Ezibless:
I GARRA write something down.

But first of all, WORRA you talking 'bout??

so you'll be blowing : AI GORT TUUU write something down

and WORT ARRRR you talking about

without modification ?

tpia6:


so you'll be blowing : AI GORT TUUU write something down

and WORT ARRRR you talking about

without modification ?

Yelsssssss

bestads:


U don come again oohh, bros the correct word na damn not dime

---I dont give a damn

Lol...who is foolin who? Suit yourself bro

Faking accents actually makes the listening worth a while.It irritates me when someone tries to pronouce wordings exactly as it looks or sounds.

j

Most 9ja peeps believe in western culture. Imagine nowadays kids dont speak motherlanguages any more cos dey look SOPHISTICATED speaking english.
Yesterday "they" celebrated Haloween... b4 u realise it e go bcom public holiday.
#ignorance

valmunich:
Damn! You should go and learn summary


@topic

The accent faking is just much and it's more with radio presenters, I just feel like smacking them from the set each time

those radio presenters own na anoda tin o,they too dey form sometimes it turns my stomach n makes me so sick of evetytin fake in this country.

What do u expect when all subjects texts books are written in English and the English dictionary still had phonetic symbols as to how it is to be pronounced

[color=#770077][/color] show me a white with a H-factor yoruba accent and I will tell you why its compulsory to have a british accent as a Nigerian. I feel those that do that sh*t have inferiority complex. Nothing more or less! Shikena

It all depends on how U see the person.
I have an American accent and I have never been to the states. I grew in front of the TV, watching American movies and soaps, grew up listening to Hiphop all my life and I picked it up there. I also attended a very good elementary school, it was a UN gathering those days so I picked my accent. I was a chronic introvert all those years of my life and I never lived in Highbrow areas except for when I go visit my cousin once in a blue moon.
& ive had the accent since the time I could pronounce A or B
I learn and pick up other languages and cultural value very very fast.... so having an accent depends on if the individual is faking it or not....


Last note; What U said about the newscaster is true. Her name is Adaure Achumba... she is a Rihanna look alike. Used to anchor early morning programme with Victoria Pepple & Iretiola Doyle & she casts the news at night on Silverbird. She now work in BBc or I think its affiliate in Oyekan Drive, Ikoyi....

Op ur sis sch in uk, ur uncle sch in usa, ur daddy sch in ghana,ur wife sch in aus,where did u sch op?

shedraq1:
It has become extremely difficult to identify a Nigerian from his or her accent these days. We are now sounding more American and British than the Americans and Britons themselves. When you listen to radio and voice in some TV commercials and radio jingles these days, you hardly hear the ‘Nigerian accent’ we grew up to know, and I begin to ask how we got here. Is this western influence? Did over half of our population suddenly travel abroad overnight to acquire an accent?

As I begin to ask questions, let me take a look at the people closest to me. Two of my uncles studied in the United States. Not just first degree but master’s degree as well. One of them even had a Ph.D and lived there for over 20 years before returning to Nigeria; none of them has an American accent. One of my maternal uncles and another aunt have been living in the UK ever since I can remember. When they came visiting some years back, none of them had a British accent. And so does my uncle that has lived in Australia for about 20 years.

My wife schooled in the UK for her master’s degree and does not have an atom of British accent when she speaks. Her elder sister schooled for 2 years in the United States and doesn’t have an American accent either. My wife’s half brother and sister are half-caste because their mum is a white English woman. They schooled in the UK to master’s degree level and lived there for a while as well and they don’t have a British accent (though a few words can’t escape her). I can go on and on about so many others. So it beats me hollow when a Nigerian travels to the United States for two months and returns with an American accent or when a Nigerian goes for her master’s degree in the UK and starts talking through her nose when she returns. It’s even so bad now, that some people accompany someone who is travelling overseas to the international airport and comes back home with an accent!

I can understand that some people were born and raised there and it has become part of their system and way of life. But one thing I have discovered is that those that travelled there don’t lose their Nigerian tongue completely. When I was in New York, I stayed in Manhattan with my cousin who had been living in the United States since he was 8 years old. He is about 30 now. He has a flat mate that is also a Nigerian who went there to school and has been living there.

I observed that they had this strong black American accent when they speak on the phone or have a conversation with their American friends, but whenever we were having a chat in the house, they always returned to their Nigerian accent. Even when he visits Nigeria, He speaks in his Nigerian accent even though he can speak like an American very well and not those fake and undone accents I get to hear on radio. I have observed closely those ‘returnees’ that have lost their Nigerian accent really haven’t. Once in a while, when you have a conversation with them, it slips out in some words or sentences and they return to their other accent. But will you blame them? Speaking in an American or British accent is now a status symbol. We admire and respect anything that has a resemblance to America or England. We see them as superior and since as they enjoy that position they would want to remain there.

I have worked in the entertainment and media industry for over 10 years and trust me, I have seen a lot. Most of our on-air personalities now have a foreign accent. There was even a radio station in Lagos that wouldn’t even want to hire you if you had a Nigerian accent. Our voice over artists who grew up in Ibadan can’t even pronounce “Adeola Odeku Street’ anymore the way we will know that it’s a street on Victoria Island and not Los Angeles. Some of them cannot even pronounce their own name very well. This is sad. I grew up listening to Tokunbo Ajayi, Cyril Stober and Ruth Benemesia Opia deliver news casting in a way that made you admire them for their professionalism. All that is gone. A young girl once worked as a newscaster in a TV station in Lagos and I heard that because she had a foreign accent, she got lots of privileges and I know this for a fact because it’s my industry and I have friends in every media house. She got holidays oversees and other perks that others who had been working there could not dream of.

Of course she left after a while and we hardly see her anymore but this is our reality. Though I thought she was a good newscaster. I also know a certain media house on cable TV where they all speak through their noses and form cliques amongst themselves. You are valued according to your accent. So everyone wants to belong, whether you grew up there, or you only visited for two weeks, or you went there for your master’s degree; all join, just dey blow foneh dey go. That’s the only way you can be seen as a sophisticated babe or big boy. I remember one time when one of them referred to those of us with Nigerian accent as ‘locals’. Na wa oh!

These led some of my friends in a certain radio station in Lagos to start what they call the LAFA Awards. LAFA stands for Locally Acquired Foreign Accent. It was done to expose on air personalities on radio that never lived outside the country and have a foreign accent. I had a good laugh as they called out the winners and I can’t wait for the next LAFA Awards.

I would also like to ask; I know a lot of white people who have lived in Nigeria for so many years. Some of them were even born here, especially the Lebanese. But how come they don’t have a Nigerian accent? Why is it the other way round?

I think Nigerians should be comfortable with speaking with their Nigerian accent. CNN recently ranked the different accents in the world according to how sexy they sounded and Surprise! Surprise! The disdained Nigerian accent was ranked 5th. It ranked even higher than the American and British accents. I don’t think you need a foreign accent to have a high self-esteem. The people we admire here in Nigeria for their success and all they have achieved did all they did without an American accent and still have a high place in our society. The likes of Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga and Femi Otedola don’t have one.

Even in our entertainment industry, Tuface, P square, Wizkid and Asa don’t have foreign accent. Likewise Nneka, D’Banj and Don Jazzy that have lived abroad don’t have it not to talk of Davido who was born abroad. We should learn to embrace the way we speak and be proud of it just like the Americans and the British would never change their accent for anyone.

Kai but you ma sound foreign small o, not by accent but by affiliations. How come all those your people last for abroad like that na, and they plenty no be small.
Anyways, you not far from the truth. My Ibo friend claims he travelled to Spain for one week, but he has been speaking American accent for over a year now. LOL

Richiy:
The thing is now too much. You cant even have your normal accent and dream of working in a radio station.

They want to hear the one you will actually work harder to hear.

That is why I listen to Wazobia fm more often than others because I have no difficulty whatsoever associating with them.

They should leave matter for mathias abeg.

nt only ya, I hate it ehn

The only fake accent I enjoy home-based Nigerians speak, and which we speak perfectly, is black American English. I guess that's what our tongues handle well. Lol.

[deleted]

D funny tin is, it's girls that emulate this shit d most... I wonder what dey keep in their head

An African proverbs goes thus, "as goat take stand na so dem go price am “.. Haven't you heard the golden voice of Africa speak in public, the late prime minister, Sir tafawa balewa.?.. He spoke like his mentors the British who brought him up.. I think that no big deal if you speak like them.. It's not xenocentrism..
Sir Ahmadu Bello once said, I quote "Be a true reflection of an African and not a mirage of an alien culture,history or body....
It depends on the angle you are coming from...

Watching boondocks will change ur accent

Nigerians always feeln among since 1800

Somebody should please summaries this book of revelation jare,I hate reading looooooong thing

OP, God bless ya mama! U just speak my mind well, well.

Well done!

How do we pronounce "ebola" in the African accent? Is it /ibola/ or /ebola/ ?

Honestly, shame to those forming forming people. If you are not satisfied with my nigeria english accent, then go to hell.
#team9jaaccent

Well, I don't understand what you mean by "Nigerian Accent" when speaking a language that is not even yours... I don't have a Nigerian Accent, I think a little American and I haven't been to the states before..Have been speaking like this since I can remember so don't be so sure to label people fake because they don't speak like you or don't sound "Nigerian" whatever that means.. Some people just have this different accent,so get over it MR

A lot can be said about the accent thing, but it is what is it. If you live outside Nigeria for a couple of years, your accent and pronunciation are bound to change but I won't change completely except you migrated at an earlier age (sage 16years), anything after that, your vocal cords are fully developed and you can't change your accent completely.

At least that's understandable. What about OAPs in Nigeria who haven't stepped out of Nigeria yet they speak through their noses??! Whenever I listen to any Nigerian radio station online I get so annoyed. Because they sound so ridiculous and stupid! If only they could know what they sound like. The actors and actresses are not spared too. Only God knows which country Tonto Dike's accent is from

But cut people who have lived outside of Nigeria some slack OP. The accent is bound to change definitely. If not completely but partially. I for one can switch between the Nigerian Accent and the American Accent easily. My American accent isn't flawless but it is definetely different from the Nigerian. Why do I have two accents? Well try speaking on the phone to an American with your Nigerian accent and goodluck trying to get him to understand you. Or you could try instructing a room full of undergrads in school with your Nigerian accent. You can't even get them to stop telling you to repeat yourself despite the fact that you're speaking as clearly and as slowly as possible. Some of those kids are still brats.

So Mr OP, there's absolutely nothing wrong in having two accents. Your sounding insecure or even resenting of the accent. Your wife and relatives probably lived among fellow Nigerians which is why they retained their accents. If they had lived in a white dominated state or community or even Akata dominated they will speak like them too. I chose to speak like an American but that doesn't mean I can blow your head off in Yoruba, typical of the Ibadan girl that I am

Wait o, na only for go school for we country wey English teacher teach both British and American phonetics?
I can't let such an effort go just like that.
What ever is worth doing, there say, it's worth doing well. You learn English, write and speak it well. That's the essence of schooling.

bestads:


the bolded means being a COPYCAT while speaking with your Natural Nigerian accent( wether, Igbo,Yoruba, Hausa, Efik, Ibibio, Ijaw, Nupe etc) means you are ORIGINAL

One thing is do you think everyone can speak their native language?
I as a person, I'm not youruba but its the only Nigerian language I understand completely ( to a reasonable extent of fluent communication) and I try as much as possible to speak Yoruba in the right way i.e like a Yoruba person will speak. Is that wrong??
So what's wrong in trying to speak English correctly and pronounce all your words correctly? ( Its only wrong when one tries to speak like an American or a Briton and in the end coming out with woeful pronunciation.) MY Opinion

nobilis:
OP, Thanks for giving us your life And family history. You should have also mentioned when you naturalized as an American or a British citizen.

Back to the topic.
What's all the fuss about accent?
There is No hard And fast rule anywhere that a person must speak a language in a certain way because he is from a particular country . People can decide to pick up new accents or drop the old ones they acquired in the past. People can also to learn new accents And be using them interchangeably with the previous ones they acquired.
As for me, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. As long you are communicating with your audience, you're covered. After all, a person's nationality must not be known through his accent.

And (I stand to be corrected), I don't think there is anything like Nigerian accent because the way an Hausa man speaks English is so different from the way an Igbo or Yoruba man speaks it. Let alone other ethnic groups.

And for those mentioning culture And pride about culture, I wonder when English language became part of your culture. So what has a "Nigerian accent" got to do with culture? Do tell.

. I could hug u now. U just spoke my mind. D OP just wanted us to know dat all his/her relatives live abroad (or wateva). My aunty my uncle my wife bla bla..boring us wit long family ties mcheeew. Once u r speakin 'english' there's nothin like 'Nigerian' accent cos 'English ' isn't even urs in d first place, d only pple dat can tell u how well to speak it are 'English pple' because its their language. There are so many ethnic groups in naija (as u rightly pointed out) & hence so many accents, so no such thin as 'Nigerian accent'. Abeg make he free pple wey wan speak wit English accent, e no concern anybody, everyone to his own . Haba! Wats d fuss about? Dat ur wife, uncle, brother, aunty etc, doesn't hav British accent doesn't mean everyone else shuldnt. Its a choice, if u wan igbo accent; fine, Yoruba; fine & good, hausa; kul, British; fine, American; alrite. Choose d one u want & leave other pple's choice alone

mrjojo:
Well, I don't understand what you mean by "Nigerian Accent" when speaking a language that is not even yours... I don't have a Nigerian Accent, I think a little American and I haven't been to the states before..Have been speaking like this since I can remember so don't be so sure to label people fake because they don't speak like you or don't sound "Nigerian" whatever that means.. Some people just have this different accent,so get over it MR

Like seriously, people should just get over this accent thingy.