Pseudonymous:
1. When an airport cab driver hears you have a foreign accent.


See this one.

Totally relate

Millz404:
Naija American : aey son, amma need you to geh me somwer real quick, i need to geh som'im, unowom sayin

Taxi man : ok oga, ur money na 10 thousand naira

Naija American : jesus christ, since when, bia nwokem, don't play with me, its 500 naira

Oluwa oo....dis guy don kill me [font=Lucida Sans Unicode][/font]

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!!

video or Idntbeliev video or Idntbeliev

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 shit 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 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!!

I don't believe that is completely true. The reason why most people abroad switch to another accent is because when you speak to these people from these countries in your thick Naija accent, they tend not to understand you completely or even at all. It's straining for them. So sometimes you yourself get caught up, except when you are in an environment where you don't need to communicate in English at all.

Eke40seven:

I don't believe that is completely true. The reason why most people abroad switch to another accent is because when you speak to these people from these countries in your thick Naija accent, they tend not to understand you completely or even at all. It's straining for them. So sometimes you yourself get caught up, except when you are in an environment where you don't need to communicate in English at all.

We are talking about when they visit Nigeria. I don't have issues with mimicing Americans when you're in America.

As I earlier stated, I mimic native speakers of the languages I speak when I'm in their country. I don't use French or Dutch accent when I'm in Nigeria because I was born and bred in Nigeria. So Nigerian accent is my default accent.

Pseudonymous:
10. When someone tells you to go and be an OAP.


Just like that?

Reasons why I don't listen to the radio!!!!! Sheet hurts my ears!!!!

hehehehehehe

hpk:
Reasons why I don't listen to the radio!!!!! Sheet hurts my ears!!!!

My brother those OAPs own dey annoy me die! Once I just hear any of them trying to blow that sh*t, I switch station asap! Nonsense.

DedeNkem:


We are talking about when they visit Nigeria. I don't have issues with mimicing Americans when you're in America.

As I earlier stated, I mimic native speakers of the languages I speak when I'm in their country. I don't use French or Dutch accent when I'm in Nigeria because I was born and bred in Nigeria. So Nigerian accent is my default accent.

but how would you be able to speak dutch or french accent in nigeria when we speak english

MENTORCH:
If you didn't spend your first 13years abroad,even if you live abroad for 40years your accent can't change unless you are forming it.

Exactly!!! Your vocal cords naturally and FOREVER will continue with the accent you grew up with. Kids above 15 years will FOREVER and always have the accent they grew up with no matter where or how long they spend the rest of their lives.

Ugosample:

There are accent coaches bro.
Listen to Boris Kodjoe speak.
He moved to the U.S. in his 20s, and speaks like an American.
It is possible bro, just that it is very tough.
But with determination, and using accent coaches, it us achievable.
I did that with French

Wrong!!! You can NEVER build an accent. You'll FOREVER stick to what you grew up with. Whatever accent he learnt is something anyone can learn withing a couple of days. You can hear his "American accent" because you're Nigerian but a typical American will notice his African accent no matter how much he tries to use the American accent.

MissGdope:

you're kind of right but if you go abroad as a child and spend a significant amount of time with children with foreign accents at school, its very easy to catch on because children are very impressionable. Even if you went abroad at the age of 13, you could still have your accent affected by the people around you. happened to me

Correct!!! You develop the accent if you relocate as a kid. I've met several Liberians and Ghanaians that were born in Africa but relocated when they were less than 5 years. Fast forward till now when in their 20's 30's they DONT sound like Africans. They CANNOT even fake the African accent because they were raised here in the States.

Eke40seven:

I don't believe that is completely true. The reason why most people abroad switch to another accent is because when you speak to these people from these countries in your thick Naija accent, they tend not to understand you completely or even at all. It's straining for them. So sometimes you yourself get caught up, except when you are in an environment where you don't need to communicate in English at all.

They say when you're in Rome do as the Romans do. When i'm with my American friends i speak like they do but when i'm with my Naija friends i switch to my Naija accent. You'll NEED to learn to some extent the American accent to secure a job here. You'll need to communicate verbally with people you work with or clients or customers depending on the type of job. Your thick Naija accent could be difficult for them to clearly understand without you repeating your sentences.

DedeNkem:


We are talking about when they visit Nigeria. I don't have issues with mimicing Americans when you're in America.

As I earlier stated, I mimic native speakers of the languages I speak when I'm in their country. I don't use French or Dutch accent when I'm in Nigeria because I was born and bred in Nigeria. So Nigerian accent is my default accent.

Brother, when you lack practice and dont use your Naija English for too long, the language you mimic or use all the time might unconsciously become your default tongue or atleast many phrases take over. There are so many Nigerians in the Netherland and France you can exchange words with once in a while.
But if not, some phrases and exclamation begin to take over, you begin to scream, 'booolshirt!' instead of 'chinekeeee!'
Some may take it to the extreme while some might just be doing it unconsciously.

even people that were deported from Libya will come back and be forming accent whereas i have seen people who have spent years abroad and still speak pidgin and their local language fluently

MENTORCH:
If you didn't spend your first 13years abroad,even if you live abroad for 40years your accent can't change unless you are forming it.

guy na lie.

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!!

Exactly!!! If you relocated at any age above 15 year you're FAKING it!. It's only done to communicate with them effectively. One thing that makes me mad is seeing Africans trying to talk like Americans from the hood speaking Ebonics. "Yo man wutdido", "Imma fendi come tru", "niggaz is trynna hoop yo", "I don copped me some nu J's",... They look dumb, stupid and ignorant talking like this. The real Americans DO NOT talk like this. I repeat Americans DO NOT!. People that speak like this are frowned upon. They're low classed, from the ghetto and felons who've been in and out of jail. They cant read, write or spell in ENGLISH language. YES! In ENGLISH. They were born here but CANNOT speak good English, read or write and yet i see these Africans try to mimic them. Ridiculous and Pathetic!.

McBrooklyn:
13. How you run for your life when the whole neighborhood hears you just came back from abroad

this picture is from central African republic.

junnyjake:
.
I don't think there's anything like a Nigerian accent. Even the pidgin English we speak is not limited to Nigeria alone. A Yoruba accent is different from an igbo accent so is an Hausa accent different as well let alone other minor tribes with their individual accents as well.

From your post op, I can conclude that you are strictly talking about a foreign English accent.
I shouldn't be surprised caz some of our brothers who've had the opportunity to travel to places like Qatar, Mexico, Finland, Russia, Israel would come back and start forming a southern American accent.

Let me ask you a question, when you hear a Ghanaian speak can you tell he/she is from Ghana? Or when a British person speak can you tell he/she is from there UK?

If by definition, 'Nigerian accent' includes wrongly pronounced words or Nigerian manufactured words e.g

Assume; Naija man = azz-hume
Siren; Naija man = sigh-reeeeen
Her; Naija man = Haa!
Sewage; Naija man = Seee-wage!
Plumber; Naija man = Plum-bah!

Or

Indicator; Naija man = Trafficator lol

Etc etc

When all these are 'corrected' by being exposed for several years (I reckon about 10yrs minimum) to the English language being spoken properly, what you find is you are unable to go back to saying 'Plum-bah' just to please some home based disgruntled folk. This is regardless of your age.

The difference being described by some about age is simply that the younger you are when you move to the UK/US the quicker you adapt to the change and you also forget those Nigerianisms in your speech ever existed. This is different for the older guys who will always remember Naijas say plum-bah lol

Finally the older you are when you relocate the less likely it is that you will forge close friendships with the locals in your new location. So you find the older folk upon relocation only/mainly keep Nigerian 'plum-bah and see-wage' saying friends, and this stops or slows down any improvement in their speech.

In conclusion, returnees who have lived abroad in an English speaking country for over 10 yrs and interacted extensively with the locals would stillbe able to speak Nigerianised English if they tried BUT believe it or not, it is no longer their default lingua.

Very funny.. Na that no 1 I like pass

weedfada:


My brother those OAPs own dey annoy me die! Once I just hear any of them trying to blow that sh*t, I switch station asap! Nonsense.

they feel very beautiful when at it.

MENTORCH:
If you didn't spend your first 13years abroad,even if you live abroad for 40years your accent can't change unless you are forming it.

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!

wayodude:
If by definition, 'Nigerian accent' includes wrongly pronounced words or Nigerian manufactured words e.g

Assume; Naija man = azz-hume
Siren; Naija man = sigh-reeeeen
Her; Naija man = Haa!
Sewage; Naija man = Seee-wage!
Plumber; Naija man = Plum-bah!

Or

Indicator; Naija man = Trafficator lol

Etc etc

When all these are 'corrected' by being exposed for several years (I reckon about 10yrs minimum) to the English language being spoken properly, what you find is you are unable to go back to saying 'Plum-bah' just to please some home based disgruntled folk. This is regardless of age.

The difference being described by some about age is simply that the younger you are when you move to the UK/US the quicker you adapt to the change and you also forget those Nigerianisms in your speech ever existed. This is different for the older guys who will always remember Naijas say plum-bah lol

Finally the older you are when you relocate the less likely it is that you will forge close friendships with the locals in your new location. So you find the older folk upon relocation only/mainly keep Nigerian 'plum-bah and see-wage' saying friends, and this stops or slows down any improvement in their speech.

In conclusion, returnees who have lived abroad in an English speaking country for over 10 yrs and interacted extensively with the locals would stillbe able to speak Nigerianised English if they tried BUT believe it or not, it is no longer their default lingua.

Gbam!
A Daniel is come to judgment.
Thanks for making my Sunday, bro.

In addition, there are those at home who try to overcome their Nigerian mother-tongue interference in their spoken English... Those who, for instance say "plumma" instead of "plumba" (for plumber). If I know the correct way to pronounce a word, why should I pronounce it incorrectly just to please some "disgruntled" slowpoke? It's a confidence thing. You mock and hate what you can't conquer.

I'm sure to an Anambra man it's OK to say "zelo" for "zero". And if I insist on saying "zero" he'll make fun of me and say that I too dey form.

Same for an Osun man who says "hactivate" for "activate. Or a Kaduna man who says "feffa" for "paper".

Guys... Don't hate. Run in your own lane. No be by force to speak good English. If you no Sabi...own it but don't knock people who try to speak a language well. It's a confidence thing. Just do you.

fittty:

Exactly!!! Your vocal cords naturally and FOREVER will continue with the accent you grew up with. Kids above 15 years will FOREVER and always have the accent they grew up with no matter where or how long they spend the rest of their lives.
Wrong!!! You can NEVER build an accent. You'll FOREVER stick to what you grew up with. Whatever accent he learnt is something anyone can learn withing a couple of days. You can hear his "American accent" because you're Nigerian but a typical American will notice his African accent no matter how much he tries to use the American accent. Correct!!! You develop the accent if you relocate as a kid. I've met several Liberians and Ghanaians that were born in Africa but relocated when they were less than 5 years. Fast forward till now when in their 20's 30's they DONT sound like Africans. They CANNOT even fake the African accent because they were raised here in the States. They say when you're in Rome do as the Romans do. When i'm with my American friends i speak like they do but when i'm with my Naija friends i switch to my Naija accent. You'll NEED to learn to some extent the American accent to secure a job here. You'll need to communicate verbally with people you work with or clients or customers depending on the type of job. Your thick Naija accent could be difficult for them to clearly understand without you repeating your sentences.

From your response, it means you don't even know Boris Kodjoe. lol.
Boris Kodjoe is German (though he has some Ghana roots but never lived there, and I know an American accent when I hear one (though there are many variants) .

Check out accent coaches and companies that are dedicated to improving accents of foreign people.
It works like magic, even if you don't get it 100 % you will get it 95% with determination.
Anything is possible, if you put your mind to it

junnyjake:
.
I don't think there's anything like a Nigerian accent. Even the pidgin English we speak is not limited to Nigeria alone. A Yoruba accent is different from an igbo accent so is an Hausa accent different as well let alone other minor tribes with their individual accents as well.

From your post op, I can conclude that you are strictly talking about a foreign English accent.
I shouldn't be surprised caz some of our brothers who've had the opportunity to travel to places like Qatar, Mexico, Finland, Russia, Israel would come back and start forming a southern American accent.

there is a distinct Nigerian accent. This accent is different from a Yoruba, Igbo, or Hausa influenced pronounciation, and still different from British, American, South African or Australia accent. It is also different from the Kenyan, Ugandan or Ghanaian accent. It is closer to the Sierra Leonian accent.

Have you heard Chimamanda speak? What about Linda Ikeji, Fashola, Okonjo Iweala et al? At first, some of them would try to immitate a foreign accent but down the line, their distinct Nigerian accent comes out.

Only those who've not listened to other people in other parts of the world speak, would argue this.

craziebone:


there is a distinct Nigerian accent. This accent is different from a Yoruba, Igbo, or Hausa influenced pronounciation, and still different from British, American, South African or Australia accent. It is also different from the Kenyan, Ugandan or Ghanaian accent. It is closer to the Sierra Leonian accent.

Have you heard Chimamanda speak? What about Linda Ikeji, Fashola, Okonjo Iweala et al? At first, some of them would try to immitate a foreign accent but down the line, their distinct Nigerian accent comes out.

Only those who've not listened to other people in other parts of the world speak, would argue this.

The Nigerian accent spoken by people with some form of proper education there right?

airsaylongcon:


Let me ask you a question, when you hear a Ghanaian speak can you tell he/she is from Ghana? Or when a British person speak can you tell he/she is from there UK?

You are definitely proving my point, yes as an outsider there are certain sounds a Ghanaian makes in his speech that makes me pinpoint his nationality, same with someone with a British accent.

This is a point I was trying to make; it's difficult for an outsider to decipher where you from as a Nigerian depending only on your accent as his guide.

Here's an example, he heard a Nigerian speak with an igbo accent sometime ago, and he concluded that's a Nigerian accent, later he discovered that the hausas and the Yoruba people speak differently, wouldn't he be confused?

Or better still, Tell me what the Nigerian accent sounds like?

craziebone:


there is a distinct Nigerian accent. This accent is different from a Yoruba, Igbo, or Hausa influenced pronounciation, and still different from British, American, South African or Australia accent. It is also different from the Kenyan, Ugandan or Ghanaian accent. It is closer to the Sierra Leonian accent.

Have you heard Chimamanda speak? What about Linda Ikeji, Fashola, Okonjo Iweala et al? At first, some of them would try to immitate a foreign accent but down the line, their distinct Nigerian accent comes out.

Only those who've not listened to other people in other parts of the world speak, would argue this.

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.

junnyjake:


You are definitely proving my point, yes as an outsider there are certain sounds a Ghanaian makes in his speech that makes me pinpoint his nationality, same with someone with a British accent.

This is a point I was trying to make; it's difficult for an outsider to decipher where you from as a Nigerian depending only on your accent as his guide.

Here's an example, he heard a Nigerian speak with an igbo accent sometime ago, and he concluded that's a Nigerian accent, later he discovered that the hausas and the Yoruba people speak differently, wouldn't he be confused?

Or better still, Tell me what the Nigerian accent sounds like?

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

Ugosample:


The Nigerian accent spoken by people with some form of proper education there right?

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.