The Accent of a Region
Accent according to Collins: the characteristic mode of pronunciation of a person or group, especially one that betrays social or geographical origin.
Despite the many qualities that the English language embodies, it presents widening diversity in terms of its many accents. And Kerala in India is no exception to the rule; it has in its accentual fold, amusingly peculiar oddities.
At its simplest ‘accent’ is how people of a particular location pronounce words. But with its complexities it incorporates a variety of phonemic patterns, sensitivity to tone and pitch and most importantly manner and place of articulation.
Usually, when someone talks about the accent of the English language in India, one is tempted to used the phrase “Indian Accent”, as is in the case of the “Brit” or “American” accent. Besides, there exists a plethora of sub-accents of this main form of the Indian accent; accents which have birthed progressively due to the many regional languages’ influence on the English language.
‘Mallu accent’ as they call it in India is an often offensive or discriminatory way of identifying a person’s descent; in this case those originating from the southernmost part of India, Kerala. I’d rather call it the Malayalee Accent, as is the case with any other accents of the world. But now that I have made my displeasure known of being labelled that way, I would also like to acknowledge the fact that Malayalam does seem to influence English in certain bizarre ways, namely in these areas:
Vowel Sounds
1) The long vowel sounds in the beginning of words like ‘auto’ & ‘awesome’ are often confused with the short vowel sound that appears in a word like ‘hot’.
2) The long vowel sounds (diphthong) in words like ‘old’ & ‘gold’ are substituted , again as in the previous example, with the short vowel sound as in words like rod and pot.
3) Sometimes all of these sounds, the short, long and the diphthongal ‘o’, are confused, one with the other. Consider these words and brands: Road roller, Rolls Royce, Cold, Morning, Sold, rolled, oats, joy, more, four, rod, gorilla etc.
4) The inverted ‘e’, also call the ‘schwa’, is a brutally mispronounced sound.
The schwa is one of the commonest sounds of the English language, appearing in words such as banana, tomato, police and protection.
5) The long vowel sound in words like burn and bury.
The Consonants
1) The ‘s’ ‘z’ confusion in words like release, present, please, cheese and so on.
2) The subtle ‘d’ shade on words like method.
3) The inability to articulate ‘ng’ in words like singer, ring and wing.
4) The never or seldom aspirated ‘k’ sounds.
5) The incorrectly retro-flexed ‘t’ and ‘d’sounds.
6) The thick ‘l’ sounds.
7) The not so bitten ‘v’ sounds.
8) The ‘r’ sound, though not as harsh as the German one, It is, I must say, in a league of its own.
On Liaison or Linking
The apparent discomfort in linking vowel sounds to other vowel sounds, and consonant sounds to vowel sounds.
Example of vowel to vowel linking: to often, the end, we are etc.
Example of consonant to vowel linking: row on row, whole oats, roll over etc.
And finally the Music
The English language has it own unique rhythm produced in two different ways. 1) Word rhythm, or rhythm of the word produced by emphasizing on any one syllable in a word more than the other syllables of a multi-syllabic word. 2) Rhythm of the sentence produced by stressing on given words in a sentence, that are important and contextually relevant.
However in Malayalam shaped English, the musical variation can range from anything between the mechanical and the melodramatic.
What can be done?
The “mallu accent” shouldn’t be treated as a stigma, it is a very natural expression of the English language by a people group who are very diverse, linguistically, when compared with their western counterparts. Their struggles are pretty much the same as the struggles of the German, the French and the Slovakian trying to speak in the English language. Being a Malayalee myself, I understand, first-hand, the articulatory struggles of English pronunciation springing forth from that device called the ‘Malayalee tongue’. I can help you break free, not instantly, but steadily and surely.
Also, language is much more than mere style, much more than credits gained for the academia, and entry rights to gated communities/countries. It is synonyms with passion, and is the voice of the voiceless, the expression of change, and the power of the weaponless. Contact us if you would like to discover its depth and energy.
Drop me a line at: shikshaconsulting@gmail.com
Vinod
shikshaconsulting.com 