Nigerian born American actress, Yvonne Orji is best known as the character Molly on popular HBO TV show Insecure. She recently shared some common Nigerian slangs with Vanity Fair and the entire video will have you in stitches and nodding in agreement.
Yvonne, who has been very vocal about her Nigerian roots, is also a stand-up comedian and co-hosts a podcast, Jesus and Jollof with her friend, speaker and author, Luvvie Ajayi.
The 36-year-old actress holds a master’s degree in Public Health from George Washington University, but went on to forsake the wishes of her parents by moving to New York City to pursue a career in comedy.
Ahead of her HBO special show, “Momma I made it,” Yvonne was featured on CNN’s African Voices; Change Makers hosted by Arit Okpo. In this clip, she explored the duality of her living and decisions as a Nigerian or an American. The full documentary is to be released on June 12th.
Yvonne recently shared some of the most popular Nigerian slangs with top fashion and pop culture magazine Vanity Fair, and needless to say Yvonne delivered.
Nigerians are already reacting to Yvonne’s take on the pidgin slangs, which were laced with her American accent. Popular Nigerian linguist, Kola Tubosun, famous for his work with the Nigerian accent on Google Maps, in a funny tweet said: “Now the ‘Nyash’ people and the ‘Yansh’ people have found a common enemy.” This was in response to Yvonne spelling the word as Yash––a version that has never made it to the spelling debate. His declared correct pronunciation leaned more towards ‘Nyash.’
Now the 'nyash' people and the 'yansh' people have found a common enemy. https://t.co/aD5GemwSIN
— Kọ́lá Túbọ̀sún (@kolatubosun) June 7, 2020
Another popular slang that many Nigerians on Twitter disagreed with is the actress’ pronunciation of the word ‘olodo.’ This is where we ask that justice be tampered with mercy. Considering Yvonne’s upbringing and spending most of her life in America, it is quite beautiful to see her apt knowledge of Nigerian slangs and its usage.
Watch the full video here…
Pronunciation-wise and spelling-wise, which slangs do you think Yvonne missed? Let us know in the comment section below.
Photo credit: Instagram | Yvonne Orji Instagram
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