tips needed plz.


i for one dont believe "local" is impossible to modify, we all have to start from somewhere.

first of all, what does local mean?

I'm focusing on the women because the men can focus on themselves.

few misconceptions about "local":

1. It is limited to region.

This is not quite true. While being local may indeed seem more pronounced in some areas, people with local mindset can be found anywhere, even in the most "sophisticated" setting. This is what gave rise to the expression "money cant buy class" and its variants.

There are local people who have class, and "sophisticated" people who totally lack it.



2. Local is permanent.

No its not. If you make conscious efforts to improve/modify your worldview and behaviour, you will probably not be considered local so much.
Lack of adaptation skills, or low adaptation skills, also contribute to local behaviour, so if you broaden your mind, it goes a long way in changing the perception you are local.


3. If you are from a local background, you will be local.

well, this is to a large extent, true. However, as pointed out before, when you make a conscious effort to adjust your behaviour and inculcate non local mindset, you can largely overcome whatever limitations were imposed by your background.

4. Local people are always talking (yapping).

maybe.

However, not being talkative doesnt always mean someone is not local.

and yes, this debate has been going on from time immemorial.

for example, pygmalion, trading places, miss congeniality, are all stories which examine this issue.

Misconceptions contd:


5. Everybody who is not a beauty queen or beauty pageant contestant, is local.

Absolutely not true.

You dont have to go through special training in order to shed local behaviour. Its entirely up to you, although admittedly the beauty pageants will give you an edge if you need one.

I'm referring to official offline beauty pageants plz.

So do not be intimidated or discouraged by the photos, glamour and blitz you see in pageant contestants or specialized photos. You can be just as classy and glamorous as they are if you want to (ok, maybe not quite as glamorous as them but at least what you can be in your own little way).



6. Local is "in" these days.

Is it?



7. If you have tried to be "unlocal" and it just seems impossible or you just cant cope, then why bother.

Local is mostly about mindset, not necessarily behaviour or appearance (or behavioural appearance) only. You can try to do as much as you personally are comfortable with, and check to see how it looks in general interaction. That's the yardstick you can measure your attempts by.

If you find you constantly need support from "like minds" (ie other local folk who encourage the local behaviour) in order to make you feel better, then chances are you are still at square one. If however, you get encouraging feedback (check body language) from people who ordinarily would consider you local, then you will find out what is being improved on and what still needs work.

Isn't this really all about improving on ones manners?

its much more than that.

More misconceptions


8. (insert name here), is famous and making good money from local. Therefore its ok to be local anyhow.

(insert name here) may be making good money by marketing local as a brand, but unless they are selling local, they are not likely to push local ALL the time. Just mostly when they are selling it.

You'd be surprised (insert name here) can still snub you should you by any chance happen to meet and you act local in their presence.


In any case, as mentioned before, local has more to do with how much priority you place on adaptation skills. Do you notice what context you are in.

A lady i knew from decades back came from a local background which got into money at some point, and it was interesting to see how she deftly managed to interact between two worlds- local and sophisticated- without losing her identity. She was comfortable with both worlds and did not feel inferior to either.

tpia6:
tips needed plz.


i for one dont believe "local" is impossible to modify, we all have to start from somewhere.

first of all, what does local mean?

I'm focusing on the women because the men can focus on themselves.

local is impossible to modify.
once the background is flawed, you cannot really have the complete package. money can only do so little, the overall package would still have rough edges.

razz might become tushed but it will never be posh. the diction alone would tell you he is not posh. the razz mannerisms would still be present & so on and forth.

tpia1, tpia2, tpia3, tpia4, tpia5 and now this is tpia6 when are we going to see tpia7?

coogar:


local is impossible to modify.
once the background is flawed, you cannot really have the complete package. money can only do so little, the overall package would still have rough edges.

razz might become tushed but it will never be posh. the diction alone would tell you he is not posh. the razz mannerisms would still be present & so on and forth.

local can be modified with training, although it could be difficult to change it completely.

What's wrong with being local?

Isn't it better to be true to oneself? Than putting up false airs and graces in the vain bid to impress?

Give me loud, brash, and "local" any day. At least they're honest and ooze self-esteem.

Crossing your legs.
Make sure you avoid pounded yam to keep your thighs slimmer for easy crossing.

me no understand this thread..

if we rnt local.. why do we claim local governments?

an American is a local when he gets to his base.


dont miscontrue local for classless

kilokeys:
me no understand this thread..

if we rnt local.. why do we claim local governments?

an American is a local when he gets to his base.


dont miscontrue local for classless

What's not to understand?

That this thread extols self-hate, encourages ladies to be embarrassed about their roots and who they really are?

EfemenaXY:
What's wrong with being local?

Isn't it better to be true to oneself? Than putting up false airs and graces in the vain bid to impress?

Give me loud, brash, and "local" any day. At least they're honest and ooze self-esteem.

like i said, its an issue of context. It is important to be yourself but there are times when you have to inconvenience your natural self and modify your behaviour to suit your environment.

if someone who is not local, for example, is in a local environment, then you modify your mannerisms to match where you are. And vice versa. Its a question of being open versus narrow minded.

EfemenaXY:


What's not to understand?

That this thread extols self-hate, encourages ladies to be embarrassed about their roots and who they really are?

being a lady extols self hate?

kilokeys:
me no understand this thread..

if we rnt local.. why do we claim local governments?

an American is a local when he gets to his base.


dont miscontrue local for classless

local (v) verb is not the same as local (n)

tpia6:


local (v) verb is not the same as local (n)

local
ˈləʊk(ə)l/
adjective
adjective: local
1.
relating or restricted to a particular area or one's neighbourhood.
"researching local history"
synonyms: community, district, neighbourhood, regional, city, town, municipal, provincial, village, parish, parish-pump, parochial; More
antonyms: national, global
denoting a telephone call made to a nearby place and charged at a relatively low rate.
denoting a train or bus serving a particular district, with frequent stops.
"the village has an excellent local bus service"
2.
(in technical use) relating to a particular region or part, or to each of any number of these.
"a local infection"
synonyms: confined, restricted, contained, limited, localized; More
antonyms: general

denoting a variable or other entity that is only available for use in one part of a program.

denoting a device that can be accessed without the use of a network.
noun
noun: local; plural noun: locals
1.
a local person or thing, in particular:
an inhabitant of a particular area or neighbourhood.
"the street was full of locals and tourists"
synonyms: local person, native, inhabitant, resident, parishioner, citizen; More
antonyms: outsider
BRITISH informal
a pub convenient to a person's home.
"a pint in the local"
synonyms: pub, public house, bar, inn, tavern, hostelry, saloon, wine bar; More
a local train or bus service.
"catch the local into New Delhi"
NORTH AMERICAN
a local branch of an organization, especially a trade union.
STOCK EXCHANGE
a floor trader who trades on their own account, rather than on behalf of other investors.

further misconceptions:

9. Poor and local are synonymous ie being poor automatically means you are local.

Poor and local are not synonymous. Someone can be poor yet not be local.

And no, i dont understand why this is so. And yes, local is more common in the absence of money.



10. There's nothing you can do about local, its simply ingrained.

imo, local is strongly proportional to level or amount of parental care during infancy. There is no hard and fast rule on this, but increasing your involvement and emotional connection to your child, goes a long way.


11. Local means not being European in behaviour.

No it does not, although exposure is often construed as European. I do not believe African culture is only about acting local.

For example, the Yorubas have a concept of "Omoluwabi" which is a guidance code for those who want to modify behaviour. You have Calabar fattening rooms where women are taught social graces and how to behave (ignore the fattening part which most women today will object to), Fulanis also have a concept called Pulaar.

So, i believe African culture is not always necessarily as uninhibited as people think it is. More accurately, there is a time and place for everything.


I was fairly shocked when someone told me, in their area, southern Nigerians are generally considered loud, out of control, rude, and noisy, and people were warned not to pick up those habits when associating with them. I felt shocked because i had not considered those things a character trait people would call shortcomings.

@ kilokeys

you mentioned A local as opposed to local which is my own point of reference.

A local of a place is someone who is from a place, while local as verb means local behaviour or attitude.

contd:

12. Being local and acting local are the same.

No they are not. Being local means someone is local. Acting local means someone is deliberately displaying local behaviour for whatever reason.

tpia6:




like i said, its an issue of context. It is important to be yourself but there are times when you have to inconvenience your natural self and modify your behaviour to suit your environment.

if someone who is not local, for example, is in a local environment, then you modify your mannerisms to match where you are. And vice versa. Its a question of being open versus narrow minded.

Really?

tpia6:

local can be modified with training, although it could be difficult to change it completely.

local can't be modified....
you are only guarantee positive results if the subject is a child & you have to take the child away from that environment before the child clocks age 10. if the child crosses that age 10 threshold, then it's a touch cloth situation.

9. Poor and local are synonymous ie being poor automatically means you are local.

Poor and local are not synonymous. Someone can be poor yet not be local.

And no, i dont understand why this is so. And yes, local is more common in the absence of money.

this bit makes sense....
razzness is more common when there's abject poverty. poverty is what would make families move to the dirty areas in a society in the first place & thus the razzness!

sometimes, someone very posh can find himself in a razz area if he's facing financial problems but such examples are in the minority. human beings are products of their environments!

as per efemenaXY's question

there is nothing wrong with being yourself regardless what your personality is like, however, my emphasis is on observing your environment.

Its true some people cant and should not change to become a fake version of their actual selves, what is important imo is the willingness to be open to consider other perceptions.

tpia6:
as per efemanyXY's question

there is nothing wrong with being yourself regardless what your personality is like, however, my emphasis is on observing your environment.

Its true some people cant and should not change to become a fake version of their actual selves, what is important imo is the willingness to be open to consider other perceptions.

Now this, I like, tpia.

EfemenaXY:
What's wrong with being local?

Isn't it better to be true to oneself? Than putting up false airs and graces in the vain bid to impress?

Give me loud, brash, and "local" any day. At least they're honest and ooze self-esteem.

TAKE 5 THERE JARE

let's also look at some common misconceptions about localness and cuisine (or when its cool to be local):

13. Drinking garri is local

Not true.

14. Eating with your fingers is local.

Its not.


15. Foods like eba, etc are local.

Not really.


16. Eating bush meat is local.

minus the ebola outbreak, bush meat is not considered a local food. Its a delicacy and exotic. I'm referring to standard wild game.


17. Going to a buka means you're local.

Not true. Going to a buka to eat good food at cheaper prices is not local, or is accepted local behaviour. Likewise eating rice in leaves, etc.

this, for example, is not local, or is accepted local behaviour:

Okay,I get it,this thread. is about moin-moin and Garri. Tpia6 strikes again.

interesting thread


carry on


the proponents of local are the same people who will insult naija at the first opportunity they get
They claim non-association with naijans especially in the diaspora - its a thing of pride

lol

to me local is about accent which i feel we should claim back
we should be proud of our accents

to tell the truth, i feel nlers (or is it nigerians) are too hung up on accents. On nairaland alone, hardly a week goes by without a new thread being opened to attack people's accents.

So, anyway, since there are enough threads already discussing accents, perhaps the issue can be skipped on this one, moreover, accent does not necessarily show in typing, so its not like people are hearing themselves speak unless they're on phone or something.

Besides, i want to focus not on physical attributes, but the mindset called local, which is independent of accents. Very important.

As long as we continue to disturb the western world for visas to enter their countries, we should not really complain all the time about accent.

lets move on and also practice tolerance like the site owner is saying.

pickabeau1:






the proponents of local are the same people who will insult naija at the first opportunity they get
They claim non-association with naijans especially in the diaspora - its a thing of pride

thats interesting, maybe culture shock or something.