AxeScent

The underlying beauty in a language for me has always been the people who speak it and the way it's spoken -the accent. An accent is indicative of a person that speaks, has knowledge of more than one language. The rich undertones in letters, the pace, the stringing of sentences, the look inward searching the right corner of the brain for cues, then the words flow coated in an accent.

I have and continue to encourage everyone to retain their accent /mother tongue influence. A learnt language influenced by our accents is a different style of fusion. A bit harder to understand, but keeps the left temporal and left frontal lobes active.

Today’s story would have been better if I had narrated it, I am going to try putting it in a trialogue.

My mother and I were sitting at a cafe in Stoke Newington, doing our favourite thing; People watching and nursing the warmth from the coffee. I was looking at a Father/ Daughter briskly walking. The daughter in her muddied long Tee, knee-length socks, mud-soaked shoes, her blonde hair swaying side to side regaling tales of her football match whilst the father chuckled. My gaze went to a man walking up to me, at first glance I placed him to be from Bangladesh. He said please could you help me, I do not understand what this person is saying, looking at his phone.

I asked “Do you speak Hindi ?, to which he shakes his head, implying no. If he was from India or erstwhile India his nod of the head would be different. Besides I have heard, that it’s politically incorrect to ask anyone “Where are they from ?“

I placed him to be probably from Northern Africa.

In my Indian (Mangalorean Kannada) laced English Accent I offered to help (how diverse are we right ?)- saying “Yes of course”

I took the phone

Me: Indian English Accent said - Hello.

NBA: A man with a Northern British Accent (NBA) said: Thank you for helping us

Me: My pleasure. How could I help?

NBA: Could you ask him “Was the car stationary or moving when the vehicle collided ?”

Me: Indian English Accent to probably Northern Africa (PNA): Was your car moving when the vehicle hit your car?

PNA to Me: No, No (with hand gestures, perplexed face) it was parked.

Me to NBA: He says he was parked.

NBA to Me: Thanks, that is all I wanted to know.

Me to NBA: Oh is that all?

Me to PNA: That's all he wanted to know.

NBA to Me: Ta, Cheers.

Me to NBA: Great. Happy to help.

NBA: Disconnects

PNA: Takes the phone from me, acknowledges with his eyes and says “Thank you” to the phone whilst walking away.

What just happened? I looked at my Mom and said, did you realise what I did? I translated English to English to English ??

Trevor Noah, would you find this amusing?