Efio-Ita Nyok|2 June 2018
A private radio station in Calabar has come under intense diatribe from residents and indigenes of Cross River State who listen to the station for perceived faking of accents by its On-Air Personality (OAPs) NegroidHaven had learnt.
Sequel to the recent bashing by University lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication and online publisher, Mr Inyali Peter, Cross Riverians have expressed their profound disappointment with the 'fake accent' On-Air Personalities on FAD 93.1FM chose to express themselves.
Inyali who compared the widely traveled, more schooled His Excellency the Executive Governor of Cross River State, Mr Ben Ayade, with FAD 93.1FM said their accent is fake.
According to him, 'Gov Ayade has traveled to more countries than even the years of some of those presenters in FAD FM yet he has remained him. He doesn't need to form white man accent to relate or do business with them.
'Who taught those FAD FM guys that changing of accent is part of broadcasting characteristics? I remember what my former lecturer, Mrs. Davina Davids ( Cadp Crs ) taught me in my undergraduate level that it's even offensive and unprofessional for a presenter to try to modify someone's name to suit their fake accents.
'Call am the way e be! Have you heard those guys try to pronounce Cross River names and places? I'm tempted to call them untrained.'
Torrents of criticism trailed Inyali's remark. Miss Manyo Doris said in part, 'when I listen to how names and local governments are pronounced, I feel so irritated…Without prejudice, you can't come from a state, you are a presenter and you can't take out time to learn this key things..E.g Boki_Boje .. Kai dos presenters made me almost weep for how incorrect this local govt was pronounced… Anything outside southern part of d state, those presenters find it so difficult to pronounce. Perfect and accurate pronunciation is taken for granted I swear..
For Justin Udie, it's 'I tire ooo my bro! To be honest with you, I’m yet to meet people as fake as Nigerians (I mean exactly this). I feel disgusted and embarrassed around people who fake accent. This prosody is never observed among Indians (for instance) who have spent decades in Britain or America. But once a Nigerian lands in Accra International airport, his accent is ‘gonna’ change. I think we need to educate people to be themselves and be confident in communicating (let the other person decode or understand clearly). That’s what is important'
On his part, Elvis Eteng said, 'My brother I think say na only me dae observe am… Even Antho in BB Naija never twist tongue like those guys'.
SJ Smile Juliyus says, 'But if I may ask, why changing accent? The main aim of broadcasting is to express, not to impress and what happen if you, as a broadcaster impressed your audience without meaningfully passing across the intended message? Leave am abegi, Paul my guy.'
Daniel Riwo said, 'Faking assent does not work and is alien simple. Make them learn from some persons for Hit FM or better still call my friends Chuma Nnoli or Maryann Duke Okon both are former staff of CRBC or even Solomon Mourinho the sports analyst.'
Iwara U. Iwara said, 'Inyali, your concern is thought provoking.'
Nten O. Ekpang, submitted thus, 'Inyali Peter I am standing by; just credit my akant, and you will see me dia straight up and they (the FAD Guys) will have their accent restored to default setting.
'But on a more serious note, it drains and puts off any listener who feels you, as an on-air personality is not original. It is part of the basic things you need to know as a broadcaster.
'I do know that some stations especially in Lagos appreciate guys who have stayed in the West and have naturally acquired the Western accent to work for them, since we like everything oyibo. But that's when you have lived there and have that accent in you, not just faking it.
'However, every station has a broadcast/editorial policy and house style. Who knows, maybe that's what Felix Duker wants, if not how can you explain that?
'Maybe in the long run, people will come to terms with the fact that that's who they are and just accept them like that.
'But I echo your sentiments, to be honest.'
Koko Bassey: 'God bless you Inyali Peter they are so fake especially Fada Kane, I can't even listen to them anymore.'
BLOGGERTORIAL
Lexically, the concept 'accent' is defined as to say part of a word with profound stress/force; while 'fake' is not real or true.
So, when these guys lambaste FAD 93.1FM for 'fake accents', they mean to say that those OAPs, stress some words in such a way that it's not true/real. That is, they pronounce words that doesn't tell that first, that is how it is originally pronounced by the native speakers or that, that is how they the OAPs pronounce words naturally. Hmmm!
The question becomes, why do such faking? Inyali answered this question by saying that they want to impress the listeners. Could this be true!? But, Inyali has said that when you speak, you do so to communicate not to impress.
To stretch it further, I think the problem with these FAD 93. 1FM's OAPs is inferiority —a psychological complex of insufficiency or thinking lesser of yourself in respect of the other, that is, the listener. Could it be that these OAPs want to intimidate the listeners? Hmmm!
I will suggest to the management of FAD FM, that they organise a training in psychology to boost the morale of their staff.
I am saying no to FAD 93.1FM's fake accent.
Efio-Ita Nyok
Is the Blogger-in-Chief, Editor-in-Chief & Publisher of NegroidHaven
