by
Obododimma Oha
One interesting thing about English --and indeed all languages -- is that the language is just sounds and different from another language in terms of sounds. The sound made by this cricket being different from the sound made by that grasshopper. And from that we can tell that this is a cricket, even if the cricket pretends to be a grasshopper sometimes. It was the scholar, Braj Kachru, who divided the English-speaking world into Inner Circle, Outer Circle, and Expanding Circle. While the Inner Circle is made up of native speakers, for instance England, USA, and some parts of South Africa, the Outer Circle is made up of the ex-colonized countries for whom English is a second language mainly. This group is constituted by countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and the Gambia. The Expanding Circle has countries which did not receive English through colonization and for whom English is only a foreign language used for business expansion, technology, and knowledge sharing at the global level, and has countries such as China, Japan, Germany, and France. In spite of this classification, we know that the sounds of English in a circle may differ, for instance the sound of English in Ghana is remarkably different from that of Nigeria, signifying a national identity for the new "Englishes." While scholars like Farooq Kperogi would write more convincingly on this, we only wish to help by joining the the Ghanaian "ness" who is looking for the Nigerian "norse" in this very busy marketplace in a lockdown atmosphere.
When a Ghanaian ness looks for a Nigerian norse in this busy market in the Outer Circle, one does not know how the searcher hopes to deal with the noise. What more, there is a lockdown and the noisemakers are wearing protective masks and are producing screened speeches. The Ghanaian ness will have a hard time in searching and finding. Honestly. The ness should not take things for granted, including belonging to the same anglophone community, or wearing the same white gown, with pens to write down blood pressure readings. A ness could suddenly become a norse and may choose to wear black and mask self unrecognisably.
When a Ghanaian ness starts looking for a Nigerian norse, is a search by the Ghanaian ness is not feeling lonely and is misunderstood? Maybe the ness wants to show us that ness and norse are neighbours, only one letter away in the boundary. Maybe. And one is careful not to take difference of sounds for granted in this busy marketplace of voices.
Ghanaian nesses only transform into Nigerian norses when the former cannot get working permit to treat victims of the cattle militia attacks. Sibboleths can become shibboleths in an afternoon of mutual hatred, one's tongue betraying one fatally and irredeemably.
Akwaaba, Ghanaian ness. But, wait o. Upon all that Nkrumah did for pan-Africanism, you are still looking for a norse to say she is a "ness"? Where is your linguistic independence? Why this phonological imperialism? You want to implement RP more than the Inner Circle? No way! A norse is not a ness, even if she wears the whitest white in this world.
Ghana and Nigeria are confusing us with their "Englishes." This one would say "ness." That one would say "norse." And they were colonized by the same England, belong the same Outer Circle of English, belong to the same West Africa, etc. Why "ness" and "norse" in this lockdown?
And you norses. Are your tongues tied? Must you pronounce English any way you like? As if English and your local language are the same! Let me listen to that noise you make in English again. Aweful! Get it right, please. Let the noise be good music, not a lousy type.
I know that norses speak with heavy eba still turning in their large intestines. I know that. Which is why the person carrying excess luggage has to beg the carrier and negotiate humbly. Not just behave as if the carrier belongs to their grandfather.
It is not that simple for a ness to start looking for a norse when there are lockdowns. How are the various checkpoints to be handled? One should not transmit the pandemic from one's throat! What more, when one is a healer, not a killer.
A Ghanaian ness looking for a Nigerian norse should brace up for surprises. First, the norse would not know that a ness is looking for her. When she hears "ness," she may think of a speech problem and seek a speech therapist. Then, the norse would start wondering why those with speech problems are now many in a COVID-19 period and are wearing white. Further, a norse out of joint may speak rudely to this one that calls her "ness." Mood matters for teatments and if one is treated poorly, blame the utterance. No wonder local languages have come to the rescue. And if anybody wants to be a norse, that fellow must learn indigenous languages and be able able to sway crowds at clinics.
That is not a reliable love for the indigenous. It is exploitation, even parasitism. The hospital just wants to exploit the indigenous and finish what the imperialist started. It is not founded on genuine love for the indigenous.
You norses. So, anything goes in this bloody hospital of yours? Even your leaders are bad examples. Even your teachers. They speak nonsense and teach nonsense. No wonder, everyone is a patient in that crazy hospital.
Emergency norses should be very careful in handling this pandemic. Indeed, anyone could get infected, just anyone. Doctor or norse. And it is highly possible for former inhabitants of the Outer Circle to slide into the Expanding Circle. No condition is permanent. We should know this.
It is painful to slide from the Outer Circle into the Expanding Circle due to sheer carelessness. It is very painful when one is not accepted even in the Expanding Circle, when those allocated to it snob one and also say that they cannot comprehend. You see, one becomes the bat, neither a four-footed walker on the ground nor a bird flying in the sky. One only hangs upside-down to sleep in the open bush!
It is terribly painful to be neither here nor there. Note this, nesses and norses.
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