THE FAKE ACCENT SYNDROME

BY most criteria, Zambians have a better, untraceable English accent than most fellow Africans. Certainly better than most West and East Africans whose English is redolent with native accent. Better still than most Southern Africans. Such that many Zambians have been asked on a visit to Great Britain where they learnt such good English.

However, there is great concern for those Zambians who speak with a phoney English or American accent. They bring embarrassment to our door. They impinge on the conscience of denizens among us who just can’t stand the cringe-worthy feeling of listening to someone who’s faking a British or American accent.

Not that I have anything against British and American accents, but surely I am not the only Zambian who find the obsession with speaking with contrived accent-especially amongst our radio personnel-quite infuriating.

  

On Tuesday this week I sat in my room listening to an interview on one of our local radio station that featured a named local hip hop artist. I must confess that I writhed in torment and embarrassment at the phoney American accents from both the radio DJ and the artist he was interviewing. Putting on an accent for music is understandable. It’s entertainment. But to use a fake accent for an interview and in a general conversation is a big no no.

 

Throughout the interview I kept asking myself, can’t these gentlemen hear themselves speak? Can’t they realize it make them sound silly? Do they talk like that to their family at the dinner table? 

Now, I understand that with speaking a language also comes learning the correct pronunciations. I really appreciate it when somebody really does their best to sound more natural when speaking that language.

I also understand it’s quite natural for a teenage Zambian growing up in the diaspora to slur towards their host’s nation native accent. And it is understandable for those who are around a certain accent or language for a long enough period of time to have some of it to rub off on them. Some people pick up the subtle intonations and inflections of another language and insert them into their own native tongue without even thinking about it.

However, for an individual to make a conscious decision to use a phoney American or British accent when they’ve never spent sufficient time at the crucial part of their lives in Britain or America is not only ridiculous but horrendous. It’s pretty much silly. Why should someone visit Liverpool for three weeks and come back with a Scouse accent?

Arnold Schwarzenegger who I want to believe need no introduction is a great example that one doesn’t lose an accent that they have had all their life just by moving somewhere else. Regardless of living in Hollywood for over four decades Schwarzenegger and playing several American action heroes, he still maintains his thick Austrian accent. Jean Claude Van Damme also sports his natural Belgian accent even in movies where it’s not particularly appropriate for the character.

Perhaps I shouldn’t even have gone as far as Austria or Belgium to give an example. On Monday morning I listened to Radio 4 Dj Jack ‘The Hot Stepper’ Mwale who had a telephone interview with ‘Zamrock’ godfather Rikki Ililonga. Despite living in the diaspora for so many years the veteran musician-who I should mention is currently in the country-did not speak with contrived accent. Another example I can give is former finance minister Ngándu Magande who has a vast international exposure but still maintains his heavy Naimala accent.

I’m alive to the fact that many people may have no problem to overhear a group of Zambian teenage girls at places like Arcades Shopping Mall use words like ‘duh’ or ‘OMG’ in a Hanna Montana accent. Some might even argue that it really doesn’t matter what accent you speak with.

But what is wrong in speaking with a Zambian accent anyway?  Is it embarrassing to speak with a native accent? Honestly, why should someone who hasn’t gone beyond the borders of our country pronounce local names like a muzungu? Isn’t that a case of inferiority complex? 

Why not be proud of who we are and act as such? Do we have to copy everything from the West? Isn’t using contrived accent some form of language neo-colonialism and a futile departure from our cultural reality?

This may seem like nothing to worry about. If this trend by some amongst of wanting to look or speak like westerners is not checked, soon our hardest job will be to remind ourselves that we are not American or British. Fellow citizens we are not a country with an identity crisis for us to resort to cheap mimicry.

Those who use fake accents may think it is cool, but in the eyes of those they try imitate or rather mimic, it only makes them appear to be lamentably insecure and inadequate.

Moreover, there is no such thing as standard spoken English. For those who may not be aware, there are several English mainstream accents and dialects and not all of them sound pretty even to some fellow Englishmen.

Ladies and gentlemen, a fake accent won’t get you a job or make you look superior. Drop that fake accent and stick with how you are born to sound. After all, nobody likes a fake, except another fake.

The Power Of The Written Word

THIS past Monday marked exactly a year when I first heard the phrase, ‘I Write Better Than I Speak.’ I was in Johannesburg, South Africa when one of that country’s public broadcasters aired the 2012 CNN/MultiChoice African Journalist Awards which were held for the first time here in Zambia on July 21.

These words were spoken by Andrew Mulenga, a freelance art and heritage journalist and columnist for Zambia's leading independent newspaper The Post. Andrew who scooped the Arts and Culture category for his in-depth article about the intimate and life long relationship between the Malian musical instrument, the Kora, and its master-the devoted musician, said in his acceptance speech, “It is obvious that I’m here because I write better than I speak, so I won’t speak much. Thank you.’’

Being in a foreign country and watching a Zambian journalist getting an award at the prestigious CNN/MultiChoice African Journalist Awards brought a sense of pride and joy. I must mention though that it’s unfortunate that there are no Zambians among the finalists of this year’s competition which will be held on October 12 in Cape Town, South Africa.
However, this article isn’t necessary about journalists and awards. It is about the power of the written word.

Over the years the written has not only inspired me, it has also challenged and sustained me. Writing is a joy to me. It’s a passion and I can’t be without it. To me, writing is a way of life and it actually makes me who I am.

In no way is this a glorification of drugs, but writing is a crack of life. Once I took it seriously, I got addicted. I have found writing as a way for me to release pain. I find it therapeutic to put feelings onto paper than talking about them. That need of putting thoughts onto paper has always been with me. And I wouldn’t wish it to go away.

It really doesn’t matter where your interest lie. In the world of politics, business, religion, art, and social service, the written word is crucial. The movers and shakers of this world set pet to pen because sooner or later, it is film, music and poetry that move people.
The written word is perceived to have more authority and pervades, persists, and powerfully produces change.

Two days after the April 27, 1996, cease-fire in Lebanon, a TV interviewer asked then and current Israeli’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyau how the new agreement differed from one a few years earlier. He replied, “this one is in writing, whereas the former one was verbal over the telephone. Print has a different value.”

Spoken words can be forgotten, or they can be changed when they are repeated. Written words, though, aren’t dependent on memory, and they can’t be easily ignored or changed.
In the Old Testament, when God spoke to the people of Israel, He told His prophets to write down what He said (Deuteronomy 5:22; Jeremiah 36:2; Habakuk 2:2). God didn’t want His words to be forgotten or misrepresented.

One of my favourite movies is the 2007 Richard Lagravanese drama film Freedom Writers which stars Academy Award winner Hilary Swank. The movie which is an adaptation of Ellin Gruwell’s best-seller The Freedom Writer’s Diaries is about a crusading teacher who turns around a hostile class by getting them to write down their experiences and feelings in a journal. The movie is basically about how a teacher and 150 teens used writing to change themselves and the world around them.

A Canadian novelist and poet named Margaret Atwood once said, “I happen to believe that at its best writing is considerably more and other than mere self-expression.”
Writers, in my book are the heroes of the world. Besides informing and educating us, they articulate things that we feel but don’t know how to express.
I know someone might be going, ‘writing is a talent.’ Of course making an impact with words is special, liberating and powerful. However, writing is something that is accessible to all of us.

All writing requires is someone who wants to communicate about something to someone even if that someone is oneself. I think everyone has a story to tell. And I feel it is important to tell our story. Of course not all of us can produce best-selling biographies. However, we can pen memoirs for those close to us who would want to know who we were, what we did and the difference we made if not to the world, then to people close to us.

Most of us may not be aware of this, but through social networks like Facebook and Twitter, we are actually telling our stories. And for the majority, our social network pages may be the only ‘evidence of our existence’ that we will leave behind when we die.

Though I’m no longer on facebook, I would urge those who still have accounts with the giant social network to utilize such Medias to not only tell our stories but also spread awareness of anything happening in the world, large or small.

Personally, I prefer writing for one reason; the enduring power and potential of the written word. Remember, only you can teach yourself to write. And you can’t teach yourself to write until you’ve written something.

Eulogy For Kampa Senkwe

FROM eternity past toward eternity future, we are all passing through time. Men rise and fall like the winter wheat. Some to be remembered until the end of time, while others to be forgotten like they never existed.

A master and architecture of his own destiny, Kampa Senkwe created his own world years before he lived in it. The life of Kampa Senkwe tells a story of a wanna be who had to be. It is a story of a ghetto child’s desire to search for his authentic self. It is a story of one man’s passionate devotion to an excruciating effort of becoming-a transition person-a link between the past and the future.

This is a story about following your own lead and risking everything for a dream no one else sees, but you. It is about waiting upon your turn and giving life your best shot. This is a story of a young man’s struggle to find strength and courage to transcend the boundaries that define our lives. Basically, it is a story about one man’s search for fortune and salvation.

When you think of Kampa Senkwe, think of someone who knew what he wanted and went against all odds to get it. A man blessed with a talent for belonging, Kampa received love and affection almost everywhere he went.

At first sight, all you could see was a reticent fellow with an aloof attitude. But as you got closer to him, you would realise he was a kind, pleasant and friendly person you’d ever want to come across.

Kampa had a down to earth confidence and believed nothing was impossible if you put your mind to it. He was powerful in a strong way. A prolific goal setter, whenever he seized an idea or set his mind to do something, he did it and did it in a dignified way.

Though Kampa preferred not to be called a hard worker, he still never entertained complacency or mediocrity. He was a die-hard perfectionist who believed in excellence and accepted nothing but the best from himself and those around him.

However, in death as in life, Kampa still remains an enigma. A strange by many standards, Kampa was a strict vegetarian and a follower of a sect known as Davidians. He was an extremely private and elusive individual who enjoyed his own company more. He never let everyone know where he was or what he was doing every second.

The life and character of Kampa Senkwe was like a series of water-tight compartments. Everyone saw a different part of him, but no one saw everything. I don’t think he was sort of a chameleon. I would say he was simply a million-man.

He will be remembered by most people as a selfish individual for his courage of acting on his judgement and bearing sole responsibility for his own life. He will be remembered as an arrogant fellow for his independent mind. He will be remembered as a cruel individual for his unyielding integrity. He will be remembered as an anti-social for the vision that made him venture upon the road less travelled.

Others will remember Kampa as a ruthless man for the strength and self-discipline of his drive to his purpose and to some, a greedy individual for the magnificent of his hunger to create wealth.

On the other hand, his colleagues will remember him as a shrewd, assertive, organized and well balanced person. They will remember him as a dutiful man with an impressive self-control and extraordinary humility-the humility to meet others at their level without breaking a sweat or lose any integrity.

Among his closest friends, he will be remembered as a thoughtful and loving person with a spirit of true friendship.

And as for me, I find it hard to give a fitting character of a man everyone felt they knew, but nobody really did. There was no box that he was put in. Kampa had a mysterious quality. You never knew what he was thinking. His manner of glass-enclosed formality made it hard for anyone to know him too well. I just don’t think anybody explains Kampa better than Kampa.

Nonetheless, I will forever remember my good if not best friend as a spiritual and cultured person; a true African son with a wonderful sense of humour. He was one of those unusual individuals who combine uncommon physical grace with an unforgettable personality.

Kampa Senkwe was the kind of man who was dead-set on living and refused to tip-toe through life only to arrive safely at death. You may from this, form your own opinion about the character of one KAMPA SENKWE.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MANDELA

THIS 18th of July 2013 marks the 95th birthday of global icon, Nelson Mandela, as well as the 4th International Nelson Mandela Day.

This is by far the highly anticipated birthday of the anti-apartheid icon as it has found the Great Madiba in a critical but stable condition with a recurring lung infection in a Pretoria hospital.

We say Happy Birthday to one of the greatest and bravest men of our time. Happy birthday to a man who sacrificed everything for the rights of black South Africans to be treated like human beings.

Blessings to you Mr. Mandela! You are a force to be reckoned with. A force for peace. A force for freedom. A force for love of our fellow man. The Ghandi of Africa! A spiritual leader as great as the Dalai Lama!

You have taught the world humility and respect!  Your words of courage and perseverance not only enlightened us about the human condition, they helped to unite a country, beyond what we could see.

Thank you Tata for showing us the true meaning of the spirit of Ubuntu. Thank you Madiba for reviving within us a spirit of perseverance even in the face of imprisonment and sacrifice. You have taught us a great many lessons but to realize that the mind is never in a prison the body can be forced to live in...was simply amazing.

Happy Birthday The Great Madiba and we pray for your speed recovery.

Andy Murray's Victory At Wimbledon

I AM not a huge fan of tennis. However, whenever sportsmen are on the verge of making history or rather achieve sporting immortality, I want to be there to witness.

On 7/7 I watched British tennis player Andy Murray become the first Briton in 77 years to win the Wimbledon Men's Singles final.

The Scotsman beat World No.1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 on Centre Court in a battle lasting three hours and ten minutes in blazing sunshine in London.

I must admit that game alone felt like it lasted about 77 years. The match was simply classic and breath-taking. It was a performance of supreme control, power, touch and most of all resilience.

But who would have predicted Murray could beat Djokovic in straight sets? Murray has shown the world that as far as you don't give up on your dreams,with determination,you shall get there.

Murray has proved that success is not a matter of being the best and winning the race. Success is a matter of handling the worst and still finishing the race.

I'll never be Andy Murray's biggest fan but I'll tip my hat to him for that. I mean, Zambia was still under British rule and Queen Elizabeth was only 10 when the last Briton in the name of Fred Perry won Wimbledon back in 1936.

Andy Murray should surely collect knighthood from his remarkable achievement. Sir Andrew Barron Murray, has a nice ring to it. Don't you think?

To Andy, I say congratulations lad. Your resilience and perseverance has paid off.

A SPOTLESS MIND

Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind is a 2004 American romantic dramedy science fiction film which tells a story about a couple that undergoes a procedure to erase each other from their memories when their relationship turns sour.

Now, would you like some of your memories erased? Which past events would you choose to zap? These were the questions BBC's journalist Dan Damon was asking this past week in the wake of a groundbreaking research in which Israeli scientists have succeeded in deleting selected memories in rats, in what could be a useful tool in treating alcohol addiction.

In a paper published in Nature Neuroscience, researchers say they have managed to selectively delete memories related to and triggering alcohol consumption, while not harming other, unrelated memories.

This is not yet safe for humans at the moment. But suppose it was, would it be a great idea to erase bad experiences?

I'm not sure about you but inasmuch as no one really likes bad memories, I still believe they are sometimes necessary tools in growing up.

My view could be uninformed but if we take away the things that make us human what would we be left with? Bad memories serve as reminders and as a source of inspiration.

Traumatic  events and bad memories make us stronger and give us a push to strive for better things and aim for perfection. Simply erasing such traumatic experiences would result in stagnating the progress of  mankind.

I'm aware there are people who have been in worse and traumatic situations like rape, incest and other forms of severe abuse. But suppose they decided to erase such memories, won't it mean their abuser would screw them over again since they can't remember their past experience with that individual?

The film mentioned "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind" is a case in point of how wrong this is.  All 3 characters who had the procedure done ended up far more bitter and scarred than they would have been with just the pain of the memories that ended up being erased.

This is an incredible innovation. However, I must say that with such discovery, we might end up emptying our brains in the name of clearing " viruses" form our memory.

We need bad memories after all what can't kill us can only make us stronger.

Exit Facebook, Enter Blogging

I QUIT facebook this past Friday after been on that social network for over three years.

I have a number of reasons why I chose to leave facebook. Over the recent past, facebook seem to have frozen in time and I was least surprised when a recent Pew Internet study revealed young people are tired of Facebook. Like someone has correctly observed, facebook has simply become a small place for people with small ideas.

I also hate the way the English language is becoming debased on facebook. Not that my english grammar is perfect, but I feel those who choose to use english as a medium of communication must write correctly, or endeavor to.

For someone who has a passion to enrich their english vocabulary, I couldn't stand the unsettling bad grammar, and deliberate misspellings on facebook.

So, blogging is pretty much my next chapter after facebook. To be honest, I find blogging quite challenging and intimidating. In a life of constant struggle, I've gotten myself this far on raw talent.

And though I've been writing since my junior high, half of the stuff I've written has been for my own reading pleasure.

But blogging is different. With blogging, I'm finally putting my baby out there. And I'm asking, "How do you feel about my baby? Is it ugly or beautiful?" And I'm sure a lot of folks out there will let me know.

It is every writer's fear to be criticized and I'm sure I'll get a lot criticism but I'm ready for it. I believe that which cannot kill me can only make me stronger.

Moreover, writing is a joy to me and I can't live without it. I have found writing as a way for me to release pain. I find it therapeutic to put my feelings onto paper than talking about them.

That need of putting thoughts and feelings onto paper has always been with me. And I wouldn't want it to go away because sooner or later, it is film, music and poetry that move people.

Writers, in my book are the heroes of the world. Besides informing and educating us, they articulate things we feel but don't know how to express. It is my desire to impact the world with words.