Before now, I never liked the idea of language bonding people. In my books, it only breeds unnecessary nepotism and ethnocentrism, until recently.
For the first time since I left my state, I heard someone speak my language. On a random day, in a random place, I heard a total stranger speak my language. The warmth I felt was out of this world. I stared at the person for a few minutes, enjoying the sound of my language in a foreign space. In that moment, I was reminded of how much I had missed hearing my people speak it, taking in every detail, from the rise and fall of her voice to her facial expression, everything screamed Home!
I knew eavesdropping was wrong, but at that moment it felt right. It felt like I was on a secret mission with this person, decoding every word that only me and this stranger understood and surprisingly, her conversation with the other person on the phone wasn’t personal, but mere banter.
Chuckling at her banter, I was finally caught, and a knowing smile was plastered on her face.
With raised eyebrows, she asked, “Irí kíríkenibo? (Are you from Okrika?) And I responded with “In”(Yes). Upon hearing my response, she immediately ended the call and stared at me with wide eyes. We exchanged pleasantries whilst giggling like old school girls🥰 We couldn’t hide our excitement, as the odds of meeting people who spoke our language in such a place was very very low.
It was truly a beautiful experience, and I couldn’t help but wish I could encounter such experiences every now and then.
From that day, I stopped pegging language as a major catalyst for ethnocentrism and nepotism. We cannot rule out the fact that it can sometimes lead to them and many more but this shouldn’t be a yardstick for treating people badly or differently.
All images are mine except otherwise stated.
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XOXO