Top 25 Words NigeriansCommonly Mispronounce
Some weeks back we started some articles aimed at exposing 25 Commonly mispronounced words. Here is the concluding part
16. Curse/cause/course. Many Nigerians have a hard time distinctly pronouncing the words “cause,” “course,” and “curse.” They are all pronounced “kos.” British English speakers pronounce “curse” like “kes,” except that the “e” sound (which is kind of like the “e” sound in “met”) is long. Americans pronounce it “keRs,” also with a long “e” sound. “Cause” is pronounced “koz” with a short “o” sound (which is close to the “o” sound in “all”), and “course” is pronounced “kos” with a long “o” sound. In American pronunciation, the “r” in “course” is, of course, articulated to have something like “koRs.”
17. Debris. A lot of Nigerians I know pronounce the last letter in this word and render the “i” sound like it’s a short one. But native speakers pronounce it like “debree.” That means the last “s” is never sounded and the “i” sound is long. But there are variations in the way the first “de” is pronounced. Some pronounce it as “deibree,” others as “dubree,” and yet others as “dibree.” What unites all the variations, nevertheless, is that they don’t articulate the last “s” and they elongate the “i” sound.
18. Debt. In native English speaker pronunciations, the “b” in debt” is silent. It sounds like “det.” This native-speaker pronunciation can lead to grievous, even fatal, verbal miscues in Nigeria. Because we don’t observe the “th” sound in Nigerian English pronunciation, “det” could be mistaken for “death.” Saying “I have come to collect my ‘det’” could be mistaken for “I have come to be murdered,” especially because your debtor is likely going to be interested in your death! I personally would never pronounce “debt” as “det” in Nigeria. I love my life way more than I love “proper” English pronunciation! In the word’s other inflections– debtor, indebted, indebtedness, etc.–the “b” is also never pronounced in British and American pronunciation. So it’s “deto(r),” “indetid,” “indetidnis.”
19. Depot. Most Nigerians, irrespective of social class and educational attainment, sound out every letter in this word. In native English pronunciations, however, the last “t” is silent. The word is pronounced “depow” or “deepow.”
20. Divisive. It is pronounced “di-vaisiv” in both British English and American English. But Nigerians pronounce it as “di-visiv.”
21. Divorce: It is pronounced “di-vo(r)s,” in native-speaker pronunciation, not “dai-vos.”
22. Elite. Nigerians either pronounce this word as “e-lait” or “e-lit.” Many native English speakers would be mystified by the first pronunciation especially because it almost sounds like the way they pronounce the word “elide” (i-laid). But I suspect that they would have a clue what you’re saying by the second pronunciation. Well, the word is pronounced like “i-leet.”
23. Expatiate. There is usually an intrusive “n” sound when Nigerians pronounce this word. It often sounds like “eks-pan-shi-yeyt.” But native speakers pronounce it like “iks-pey-shee-eyt.” What I call the intrusive “n” appears to be a recurring issue in Nigerian English pronunciation. Perhaps phonologists have studied this and have offered insights into why Nigerians insert the “n” sound in many words that have no “n” at all. Remember “antoni-jenera” (attorney-general) from last week? Another word in which the intrusive “n” occurs in Nigerian English pronunciation is “sigh.” Native speakers pronounce it “sai,” but many Nigerians pronounce it “sain,” perhaps because the word almost looks like “sign,” which is pronounced “sain.” I am also sometimes guilty of mispronouncing “sigh” as “sain.”
24. Façade. The word is pronounced something like “fa-saad” by native English speakers. Many Nigerians pronounce it “fa-keyd.” About 15 years ago, a professional colleague of mine in Nigeria told me something was a “mere fa-keyd.” I had no clue what he was talking about. So I went to check the dictionary, thinking he was using a word I was not familiar with. But I never found the word in all my dictionaries. Two days after, I went back to him and asked him to spell “fakeyed” for me because I couldn’t find it in any dictionary because I thought I didn’t get the correct spelling. He wrote “façade.” I couldn’t help exclaiming, “Oh you meant fa-saad!” He contested the accuracy of my pronunciation, so we both went to check the dictionary. He found that he was wrong. “These English people are crazy o!” I recall him as saying exasperatedly. Yes, English is a crazy, quirky language.
25. Fuel. While Nigerians pronounce this word like “fu-el,” native English speakers pronounce it something like “fyool.” A related one is “oil” which Nigerians, especially southern Nigerians, tend to pronounce like “o-yel” or “o-yil” but which native speakers pronounce as “oyl.”
Reference:
http://nigerianuniversityscholarships.com
16. Curse/cause/course. Many Nigerians have a hard time distinctly pronouncing the words “cause,” “course,” and “curse.” They are all pronounced “kos.” British English speakers pronounce “curse” like “kes,” except that the “e” sound (which is kind of like the “e” sound in “met”) is long. Americans pronounce it “keRs,” also with a long “e” sound. “Cause” is pronounced “koz” with a short “o” sound (which is close to the “o” sound in “all”), and “course” is pronounced “kos” with a long “o” sound. In American pronunciation, the “r” in “course” is, of course, articulated to have something like “koRs.”
17. Debris. A lot of Nigerians I know pronounce the last letter in this word and render the “i” sound like it’s a short one. But native speakers pronounce it like “debree.” That means the last “s” is never sounded and the “i” sound is long. But there are variations in the way the first “de” is pronounced. Some pronounce it as “deibree,” others as “dubree,” and yet others as “dibree.” What unites all the variations, nevertheless, is that they don’t articulate the last “s” and they elongate the “i” sound.
18. Debt. In native English speaker pronunciations, the “b” in debt” is silent. It sounds like “det.” This native-speaker pronunciation can lead to grievous, even fatal, verbal miscues in Nigeria. Because we don’t observe the “th” sound in Nigerian English pronunciation, “det” could be mistaken for “death.” Saying “I have come to collect my ‘det’” could be mistaken for “I have come to be murdered,” especially because your debtor is likely going to be interested in your death! I personally would never pronounce “debt” as “det” in Nigeria. I love my life way more than I love “proper” English pronunciation! In the word’s other inflections– debtor, indebted, indebtedness, etc.–the “b” is also never pronounced in British and American pronunciation. So it’s “deto(r),” “indetid,” “indetidnis.”
19. Depot. Most Nigerians, irrespective of social class and educational attainment, sound out every letter in this word. In native English pronunciations, however, the last “t” is silent. The word is pronounced “depow” or “deepow.”
20. Divisive. It is pronounced “di-vaisiv” in both British English and American English. But Nigerians pronounce it as “di-visiv.”
21. Divorce: It is pronounced “di-vo(r)s,” in native-speaker pronunciation, not “dai-vos.”
22. Elite. Nigerians either pronounce this word as “e-lait” or “e-lit.” Many native English speakers would be mystified by the first pronunciation especially because it almost sounds like the way they pronounce the word “elide” (i-laid). But I suspect that they would have a clue what you’re saying by the second pronunciation. Well, the word is pronounced like “i-leet.”
23. Expatiate. There is usually an intrusive “n” sound when Nigerians pronounce this word. It often sounds like “eks-pan-shi-yeyt.” But native speakers pronounce it like “iks-pey-shee-eyt.” What I call the intrusive “n” appears to be a recurring issue in Nigerian English pronunciation. Perhaps phonologists have studied this and have offered insights into why Nigerians insert the “n” sound in many words that have no “n” at all. Remember “antoni-jenera” (attorney-general) from last week? Another word in which the intrusive “n” occurs in Nigerian English pronunciation is “sigh.” Native speakers pronounce it “sai,” but many Nigerians pronounce it “sain,” perhaps because the word almost looks like “sign,” which is pronounced “sain.” I am also sometimes guilty of mispronouncing “sigh” as “sain.”
24. Façade. The word is pronounced something like “fa-saad” by native English speakers. Many Nigerians pronounce it “fa-keyd.” About 15 years ago, a professional colleague of mine in Nigeria told me something was a “mere fa-keyd.” I had no clue what he was talking about. So I went to check the dictionary, thinking he was using a word I was not familiar with. But I never found the word in all my dictionaries. Two days after, I went back to him and asked him to spell “fakeyed” for me because I couldn’t find it in any dictionary because I thought I didn’t get the correct spelling. He wrote “façade.” I couldn’t help exclaiming, “Oh you meant fa-saad!” He contested the accuracy of my pronunciation, so we both went to check the dictionary. He found that he was wrong. “These English people are crazy o!” I recall him as saying exasperatedly. Yes, English is a crazy, quirky language.
25. Fuel. While Nigerians pronounce this word like “fu-el,” native English speakers pronounce it something like “fyool.” A related one is “oil” which Nigerians, especially southern Nigerians, tend to pronounce like “o-yel” or “o-yil” but which native speakers pronounce as “oyl.”
Reference:
http://nigerianuniversityscholarships.com
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