Nigeria is home to over 300 distinct tribes, and one of those are the Yorubas of whom I proudly belong. Now, one funny thing about being Nigerian is this: even if you don’t know someone’s tribe, if you're very eloquent in English, you can almost always tell what tribe they belong to just by how they speak English.
This isn’t a general rule, of course. But unless a person becomes self-aware and intentionally works on it, that accent or dialectal influence is coming through loud and clear. It's in the tongue. I believe it stems from how our dialects shape tongue placement. If you grow up speaking your local language all the time, it's only natural that the way your tongue hits certain English words will carry that influence. For some people, it even reflects in their entire accent.
But hey, this isn’t an article about accents. 😁
For instance, among the Igbo tribe, it’s common to hear the letter “L” pronounced as “R.” So you might hear “my rove” instead of “my love.” For the Hausas, there’s often a challenge pronouncing “F,” so something like “fifty Naira” might come out as “pipty Naira.”
Now for us Yorubas? It’s the infamous H-factor. A typical Yoruba person might say “appiness” instead of “happiness,” or “Happle” instead of “apple.” 😭
As a Yoruba girl born, bred, and schooled in Akure, Ondo State, I had never heard of this H-factor before going to the University. It was a completely foreign concept to me. I’ve always had a decent English accent, so maybe that’s why my teachers never pointed it out, or maybe it just blended in because, well, everyone around spoke that way too.
But when I got to university, one of my very good friends pointed it out, and omg... it was both hilarious and shocking.
To realize that, by default, as a Yoruba babe, I was omitting the “H” in words that had it, and adding it to words that begin with vowels? Call me a professional word remix artist 😭🤣
But as someone who’s super passionate about public speaking? Nahhh. I couldn’t be caught slipping like that. I started paying extra attention to how actors speak in movies, especially American films, British series, and high-end Nollywood productions. People like Nancy Isime, Sharon Ooja, and Adesua Etomi-Wellington became my unofficial English coaches.
That’s how I not only unlearned the H-factor, but also re-learned proper pronunciation for words I’d been butchering my whole life, like “ate.” Turns out it’s pronounced like “hate” (without the H, ironically). I used to say “et” 😩
Even with all this self-awareness, there are still moments when the H-factor grabs me by the throat and says, “You? Today? It's me and you in one trouser.” 😂
It usually happens when I’m gisting with friends, talking to my mum, or yelling at my siblings in anger.
But thankfully, because I’ve taken note of it and made consistent efforts to correct it, it rarely (not never oh, but rarely) shows up during public speaking or presentations.
This is not to say I’m not proud of my roots. Like I mentioned earlier, I am a PROUD YORUBA BABE. I speak my language fluently. Omo Yoruba atata ni mi 🥰🤭😂
However, some people like to argue that trying to speak proper English or "sounding British/American" comes from a place of inferiority complex. I strongly disagree.
English is our official language. If French were our official language, wouldn’t we all try to learn it well? Why? Because it's the bridge that connects Nigeria’s many tribes. It’s supposed to be the one language we all understand, regardless of our native tongue.
Even more so when interacting with people from other countries.
Anything, literally anything, can take you into rooms of opportunity, rooms where you sit with kings and queens. For some, it’s singing. For others, it’s cooking. So if my own thing happens to be communication, shouldn’t I aim to be exceptionally good at it?
If mastering the English language is part of what will open doors for me, then... why not?
Anyway, what’s your take on all this hullabaloo? 😅
Do you think people should make the effort to rid themselves of the dialect-tongue factor? Or is it simply dealer’s choice?
Also, before reading this, did you know about the H-factor or dialect tongue thing? Or is this your first time hearing about it too?