languages very well, and also the chinese american switch from english to mandarin and his accents are perfect, why can't an Africa switch between english and say Yoruba, Hausa or Igbo and still speak each language with the perfect accent?

Why should the African be seen as someone who is faking it when he switches from perfect english accent when he speaks english, to perfect Yoruba accent when he speaks Yoruba?

Do you understand Spanish or Mandarin well enough to say they speak it perfectly when they switch?

GossipHeart:

What did you smoke .?

Anambra weed..

airsaylongcon:


Do you understand Spanish or Mandarin well enough to say they speak it perfectly when they switch?

They actually do (not all though)
Though there will be a negligible differential tho, not 100 % but at least with 93% accuracy.

fittty:



Absolutely correct!!! Accent, English grammar and words pronunciation are three different things entirely! Totally different! Do you guys know there are Americans that were born here in the U.S who DO NOT speak good English and CANNOT read, write and spell correctly. They have their American accent, never lived outside the U.S or been on an airplane but still they do not speak the correct grammar... I work in HR and do you wonder why corporate job descriptions here require Excellent verbal and written English skills

I know one who cannot write well.

Ugosample:


They actually do (not all though)
Though there will be a negligible differential tho, not 100 % but at least with 93% accuracy.

Believe me local mandarin speakers will be able to tell when a Chinese American switches. Just like local Nigerian speakers will be able to tell when a Nigerian American switches

airsaylongcon:


Believe me local mandarin speakers will be able to tell when a Chinese American switches. Just like local Nigerian speakers will be able to tell when a Nigerian American switches

Though the Nigerian accent is stronger than the Chinese/Latino accent because our diction os horrible.
To me, as long as one does not sound bizarre, any accent you want to speak, speak and speak it well to the best of your ability

Don't let people with inferiority complex disturb you jare.

Speak and let people understand what you are saying.

airsaylongcon:


Goodluck in your attempt. Nigerians will see you as forming, Brits will still struggle with your acquired British accent. And please disabuse your mind that you can can acquire a foreign accent from reading a book on Oral English. The Oral English book used in Australia is the same one used in South Africa and England. And none of them speak with the same accent. Professor Soyinka probably has authored loads of English books, taught in top schools in the UK and US and still doesn't speak with a British or American accent

Besides, I have nephews who grew up in Nigeria, but went to a school full with expatriates children on the island, and id exposed to cable t.v. / American accent....

If you hear the way they speak, you will know that the difference is clear, and in addition, they are not forming.

For people who grew up in those settings, you don't expect them to talk like people from oshodi/mushin....

Circumstances vary.

airsaylongcon:


Believe me local mandarin speakers will be able to tell when a Chinese American switches. Just like local Nigerian speakers will be able to tell when a Nigerian American switches

this guy, i want you to know that i am taking real effort to over come my reluctance to respond to you.

Are you denying that there are some Igbo people here in Lagos who can speak Yoruba fluently that you are not going to know they are not Yoruba and when they switch to their own Igbo, still speak it like it is the only language they've ever spoken in their life? Are you denying such people exist? If they exist, why then do you think we can't have the same thing among Chinese americans or Latinos? Because they are 'foreign' languages? That they are foreign languages mean absolutely nothing! No language is greater than the other and you should stop putting anylanguage on a pedestal.

What if i tell you i speak A BIT of mandarin with the accent? You don't need to believe me as i have been applauded before by the chinese themselves. And for the british accent too, i have been applauded by friends and lecturers too.

To you, it seems accent is a big deal. What's the big deal in accents of foreign languages? Why do you find it so inconcievable that other people can speak foreign languages with the proper accent? It is the likes of you that will get jealous when you see other people having what you wish you had.


To find out that people can actually switch from English to another Language and back with the two accents, you need to watch Angels and Demons. Where that female scientist got angry with the general commander of the swiss gaurd for her confiscated journals.she was ranting in Italian as she walked into the commander's office and when she got there, she switched into English with the proper accent.

There is this movie by Jet Li. He was the anatgonist (boss) in the movie. It was about those terracota soldiers that were excavated sometime ago. I really cannot remember the story line anymore but in it, there is a lady who spoke impeacable mandarin and impeacable english, switching from one to the other with so much ease.

This may be my last response to you. Bye.

craziebone:


this guy, i want you to know that i am taking real effort to over come my reluctance to respond to you.

Are you denying that there are some Igbo people here in Lagos who can speak Yoruba fluently that you are not going to know they are not Yoruba and when they switch to their own Igbo, still speak it like it is the only language they've ever spoken in their life? Are you denying such people exist? If they exist, why then do you think we can't have the same thing among Chinese americans or Latinos? Because they are 'foreign' languages? That they are foreign languages mean absolutely nothing! No language is greater than the other and you should stop putting anylanguage on a pedestal.

What if i tell you i speak A BIT of mandarin with the accent? You don't need to believe me as i have been applauded before by the chinese themselves. And for the british accent too, i have been applauded by friends and lecturers too.

To you, it seems accent is a big deal. What's the big deal in accents of foreign languages? Why do you find it so inconcievable that other people can speak foreign languages with the proper accent? It is the likes of you that will get jealous when you see other people having what you wish you had.


To find out that people can actually switch from English to another Language and back with the two accents, you need to watch Angels and Demons. Where that female scientist got angry with the general commander of the swiss gaurd for her confiscated journals.she was ranting in Italian as she walked into the commander's office and when she got there, she switched into English with the proper accent.

There is this movie by Jet Li. He was the anatgonist (boss) in the movie. It was about those terracota soldiers that were excavated sometime ago. I really cannot remember the story line anymore but in it, there is a lady who spoke impeacable mandarin and impeacable english, switching from one to the other with so much ease.

This may be my last response to you. Bye.

OK let's attack issues and not personalities. First of all your example of Yoruba speaking igbo people is not a generalisation. Most western (Nigeria's west) igbos speak igbo that a village raised igbo will scorn at. Most of them find out that the igbo they speak is far from what is spoken in the east. Most of them are sent to universities in the East and find out that people there "laugh" at them because of how they speak. Lemme give u an example, I grew up in Warri and will easily say I speak warri pidgin. But when I hear locals speak (I left warri 18 years ago) I can understand what they speak but the locals can tell I am not "local" as I speak what they would consider an antiquated version of their pidgin. I use slang and words that aren't in common use anymore. My questioning of your assertion was that Chinese Americans can switch to flawless Mandarin without detection. This is not true.

I speak a bit of Cypriot Greek and the Cypriots I've met have been impressed. Even applauded. But they still can tell an accent.

And no I do not worship accents. I am only put off when people (Nigerian radio OAPs) talk with an acquired accent and try to make us believe that's how they started speaking English. Esther Ogun is a typical example (you might know her as Maupe Ogun on Channels TV)

And I believe only native speakers can judge if someone speaks with a proper accent. Most Nigerians insist that "Nigerian accent" spoken in American movies aren't a true reflection of the Naija accent. Most non Nigerians believe that it is a true reflection of Nigerian accent. Have you heard the British guy that that talked about Nigerians praying when a plane had issues. I though it was a good attempt at mimicking our accent but if I was blindfolded I would still tell that nobi Naija person dey talk

In other discussions Sierra Leone pidgin is gaddem very similar to Waffi pidgin

airsaylongcon:


OK let's attack issues and not personalities. First of all your example of Yoruba speaking igbo people is not a generalisation. Most western (Nigeria's west) igbos speak igbo that a village raised igbo will scorn at. Most of them find out that the igbo they speak is far from what is spoken in the east. Most of them are sent to universities in the East and find out that people there "laugh" at them because of how they speak. Lemme give u an example, I grew up in Warri and will easily say I speak warri pidgin. But when I hear locals speak (I left warri 18 years ago) I can understand what they speak but the locals can tell I am not "local" as I speak what they would consider an antiquated version of their pidgin. I use slang and words that aren't in common use anymore. My questioning of your assertion was that Chinese Americans can switch to flawless Mandarin without detection. This is not true.

I speak a bit of Cypriot Greek and the Cypriots I've met have been impressed. Even applauded. But they still can tell an accent.

And no I do not worship accents. I am only put off when people (Nigerian radio OAPs) talk with an acquired accent and try to make us believe that's how they started speaking English. Esther Ogun is a typical example (you might know her as Maupe Ogun on Channels TV)

And I believe only native speakers can judge if someone speaks with a proper accent. Most Nigerians insist that "Nigerian accent" spoken in American movies aren't a true reflection of the Naija accent. Most non Nigerians believe that it is a true reflection of Nigerian accent. Have you heard the British guy that that talked about Nigerians praying when a plane had issues. I though it was a good attempt at mimicking our accent but if I was blindfolded I would still tell that nobi Naija person dey talk

In other discussions Sierra Leone pidgin is gaddem very similar to Waffi pidgin

Yes I see, you have a point too.
Check out Boris Kodjoe on YouTube, he kinds of validate Craziebone's point.

As for the OAPs, Marie Okan for beat fm na im tire me the most, that girl is sometimes inaudible.
But tools got a good accent, same with Olisa Adibua.

But OAPs can go for trainings to speak in near perfect accents (don't know whether accent coaching is trending in Nigeria tho)

At the end of the day, Do you.
If you want to sound like a village man, good for you, and if you want to sound "polished" good for you too.

peace

Welcomme:
RichYoungNigga, Ihateyorubafool, chinaImporter, Atheist

i have observed that guy. He really needs help.
I pity his miserable life.
Worst of it all, i noticed that he was an atheist.

timdavis:
Hehe shey you know how to cook? you can add spices ni

ur question does not require an answer...shalom