Matters Arising from the Movie, Love in Every Word – Accents

At some point in the trending movie, Love in Every Word, the female lead called Chioma disclosed that the reason she didn’t want to commit to the male lead, Obiora (Odogwu), was that he spoke with a bad accent. In fact, she went further to say his behaviour in general was Igbotic, meaning he was not refined. She was actually embarrassed about him and did not want to appear publicly with him in the circles she moved in.

This part of the movie, as many others, is a slice of life. Many people are ashamed of the accents of people from various parts of Nigeria. And this is not an ethnic rivalry thing because even Igbo people are ashamed of the Igbo accent as portrayed in the movie. And some are dragging the filmmakers online because they feel Odogwu’s character reinforced some stereotypes about Igbo men which they’re trying to undo. 🤔 This type of attitude is a problem that needs to be addressed because it denotes a lack of pride in one’s culture.

I see this on campus everyday and it has been like this even from decades ago when I was an undergraduate. Many young people have Igbo names but they cannot speak Igbo. More than that, they don’t want to be seen speaking Igbo in public and they see those who speak with an Igbo accent as inferior to those who speak the Queen’s English or some form of American drawl.

So what’s an accent and what should be our attitude towards it? An accent is a dialectical inflection that is noticeable when people speak. Overall, it gives them a peculiar sound different from people from other places. Specifically, it may affect how they vocalise certain phonetic sounds (vowels and consonants) that may impair their standard pronunciation of words. This usually results from differences in the phonetic system of their language and that of the language they are speaking, in this case English. They, therefore, struggle to make phonic sounds their language is unfamiliar with.

Should people be treated with condescension over this? I say, “No!” The worth of a person does not come from their ability to speak with an Oxonian accent, because when it comes right down to it, you need an interpreter to understand what people speak in many other parts of the UK.

Uzor Arukwe (Odogwu) in Love in Every Word

What am I saying? Even the British people have different accents. The Scots sound different from the Irish and so on. The accent people are beating themselves up about is the Standard British or Oxonian one. Many people did not have the privilege of learning this and so they will definitely have their native tongue influencing how they speak English.

This is not something to be ashamed of. We communicate to be understood, so the only reason to worry about this is if it impedes people’s understanding of what you’re saying. This is especially important for broadcasters and those in related fields who engage in public speaking. They need phonetic training to be able to use Standard English Pronunciation on their jobs. In the absence of formal means to receive such training, they can check out audios and videos on phonetics on the internet, like the ones from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), and put in some practice.

Others who wish to improve their pronunciation to minimise the difficulty people have making out what they’re saying when they speak English can do the same.

Back to the movie: What I like about its portrayal of this accent thing is that Odogwu spoke like a proud Igbo man and did not budge when Chioma said she didn’t like how he spoke. Way to go! 👏👏👏

As I said in my review of the movie, he spoke “clearly and forcefully” and there was no need for him to change. He was assertive like an accomplished Igbo man, a titled man in fact, as he kept reminding Chioma. 😃 Hence, the hiring of a native musical group to get her attention. What a dope move!

Would those claiming they felt embarrassed by Odogwu’s character have preferred if he had hired an R & B singer? How would that have gone with his native outfit? I’m just kidding! But serenading a woman is an age-old way to catch her attention. Remember Romeo and Juliet? The difference is Odogwu chose to do his during the day outside Chioma’s office because that was the address he had. It was a fun scene to watch and we should all be proud of our culture.

💖

What’s your take on this? Do you think the Igbo accent is terrible and that the movie damaged the image of Igbo men?

Image credit: Omoni Oboli TV on YouTube