I have this question about the H-Factor. The situation when a person always subtracts H when saying a word starting with H Eg Heart becomes At and adds H when its not there Eg Add becomes Hadd. I wanted to ask if people really think it is only the Yorubas that have it. because I've noticed Folks Non Yoruba folks like folks from Delta Eg Sapele and Warri still subtract H from words starting with it. Don't get me started with folks from Bayelsa especially the Rural areas who seems to loose H everywhere it supposed to be and adds where it's not. Eg Fish turns to Fis Shop turns to Sop. John turns to Zon, Hi turns to Ai, See turns to Shi. They even seem to flat out some words like House, House turns to As or Has. flatining the OU. etc. I was wondering if this is different from the H factor or the same thing. if its same why is it that people always put Yoruba as the main culprits.

Sinistami:
If its same why is it that people always put Yoruba as the main culprits.

Because the Yorubas, being a major ethnic group, are much more visible than the groups you have mentioned here. It is inevitable that they will become everyone's point of reference. This might sound incredible but many Nigerians have never met an Izon person before.

RedboneSmith:


Because the Yorubas, being a major ethnic group, are much more visible than the groups you have mentioned here. It is inevitable that they will become everyone's point of reference. This might sound incredible but many Nigerians have never met an Izon person before.

OK even though Ijaw is all over the news.

Sinistami:


OK even though Ijaw is all over the news.

Being in the news is different from meeting them in person. If I don't meet them and interact with them, how do I know about the idiosyncracies in their speech? That is not something people usually pick up in the news. The only reason I knew about the 'changing j to z' thing, is because it was in a GS textbook I read in my first year; the rest I am just learning about from your post.

RedboneSmith:


Being in the news is different from meeting them in person. If I don't meet them and interact with them, how do I know about the idiosyncracies in their speech? That is not something people usually pick up in the news. The only reason I knew about the 'changing j to z' thing, is because it was in a GS textbook I read in my first year; the rest I am just learning about from your post.

OK so you're not Ijaw then. Understood.

The second poster is right. It was only in my university days I met someone of Bokkos origin. Everyone else called the person Hausa but since we had a deeper connection the individual revealed it to me.

I knew another who people called Efik but the person told me their true ethnicity and those of the Efik were night and day in comparison. I can’t remember that one’s real tribe. I heard it first on that day and never again almost 12 years later.

I just did a google search and realized there are a lot of ethnic groups I’ll read of in a geography textbook but never come across.