#20: About My Accent, Let’s Address It

The First Step with Jhalisa John

Omg! Can we talk about something else? Apparently not. In this episode, I address my “accent” which seems to get a lot of attention in Trinidad and Tobago. See the show notes for more. About My Accent, Let’s Address It. Ok. This is gonna be the first and last time that I publicly address this. After that, oh my god, let’s just put it to bed because it’s so insignificant. It’s so stupid. But apparently, there are people out there who have a serious issue with the way I sound, the way I pronounce my words and enunciate. They think my “accent” is fake. And the only reason I’m addressing this is because I ain’t no fake ass bitch. Let’s just be clear. There’s no part of me that’s fake or contrived, even. What you see is what you get. I’m one thousand percent transparent and myself. Ain’t nobody I’m trying to be or sound like. Okay? So anyway, hahaha, let’s address this shit once and for all. Jeez. Hello. My name is Jhalisa John. And I live in Trinidad and Tobago. A country where it is apparently a crime to sound different. For my whole entire life, I’ve heard, “Who do you think you are? Where are you from? Why are you trying to be white?” And honestly, it’s so exhausting. I feel like if people understood my story, they wouldn’t be so judgmental. Right? So let’s head back to 1994. The year I was born. Now, according to my birth certificate, I am Trini. I’m not American. I’m not Guyanese. And I ain’t trying to be. ◦ Grew up in extended family with cousin who is American. Family frequently travelled. Accents included English, Yankee and of course Trini. ◦ Older generation always correcting us when we spoke. Couldn’t complete a sentence without someone telling you pronounce your t h’s and to start over. ◦ This mix of of influences may have impacted the way I speak, which I think is proper or standard English. I don’t speak broken like most trinis. ◦ I lived and went to school in the US but mom would never let me talk like a Yankee. So there’s no way that could‘be impacted my accent. Okay. Maybe it did. Maybe it didn’t. ◦ Came back to Trini, wrote SEA and passed for convent. It shouldn’t matter how I sound. I think more emphasis should be placed on the important things like how much I do for my community. How much I give back and add value to the entrepreneurship space in T&T. It seems like whenever people sit down in a circle to discuss me for whatever reason, the conversation is always mostly about my accent. Why? Why can’t it be about how intelligent I am or how amazing my content is. No but seriously. I think one of the biggest problems Trinis have is that we get caught up on the wrong things. We get carried away or distracted by how something looks or sounds instead of what is actually being said. We ostracize people who are different instead of celebrate them. We spend a ridiculous amount of time analyzing what someone wore instead of what they’ve contributed to society. And if we are to progress, we must stop looking only at the surface. Let’s stop assuming someone is fake because they sound different or act decently. I know I’m not the only one who gets shit for my accent. But it’s time someone stood up for us and shut this thing down once and for all.