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Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents - Culture (7) - Nairaland

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Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Rapzino: 8:30pm On Nov 01, 2014
AfricanApple:
instead of them to care more about speaking good english
nice one bae
Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Rapzino: 8:33pm On Nov 01, 2014
Exjoker:
I don't give a dime about it
stingy boy, is a dime too much to give?

3 Likes

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by CAMNEWTON4PRES: 8:34pm On Nov 01, 2014
Finafina:
i roll with Nigerians my frnd! if i brot a british lady bac home n she stays in my house for a yr she sure will have a slight change of accent!!!!!
I understood you perfectly, and again I ask why is that his/her accent won't change? you sound like you are even welcoming that change

1 Like

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Nobody: 8:40pm On Nov 01, 2014
annoymous:
A lot of the things we actually call nigerian accent is mostly bad English because the inflections in Yoruba and other nigerian languages are very different from English. So we tend to stress on the wrong syllables when we speak English. So when people try to speak proper English, it comes across as 'forming British English'. But then again, a lot of our lagos and Abuja babe's dey overdo, lol
bad english is wrong tenses majorly . pronunciation comes under phonics , phonetics and intonations ... which is never bad as long as you use the righht tenses an passing your message across . its never bad to speak with an accent as long as you dont think with an accent . if the indians , germans coming to work in nigeria form british accents .... how well would it have been then.

2 Likes

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Nobody: 8:44pm On Nov 01, 2014
CFCfan:

I know. It's ridiculous that Nigerian celebrities who aren't American citizens, are celebrating Halloween IN Nigeria?!!
how lovely would it have been if the americans celebrated osun / yam festival over there when we do it here.
Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Nobody: 8:47pm On Nov 01, 2014
timmy:
@op. Since when has it been a crime to choose how you speak? You make it sound like it's a crime, punishable next to sodomy. What does having a Nigerian accent do to you? So long I can hear you i'm just as fine.

Why don't you wear Ankara every day because you choose to dress Nigerian?
it does not make you real ... imagine speaking like a briton to a spanish boss during an interview ... he goes through your CV , see you have lived all your life in gombe and he begins to wonder.
Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Nobody: 8:51pm On Nov 01, 2014
majekdom2:
how lovely would it have been if the americans celebrated osun / yam festival over there when we do it here.
Abi oh
Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Nobody: 8:53pm On Nov 01, 2014
majekdom2:
bad english is wrong tenses majorly . pronunciation comes under phonics , phonetics and intonations ... which is never bad as long as you use the righht tenses an passing your message across . its never bad to speak with an accent as long as you dont think with an accent . if the indians , germans coming to work in nigeria form british accents .... how well would it have been then.

i totally disagree with you. ofcourse having an accent is not inherently wrong as long as you get not just the tenses but the proper dictionary pronunciation but if you stress the wrong syllable all in the name of having an accent, then there is a problem. for example, saying embaRASS instead of emBArass can be very emBArassing

1 Like

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Tpharell: 8:54pm On Nov 01, 2014
The exaggeration is simply outrageous! Even with the OAPs. Most of them simply use the affected accent to cover their poor command of the language. Like someone mentioned earlier for those who live in the US for example it's adaptation so you don't get to keep repeating yourself all the time. And when it comes to a typical Naija babe it gets from bizarre to downright ridiculous!

2 Likes

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Nobody: 8:56pm On Nov 01, 2014
GolfingDiva:
What a piece of trash and racist article.

I think your state is low and so, you sounded discombobulated probably because you've been mocked at due to your deep accent.

Life is a great adventure. If you've had your first degree abroad and lived for so many years, your accent automatically changes.

Another thing is environment and of course, your classmates. So, leave us alone with your idiotic piece to make money for advertisements.

Get the most out of life now.
re read the ops post again and comprehend like you understand english.

2 Likes

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Tpharell: 9:01pm On Nov 01, 2014
The thing about this UK/US accent is you either have it or you don't! If you don't belief me try listening to Keshi, Yobo and the likes who have live in Europe.

1 Like

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Nobody: 9:01pm On Nov 01, 2014
annoymous:


i totally disagree with you. ofcourse having an accent is not inherently wrong as long as you get not just the tenses but the proper dictionary pronunciation but if you stress the wrong syllable all in the name of having an accent, then there is a problem. for example, saying embaRASS instead of emBArass can be very emBArassing
oga will you tell van gal , mourhino or wenger that they speak bad english because they got accent . they are all english club coaches . we should learn to understand what fluency is .... good, precise and clear communication ... not forming a manner of talking . every other national who has not got their native language as englsh has got an accent and they dont try to change it . they learn the basics of writing, reading and commuincating not accent. you understand now.

3 Likes

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Nobody: 9:04pm On Nov 01, 2014
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.
You go to both countries to acquire education and citizenship... and it is accent acquisition you are against. Go the whole hug! ....the whole bang. And exhibit it...that is the idea now on.

1 Like

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Nobody: 9:06pm On Nov 01, 2014
Orikinla:
Majority of Nigerians have a lot of insecurities.
I am yet to see a Nigerian guy who has not lied in his desperation to woo a babe.
its not a nigerian thing ... have you not watched love dont cost a thing by nick canon...... I mean alvin the pool boy. its always very nice when you are yourself.
Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by AfricanApple(f): 9:10pm On Nov 01, 2014
Rapzino:
nice one bae
smiley

howdy cheesy
Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Nobody: 9:14pm On Nov 01, 2014
4C2215131:
Sometimes it's not about 'faking' accents. It's about speaking proper english. You see, we are so used to poor pronunciation, that when we hear how words are truly supposed to be pronounced it now sounds foreign.

An analogy can be seen in what happens in Nigerian politics. There's been so much corruption that a politician that does what he's 'supposed' to do is seen as performing well. That oughtn't be as he's just doing his job. Same thinga applies with the foreign accent issue. We are so used to bad english (both in grammatical construction and pronunciation cum delivery) that anyone seen doing it right is termed a 'faker'.

An example is our usual pronunciation of a word like Girl. The average Nigerian would say GERL, whereas the true pronunciation is GIRRLL (got to break it down so folks get it; G(OR)LL). There is the ER sound (not AIR but OR with some slurring of the R and L) before the L sound. Now, someone pronouncing it right would be seen as faking it. Same thing with words like Bird (Nigerian-BED, True-B(ORR)D), so many more I can mention.

Now, this in no way means that there aren't people who fake it. You know by how hard they try, it doesn't come naturally, it doesn't "flow" plus there is no consistency. You seem them when discussing i getting the accent right in some words and pronouncing it like the average Nigerian when it gets to other words. Why? Because it doesn't come naturally to them, they're faking it! If it's natural and an attempt at good english, it just "flows".

P:S: This topic is stale. Mods should know better. Nice thing a paid Mod is in the works.
would you link an accent of a south african to the economic status overthere.
Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Nobody: 9:19pm On Nov 01, 2014
Sanmix2007:
I think people in Nigeria do lyk a person wit American or British accent cus dey usually speaks more fluently compared to one wit Nigerian accent.
they love people who speak fluently not with an accent.

1 Like

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Rapzino: 9:22pm On Nov 01, 2014
AfricanApple:
smiley

howdy cheesy
i'm doing good and you?
Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Nobody: 9:24pm On Nov 01, 2014
manjiggy:
The truth is most people regard those who speak with a foreign accent as superior and vice-versa
For example as an ibadan man some people see those of us who speak in our native dialect as razz people.



Even on Nairaland a lot of people make fun of General Muhammadu Buhari because of his accent.

Until we start setting our priorities right, we still have a long way to go.


Cheers.
why would I see my fellow colleague whom I know has never been abroad as superior when I speak fluently myself . thats the inferiority complex we talking . or will I see a junior colleague as superior even if he has schooled abroad when I have also had brief trainings abroad. it makes no sense talking faking who you are not.

1 Like

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Nobody: 9:29pm On Nov 01, 2014
tpia6:



i dont think there's any accent in pidgin.

its either you speak it or you dont.

and as long as people can hear you, they dont bother checking for accents.
there is definitely an accent in pidgin ... the way a yoruba man speaks it is different from the way a warii man does.

1 Like

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Nobody: 9:32pm On Nov 01, 2014
CAMNEWTON4PRES:

bad/wrong pronunciation has nothing to do with an accent, even the white you are so eager to emulate have an accent, why is that they don't change their to make you comfortable? I m pretty sure it never crossed their mind nor yours, so why should you change yours? they are just trying to bully you except if you really have a bad diction other than that everyone has an accent
Economy and accountable leadership make you wanna copy them completely. Why study there in the first place?
Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by neocortex: 9:36pm On Nov 01, 2014
Every developed country rely on their native language as a means of communication, instead of feeling 'Nigerian' by using Nigerian accent for a foreign language it is better if we advocate for the development of our own languages. There is absolutely nothing wrong in using foreign accent for a foreign language. I believe we cannot copy a language and call it our own just because we can apply our local accent to it.

2 Likes

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by tpia6: 9:36pm On Nov 01, 2014
majekdom2:
there is definitely an accent in pidgin ... the way a yoruba man speaks it is different from the way a warii man does.

The point is as long as what you're saying is intelligible, nobody bothers getting an attitude over whether you have an accent or not.


I mean , whoever is going to hate you will not say its because you spoke with one accent or another.

2 Likes

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by milky3(f): 9:38pm On Nov 01, 2014
Especially beat fm Ib city sometimes I wonder if they poo at all, d likes of Vicky

2 Likes

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by CAMNEWTON4PRES: 9:42pm On Nov 01, 2014
ferdimako:

Economy and accountable leadership make you wanna copy them completely. Why study there in the first place?
I don't get your question
Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by JackBizzle: 9:43pm On Nov 01, 2014
LyfeJennings:
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....


See this fake person.

It is only you that has cable/satellite at home abi?

1 Like

Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by CAMNEWTON4PRES: 9:44pm On Nov 01, 2014
neocortex:
Every developed country rely on their native language as a means of communication, instead of feeling 'Nigerian' by using Nigerian accent for a foreign language it is better if we advocate for the development of our own languages. There is absolutely nothing wrong in using foreign accent for a foreign language. I believe we cannot copy a language and call it our own just because we can apply our local accent to it.

no one here called English his language that's not the point , the point here and what the op is trying to say is if you have a Nigerian accent or any particular accent why trying to change it when you have never been abroad and your audience is a local?
Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by LyfeJennings(m): 9:50pm On Nov 01, 2014
JackBizzle:



See this fake person.

It is only you that has cable/satellite at home abi?

Never been to the east and I can speak igbo with a strong igbo accent. How is that? Permit me to call U a dumb. Nothing is impossible in this world. Just cos its not happened to U doesnt mean it hasnt or cant happen to someone else.


FYI, we never had a cable/satellite.
Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by Climax4: 9:51pm On Nov 01, 2014
My brother i tire for this ooo more epecially the beat 97.9fm ibadan people like Dolakpo and coy speaking forcing body english that is nt even 4rm their heart
Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by generalgie: 9:52pm On Nov 01, 2014
tpia6:
Why are nairalanders so hung up on accents?

Is this an inferiority complex?

Or some kind of fixation?

Imagine someone listing all their family members who "have lived abroad for 20 years and have no abroad accent". This is the height of joblessness, have you no life.

Omo yi gba 5 jare
Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by JackBizzle: 9:57pm On Nov 01, 2014
LyfeJennings:


Never been to the east and I can speak igbo with a strong igbo accent. How is that? Permit me to call U a dumb. Nothing is impossible in this world. Just cos its not happened to U doesnt mean it hasnt or cant happen to someone else.


FYI, we never had a cable/satellite.


You are exposing your fakeness.

You dont have cable or satellite in Nigeria and you were watching American shows abi?


What percentage of time do NTA, AIT and other local channels show American shows on their network?


Sorry, you cant have American accent in Nigeria unless you live with American people. Even at that, your accent will be tainted if you talk with normal Nigerians.

I have seen this with relocated British and Russians......their foreign accents start to get a slight Nigerian intonation.....not to talk of a pako like you.

commot jo...
Re: Nigerians And Fake Foreign Accents by JackBizzle: 9:58pm On Nov 01, 2014
generalgie:


Omo yi gba 5 jare


angry

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