African English voice overs: what you need to know

The term African English refers to a number of different English language varieties that are spoken across the continent of Africa.

While English is a pluricentric language with different varieties (for example, British English and American English), there isn’t one “African English” variant.

English is the official language of many African countries, including South Africa, Namibia, Ghana, and Ethiopia.

To this day, the former African colonies of Britain use English as a lingua franca even if it’s not the official language of the country.

It’s estimated that in Africa, around 6.5 million are native African English speakers and another 700 million speak it as a second language.

Language History

The English language isn’t native to Africa, it’s a West Germanic language that originated in Northern Europe.

So how did this language find its way to Africa?

English was brought to Africa not so long ago — between 1881 and 1914 during the European colonization of Africa. During that time, The British Empire took control of almost one-fourth of Africa.

Many previously independent territories became British colonies — that’s when the language of the colonists started to spread in the new continent.

Naturally, the countries under a foreign administration had to adapt to new ways — legal systems, cultural influences, and language.

English is rooted deep in Africa. Even after the decolonization, the language of the colonists stayed and even became the official language of the newly formed democratic republics.

African English vs Other English Varieties: How Unique Is It?

Since African English isn’t a single variant of the language, many different varieties hide under this term.

It’s hard to compare African English as a whole to, let’s say, the American English variant.

All African English varieties are unique and have been strongly influenced by local indigenous languages.

The most noticeable feature of African English is a distinctive vocabulary that greatly differs from Standard English.

For example, the English that’s spoken in Uganda (oftentimes called Uglish) has different words for foods (macrons mean spaghetti), family members (cousin brother means cousin), and buildings (godown means basement) that are used in everyday informal speech.

Many of these locally used African English words have originated from native African languages of the region.

However, African English has been greatly influenced by other European languages that were brought to the continent during colonization.

Loanwords of French, Dutch, German, and Spanish origins can be found in all African English varieties.

Accents and Voice Over Tips

African English is spoken in the whole continent — from Egypt to South Africa.

A great number of regional varieties of African English exist. Therefore, each English-speaking African country has its own English dialect and regional varieties.

When it comes to pronunciation and accent, Southern African English accents are very similar to British English.

On the other hand, English varieties in the North have been more influenced by the indigenous languages of the country.

One thing you should pay attention to when recording an African English voice over is the unique vocabulary.

Make sure you know your target audience well — South African English vocabulary will be completely different from the ones used in Nigeria or Ghana.

In general, to determine what specific African English dialect is used, pay attention to the usage of local vocabulary — it will often give that away.

POST YOUR VOICE OVER PROJECT TODAY!