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Is there a true consistent Nigerian accent?

I really wish more Nigerians would understand basic linguistics the way I do. I get irritated with people who look at persons who speak English perfectly well with correct or near-correct British or American enunciations as being fake. It irks me so much.

This is because I know how hard it is to live in Nigeria having your indigenous accent messing up your spoken English.

YOU WILL BE JEERED AT!
I HAVE BEEN THERE AND I WAS RIDICULED FOR HAVING AN L-FACTOR.

The fact that some Russians speak while retaining their accents doesn't mean that there are others who don't speak the English language with clear enunciation of words.

The essence why people try to speak properly using the correct enunciation of words is just so they could easily be understood by a lot of people around the world. This is good for business. Since the world most frequently used language is the English language.

Some people are meticulous with the way they pronounce their words. It doesn't mean that they are not pan-African.

If you speak the British English properly and you use the proper phonetic letters to articulate your words, you are doing great.

If you speak the American English and you use the phonetic letters appropriately to enunciate words like Americans would, You are doing great as well.

Since English is widely spoken in Nigeria, it is very vital that we speak and write it well enough. No linguistic entity should be neglected or compromised at all.

Russians don't care about English. They use their indigenous language for communication in the country. On the other hand, Nigeria use the English language and the pidgin English for conversation here in this country because we already have over 500 ethnic groups in Nigeria.

We don't expect an Igbo man to go learn Yoruba and speak it with an infusion of his Igbo accent in it, do we?

I once told a Yoruba friend of mine, "OTITO" using my deep Igbo accent. He honestly didn't understand what I meant . This is because I wasn't using the musical and tonal effect that come with Yoruba accent.
Otito in Igbo means Praise.
Otito in yoruba means STOP.
they are both pronounced differently.

I always get into trouble for not pronouncing Yoruba names and hausa names properly. People complain I use heavy igbo accent for some names and I anglicise other names. I listen to them. I try to take corrections and learn. Enunciating words properly makes it easier for you to be understood.

You realise that your utter mispronunciation of English words can mar the way you speak and what people understand from your speech.

If you want to learn Igbo, learn it well. Make sure you cover all it's linguistic aspects like syntax, phonology , morphology and semantics of the language.

If one of such linguistic components suffers greatly , then you can't say you competently speak that language.

Telling people not to care about the way they pronounce their words ( according to the standard British pronunciation or even American pronunciation) is the same with telling a writer to careless about his or her grammar(syntax) .

"Just speak anything . As far as it sounds like English, the world will understand."

The idea is erroneous. Sadly, this is how many Nigerians reason

Many Nigerians, who say that those who speak proper British English are hypocrites of some sort, are guilty of jeering Anambra people who have L-factor.
They will also laugh at Yoruba people who have H- factor. They will laugh at different tribes in Nigeria who speak English with huge nuances of their local dialects.

As a linguist, I think you should know that Nigeria has not unanimously agreed on what should be called A TYPICAL NIGERIAN ACCENT. It just doesn't exist as at the moment . The Ebonics have an accent which when studied, follows a particular pattern.

Nigeria doesn't have a unique accent that follows a particular rhythmic pattern.

Some scholars have proposed that while speaking with a Nigeian accent, all the consonants sounds that are of British provenance should be done away with. If that is done, then Nigerians , in order to sound very Nigerian, should pronounce these words the following ways.

Thing ---tin
Thought-- tot

That---dat
Bath--bat
Wealthy- wealty
Healthy-healty

The same thing will happen to vowel sounds of British provenance.
Since Nigerian languages don't have the sound / ɜ:/, it will be un-Nigerian for you to pronounce these words correctly like English men will . The best way to sound Nigerian in this scenario is by substituting the British/ ɜ:/ sound with a Nigerian /e/ sound

Bird /bɜ:d/---bed
Earn /ɜ:n/--en
Purse /pɜ:s /---pes (surprisingly most Nigerians pronounce this as /pos/)
Girl /gɜ:l/ --gel.

/ʌ/, /ɒ/, /ɔ:/ These three sounds are also un-Nigerian. For you to boldly say you are being true to the supposed Nigerian accent , these three sounds should be a homogeneous /o/ sound.

Cut, cot and court will all be pronounced as just /cot/. There won't be any distinction whatsoever in the enunciation of these words. In Nigerian English,those three words will be called homophones.

Nigerian languages doesn't also use diphthongs. So, if you implement diphthongs in your English, you are obviously not sticking to that illusion you call Nigerian accent .

Words like

Day /dei/ will be pronounced as /de:/
Baby /beibi/ will be /be:bi/

Hope /həʊp/ will be /hOp/ as in the 'O' in Oge (Igbo) and otito(Yoruba)

At the end, you realise that nobody is sticking to any of these at all.
If we are to speak with the basic influence of our mothertongues, we would all not sound like one Nigerian.
Zebudaiah , Jegede shokoyah and Girin gory are typical examples of these accent disparities in Nigeria.

It would be more appropriate for you to say that we should speak English with our indigenous accents not with a Nigerian accent. Nigeria does not have an accent.

So, if you are Yoruba, speak English with the tonal sing-song quality that tells you are Yoruba and don't Even bother apologising for your h-factor.
If anybody jeers at you for having an h-factor, please laugh them to scorn and tell them that they are hypocrites for obliterating their genuine accent.

If you are Igbo (Anambra) and you have the l-factor, when Igbo (Anambra)people laugh at you , please remind them that they are not utilising their God-giving natural accent.

People only speak as good as what they have learnt all through their years on earth.

That's why , even as learned Nigerian youths, our ways of speaking and pronouncing words differ depending on what we have been learning, watching or reading.

I will keep talking about this till those who are guilty come to realise their mistakes.

When learning a language, you should learn these components

Phonology(pronunciation of words)
Syntax (grammar)
Morphology(spelling)
Semantics. (Meaning of words,phrases, idioms, etc)

We all neglect pronunciation aspect but it is one of the primary components of a language.

If you can speak words clearly, carefully and with minimal errors, please don't do away with it just so you could please Some Nigerians who aren't putting food on your table.

Whatever is worth doing, is worth doing well.

I am King Ifey and I love to see you prosper

©King Ifey