In Praise of Nigerian English

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I was in an argument with a friend of mine after he made a comment about the way a Nigerian leader was speaking English and I pointed out to him that there was nothing wrong with it as long as Nigerians understand what he's saying. He replied by saying that he should have improved his English when addressing world leaders so that they'd at least understand him and I responded by saying that what he was speaking was basically Nigerian English. He replied that there was nothing like Nigerian English as it's not officially accepted and I told him that it is accepted by over 100 million people in West Africa and it's basically the way Nigerians speak their English. As Americans have their own version of English, so do Nigerians have their own version of English.

The way Nigerians speak English is different from the way Non Nigerians speak English, just as the way American English differs from British English and the way Eastern European English also differs from Western European English.

The only difference between Nigerian English and Oyibo English is that Nigerians speak English with their accent which was mostly influenced by their different languages(Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa and others) while Oyibos speak English with their own accent. If a Nigerian wants to speak English like an Oyibo person, then he may just have to work on his phonetics and that would change his accent. But there is really nothing wrong with Nigerian English as long as your grammar is good and your accent can easily be changed depending on the environment you find yourself in.

It won't make sense speaking Oyibo English in Nigeria when a lot of people would not really understand what you are saying. Believe me, I've met many Nigerians who don't watch Oyibo movies because they don't understand their English but they only prefer watching Nigerian movies. Even for some of us that watch Oyibo movies, it's not everything that we hear when Oyibo people are talking. So, it's good to speak Nigerian English when you are living in a Nigerian community and probably change your accent when you find yourself in an Oyibo environment.

If you are a Nigerian and speaking English to a fellow Nigerian, don'tr try speaking English like Oyibo people unless you no longer have your Nigerian accent. This is because their person may find it hard to understand you if you use a foreign accent. Use your Nigerian accent in order to be able to easily connect with other Nigerians. Don't try speaking English with your nose because we Nigerians speak it with our mouth and our lips.

Nigerian English is good and a great way of communicating with other Nigerians. Speaking a local Nigerian language is even better if you find people who also understand the language. It helps Nigerians to do business, make friends, exchange information and do a lot of things together because the accent creates an element of trust and oneness among Nigerians.

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Posted by Felix Okoli on Thursday July 16, 2015 at 9:46:21:

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