During an internship I did in a research institute in Lagos, a colleague asked me what my nickname was, “Mazi Spartan” I replied, she thought it was too Igbotic. “Why don’t you just answer Spartan or Mr. Spartan, since Mazi from your explanation more or less means Mr,” she inquired.



At another time, looking for a writing job, a friend introduced me to her sister who I think is one of the best wordsmith I’ve ever met. I needed her help for both tutorship and to secure writing gigs.



After our conversation over the phone, my friend (her younger sister) calls me to share the good news, “XXXX thinks you are okay for small gigs for now and she has agreed to help you fine tune your writing too, but she pointed out that you have an Igbo tongue problem.”



Why do we call ours an Igbo, Yoruba or Calabar tongue but refer to the white race tongue as accents.Why do we identify and appreciate some who go out of their way to learn to speak like the whites and scorn others who speak in their local phonetic dialect.



Is this a racial disorder or is it just some sort of pseudo-elite practice that is endangering our identity and our language?

click here to read full article https://www.ojamedia.com/2020/11/cultural-cringe.html