We all hail from different backgrounds and settings. Every Kenyan has a unique way of doing things which is largely influenced by how things were done in their upbringing. While growing up, our parents/guardians taught us a variety of skills which range from cooking, dressing and amusingly even how to behave on different occasions.
The question at this point becomes how did our guardians master these skills so well to the extent of passing them on to a whole next generation. The answer is simple, the knowledge had been handed over to them by their custodians/guardians and the cycle continued.
Our differences in relation to how we do things is where our uniqueness lies. This is what adds taste to an otherwise monotonous one-sided way of looking at things. We would all sound so flat if our mentation was similar or even our way of doing things.
With all this uniqueness that an individual brings to the table depending on where they grew up, it is without a doubt that our mode of speaking is also largely influenced in the process.
It’s an obviously impossible task for one to decide what areas they want to be influenced on and areas they don’t want to be influenced on. This is so because one needs to be of a sensible age to understand good influence and bad influence. However, the art of speaking is something we learn from a tender age.
Based on this influence, we find ourselves speaking and pronouncing words in a certain way which gives birth to our accent. Accent is defined as a distinctive way in which people from a particular area or country pronounce words. Accent is picked in the process of growing up or living in particular place for quite some time.
I have however feel that some people do not fully embrace their accents and will do anything to make them fade, which is sad. Our society, to a larger extent, has promoted this unfortunate phenomenon. More than once, I hear people say they were advised to read books on a roll basis to get rid of their accents. While reading books is a really good thing, doing it to get rid of our originality/individuality is quite sad.
Our accents tell stories of where we came from and what we represent. Anyone with an accent is somebody who came from somewhere. Accents are powerful tools as our stories can be expressed through them. There are some fields or industry’s that will remain a no-go-zone owing to our strong accents but we soldier on proudly because we are a representation of where we came from.
Accents, if ‘donned’ proudly, can help with identity and cultural connection. In the 21st century big world, it’s not easy to tell and mark off your community but it can be made easy by our accents. We can easily identify people who resemble us by simply paying attention to how they speak.
The conversation surrounding a rich heritage such as accent needs to be told competently. Our society also needs to adjust and be deliberate about preserving accents. We need to have a relationship with our accents. Let’s all be proud of our accents as the strength of our belonging. Let’s not be embarrassed about them as they foster our nativity which is our power.
Ms Ndichu is an administrative assistant
By Nancy M Ndichu