My kids were watching an interview with Winston Duke on YouTube (M’baku in Black Panther) when suddenly Oche said:

“He actually doesn’t have an accent like in the movie.”

Me: “He doesn’t have an accent?”

Oche: “Yes, he doesn’t. See.” (Unsuspicious of the context of my question.)

Me: “But he does.”

Oche: “Ok. You know in Blank Panther he has an accent like when he said ‘you cannot talk one more word, and I’ll feed you to my children..'” 👉🏿

Me: “Ok, so you’re saying that he has an accent in Blank Panther but he doesn’t have an accent in real life.”

Oche: “Yes.”

Me: “I think he has an accent in real life as well.”

Oche: (looking surprised and unconvinced.)

Me: “True, he really does, and I’d like to prove it to you. See, very often I hear people say ‘you have an accent, he has an accent, she has an accent.’ Do you know what I say in return?”

Oche: “No.”

Me: “I correct them by asking ‘you mean a foreign accent?’ Then they become surprised and start thinking about it. Now, do you know know the meaning of accent?”

Oche: “Is it like the way you speak?”

Me: “Yeah, basically but let’s google it to find out its full meaning.”

Accent definition searched up on google and read 👇

Me: “I’m going to ask you some questions about America based on the definition of accent. Ok?”

Oche: “Ok.”

Me: “Do Americans have a particular way of pronouncing words?”

Oche: “Yes.”

Me: “Ok. So, do Americans have a language?”

Oche: “Yes.”

Me: “What’s the language?”

Oche: “English.”

Me: “Good. And, is America a country? A Country is the same as a nation.”

Oche: “Yes.”

Me: “All your answers to my questions were ‘yes(es)’ and I agree. So do you agree with me that everyone has an accent and that not only certain people have an accent?”

Oche: “Yes.”

Me: “So there are so many accents: Nigerian accent, American accent, Indian accent, British accent and so on. So if you were to go to say, England, India, Nigeria or any other country they’ll say ‘you have an American accent,’ NOT ‘you have an accent’. Even here in America, Texans have a different accent from citizens of Louisiana for example.”

Oche: “Oh, I get it.”

Me: “I knew what you meant but I think it didn’t sound like how you meant it. So how would you say that differently, if you have to talk about his accent again?”

Oche: “He has a different accent from his accent in the movie.”

Me: “Awesome! That makes him a good actor because he’s not from Africa.”

Oche: “Mm-hmm.”

Me: “Cool.”

For all the times, that I’ve heard similar comments, I wondered what the thinking behind it was. Was it meant to:

• Indicate an unfamiliar accent stimulating the curiosity to identify its origin?
• State the obvious – you’re different?

Whatever the intention is, I always keep it standard and welcome the moment as an opportunity for enlightenment, which I begin by responding with my default question: “you mean a foreign accent?” It has been 100% successful in achieving the desired result: a shift in thinking and approach. So let’s keep it standard!😊

• 3/15/19