Nigerian/ Kenyan accent
Swahili is one of the most spoken languages in Kenya, serving as the lingua franca across the country, with around 75 million speakers globally. English is also widely used, particularly in official and educational contexts.
Hausa is the most widely spoken language in Nigeria, with over 88 million speakers globally. Nigeria’s linguistic diversity is immense, with over 500 languages spoken, reflecting the country’s rich cultural heritage.English is also an official language there.
Watch videos of people speaking with Kenyan and Nigerian accents and try to notice what distinguishes these accents from others.
Nigerian English
Pronunciation of Consonants
Nigerians often pronounce the “th” sounds (/θ/ and /ð/) as /t/ or /d/. For example, “think” might be pronounced as “tink” and “this” as “dis”.
Accents and Phonology
The Nigerian accent often adapts English sounds in a way that is more natural or comfortable within local speech patterns. For instance, in some Nigerian accents, the vowel sounds in “work” (with a schwa sound) and “walk” (with a long “a”) are often closer together, making them sound similar.
Kenyan English
Vowel Sounds
Kenyan English speakers may merge vowel sounds, leading to less distinction between vowels that are distinct in other varieties of English. For example, “bed” and “bad” might sound similar. Many Kenyan languages, such as Kikuyu, Swahili, and Luo, have fewer vowel distinctions than English.
Swahili Influence
Swahili, being a national language, contributes many words and phrases to Kenyan English. In Swahili, words generally follow a consonant-vowel structure, and consonant clusters (like “sc” in “school”) are uncommon. The word “school” is adapted into Swahili as “shule” or “skuli,” following a more familiar phonetic pattern. When some Kenyans speak English, they may bring this structure into their pronunciation.