Was there ever a charcter speaking with an African accent....

[Lt. Cheka Wey]

Who was not and idiot maniacal dictator or a crazy or evil person?

Maybe Lutan spoke lwith an african accent but that was a terrible episode.

Should there be one who is normal or even awesome?

 

[Captain Rob]

There was in "Man Trap" where the salt creature morphed into the black crewman that spoke Swahili to Uhura. Does that count? I'm assuming that Swahili is spoken with an African accent.

 

[Dale Sams]

I guess Dr. M'Benga could be said to have the teeniest trace of an accent.

Alexander Siddig is from Sudan, Bashir's mum could be anything from Egyptian to any number of middle-eastern or sub-continent countries.

 

[The Old Mixer]

I think it was TNG's season 5 opener, Picard was reporting to an Admiral of the Week who was a black female speaking in a non-American accent.

 

[BillJ]

I think it was TNG's season 5 opener, Picard was reporting to an Admiral of the Week who was a black female speaking in a non-American accent.

Just getting ready to post that.

Admiral Shanthi.

 

[Lt. Cheka Wey]

Nice catch. Anybody else would like to see Djimon Honsou in something Trek related?

 

[marksound]

Africa is a continent. Which country? Which language? Dialect?

It's a big question you're asking there, bub.

 

[Shawnster]

Just because a black person speaks with an accent doesn't mean they have an African accent. As Carcazoid said, it's a big continent. As Dale said, this includes Sudanese and Egyptians.

 

[FormerLurker]

I guess Dr. M'Benga could be said to have the teeniest trace of an accent.

Alexander Siddig is from Sudan, Bashir's mum could be anything from Egyptian to any number of middle-eastern or sub-continent countries.

Alexander Siddig's mother is Malcolm McDowell's sister, so I'd say she's English.

 

[The Old Mixer]

OK, I had to actually pop in the episode to be sure, but in the DS9 pilot, in the early scene of Ben and Jake fishing on a holodeck*, the actors are affecting some kind of accent while talking together alone...I can't say for sure what type of accent it's supposed to be, but that angle was dropped in the series.

*No, it's not a holosuite...they're on the ship that's taking them to DS9.

 

[M'Sharak]

Alexander Siddig is from Sudan, Bashir's mum could be anything from Egyptian to any number of middle-eastern or sub-continent countries.

Alexander Siddig's mother is Malcolm McDowell's sister, so I'd say she's English.

The actress who played Bashir's mother is Egyptian by birth.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Africa is a continent.

Yes it is.

 

[Sigokat]

South Africans are from Africa as well. I had a Drill Sergeant that was originally from S.A. A white man named Osbourne and when he would get super pissed at us he would yell at us in his native tongue.

 

[T'Girl]

I'm assuming that Swahili is spoken with an African accent.

Not automatically, I speak Portugese with a pretty thick Brazilian accent, so it would be possible to speak Swahili without the Africa infections/accent.

It would be hard to say if Uhura herself responded with or without a African accent.

Just because a black person speaks with an accent doesn't mean they have an African accent. As Carcazoid said, it's a big continent. As Dale said, this includes Sudanese and Egyptians.

Wouldn't people who were natives of Egypt and the Sudan have African accents?

Africa has about a hundred major indigenous languages, and in total over three thousand.






.

 

[FormerLurker]

Alexander Siddig is from Sudan, Bashir's mum could be anything from Egyptian to any number of middle-eastern or sub-continent countries.

Alexander Siddig's mother is Malcolm McDowell's sister, so I'd say she's English.

The actress who played Bashir's mother is Egyptian by birth.

True. I missed the distinction between actor and role. Probably because Dale conflated the two in his original post.

 

[T'Girl]

Think of all the people in America who speak English, without a "English" accent. Or who speak Spanish, but not as a Spaniard would.

Just because someone spoke a African language on the show, doesn't mean they are speaking it just like they would in "the old country.

 

[Shawnster]

Just because a black person speaks with an accent doesn't mean they have an African accent. As Carcazoid said, it's a big continent. As Dale said, this includes Sudanese and Egyptians.

Wouldn't people who were natives of Egypt and the Sudan have African accents?

Africa has about a hundred major indigenous languages, and in total over three thousand.

That was exactly my point. People were pointing to M'Benga or the black admiral from TNG Season 5 and thinking they must have an "African" accent. As you pointed and Carcazoid pointed out, it's a big continent. Just what exactly is an "African" accent?

This is my whole complaint with the whole PC term "African-American" used to describe someone who is black. Seems kinda bigoted or racist to me to label all the people with the same skin color (heck, it's really multiple shades of color) as "African-American" to the exclusion of Egyptians, Moroccans, Sudanese or even white people born and raised in South Africa.

Now, I have to think at least "in-universe" that the illusion Uhura saw in "The Man Trap" was probably supposed to be speaking Swahili like a native. And, since Uhura was supposed to be from Africa, that probably means an "African" accent, LOL. Of course, odds are that was an American actor. Since that's my only exposure to Swahili, I have no idea what the accent sounds like.

 

[Therin of Andor]

The actress who played Bashir's mother is Egyptian by birth.

And she's not what you'd call a professional actress. She's a professor of anthropology, and accomplished in public speaking, but she got the gig because she fitted the age and cultural background they were seeking for Mrs Bashir when no actresses in that category were available from the Screen Actors' Guild.

 

[Gaith]

Africa is a continent. Which country? Which language? Dialect?

It's a big question you're asking there, bub.

Not so big if there are only three or four answers on hand...