When I moved to Canada for school in grade 9, I was taunted by peers to speak proper English and try to sound normal. In university, when my accent came out on occasion, I had people question me without shame: why are you trying to sound black? (Im not even sure what the hell that means to this day). Ive been forced into suppressing my accent and trying to blend because I dont want to be in the spotlight every time I open my mouth (but youre white, how are you from the Caribbean? (seriously guys?), Did your parents move their after vacationing one year?, you dont sound like other Caribbean people I know, or just the usual blank look when I know they arent actually listening to my words, just the way they flow out of my mouth). Nowadays, when people find out where Im from, they demand where my accent is: Oh you dont have a strong accent like your sister, your friends sound more legit than you do, and a look in their eye like my entire identity is being questioned over the strength of my accent in that particular moment. Ive now spent half my life in Canada, and this ties in with so much that Ive come to learn about identity. People get very uncomfortable when you dont fit into their little neat boxes of expectations, and as a white girl from the Caribbean, Ive spent a fair deal of my time having to defend who I am. But why are we so defensive when it comes to language? Dialects are a beautiful part of all languages, so why are we so caught up in who should have them and who should use them when and where, and why are some of these people that speak proper English walking around with a holier than thou attitude? You should just talk in your accent all the time!. Its a little more complicated than that, so please stop saying that to me.
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 19:48:22 +0000
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