To a non-native speaker, English language is extremely shallow and inadequate in conveying original thoughts and therefore is unfit for use as a lingua franca.
One of the inadequacies of the Queen’s language is easily seen in Yorùbá greetings and cussing. When someone returns home from a trip, we say
“ẹkù ílé”, a greeting that elicits “ẹ kaabọ”. I am yet to find the English language equivalent of “ẹkù ílé”.
This difficulty arises because we think and talk in our mother tongue. Our default focus is communicating our thoughts to the other person using thoughts conceived in our mother tongue and translated from our mother tongue. The easiest way we do this is to employ direct translations.
Direct/literal translations are an insufficient tool of communication because it strips the original thoughts and intentions bare of context, cultural background, tone and emotion.
For instance, a frustrated Yoruba mother looks at her own child and asks this rhetorical question “Is the world doing you?”. To a western mind, the question makes no sense or is plain gibberish. But to the child or someone else who understands yorùbá, the mother is frustrated, angry/bitter or just mad at something the child has done. That is the danger of translations. Direct/literal translations are the bane of communication for everyone whom English is not their first language.
For communication to be effective, we ought not to communicate in “our” own language/words, but rather communicate in words that the receiver or hearer will understand. That way, communication is more effective and will achieve the desired goal.
As an International student in Canada, I once told a Canadian lady about my lady friend back in Nigeria whom I liked a lot and we were close to each other. I told her we were so close that I abused her a lot. The Canadian lady was shocked. She became visibly uncomfortable, but I kept on talking and blabbing. She started asking questions like “how old was she?” “why did you abuse her?” “I don’t think you are an abusive person”…As soon as I got where she was going, I screamed “Oh No! not abuse in that sense.”
I was flabbergasted. I was confused and started struggling to find the appropriate words. I said things like, we yab each other — she didn’t understand “yab” I used so many words until she said “oh you mean you roast each other”
Yes, communication is not only about the speaker, but more about the hearer. It is about the hearer’s context, background, word register and meanings, their interpretation etc. Effective communication is beyond you the speaker.
To address the Instagram content that English language does not deliver “curses” appropriately, I say that is because Yorùbá speakers use very limited tools of communication — direct/literal translations.
Effective communication needs to realize that “cursing”, “epe” actually have different meanings in the western world. To place a curse on someone actually involves incantations and spells. Moreso, the epe and curse we so throw about in Nigeria are not real curses. The are simply cussing. We ourselves have misunderstood and used the words “curse” & “epe” in place of “cuss”.
The white man cusses or swears. F words are insults & cuss words, not “curses” & “epe” like spells.
To effectively cuss and insult a foreigner, or using English language, you need to use words they understand so that the impact will be felt, and understood better.
You are on the queue at the Airport in Toronto about to board a flight to Heathrow and the white dude in front of you farts. You mutter under your breath, “Abi oloriburuku leleyi ni?” That is not a curse, it is cussing out. I can write a whole book on why we humans cuss and why it is good. You stub your pinky toe, it hurts and you scream what? Profanities? Cuss words? Etc like Damn! Fuck! You get the point now?
What is the point of cussing the white dude in your local dialect when he does not understand? The appropriate way to deal with the issue is to gently tap the white guy and ask “Are you incontinent?” Or are you just senile? Does this look like your Father’s hut? Why do you have to fart in public?
A few things you will need to achieve this level of effective communication include;
Awareness & Analytical Skills: Ability to read and interpret situations correctly and to “judge” the recipient/hearer’s educational level, status etc. There is no point calling an ignorant person ignorant to their face. Use words that flatter them in the moment, but if they ever find out the true meaning, they would wish they understood it on the spot.
Expand your vocabulary: Expand your vocabulary. This will involve a lot of reading. Effective communication is not easy. Just increase your vocabulary simple.
Travel: The only way to understand other people’s culture, context and background is if you travel. You can travel by reading outside your prescribed literature, or you can travel by watching movies, or just old fashion travel. If you travel the old fashion way, please don’t be like Americans who “tour” and take pictures. Those are tourists. Travel and mingle with the locals. Ask them how do you tell a woman she is beautiful in the local dialect. Ask how do you tell a man to go suck his mother in the local dialect. That is how you learn and become an effective communicator.
Patience & Practice: This is the only way to get better at things. Always ask for feedback from people with different backgrounds.
Our immediate cuss words are formed and created in our mother tongue. Before spilling them out or yielding to the temptation of literal translation, ask yourself what words will hurt this dude the most? Isn’t that the objective? What will I say, how can I say it that he will understand and cause him to rethink his existence on this side of eternity?
If an American offends you, instead of replying in your local dialect/mother tongue which he will not understand, and might even further ridicule you for not being able to speak English, say something like;
Does your family have a history of pre-term births? He might ask “what?” You can then reply and say “It appears your prefrontal cortex function is un(der)developed or severely depleted. If he still does not understand, you can say something along the lines of “I don’t blame you because the winning sperm in your case was corrupt and won the race by bribery that is why you are incoherent”
CAVEAT:
Because we Africans and Caribbean folks use insults and cussing as skin care routine or breakfast and they make us stronger does not mean the white folks can handle it. Just like they cannot handle the heat of scotch bonnet, you need to always serve them mild. The premium version of our cussing can trigger suicidal thoughts, existential crisis and even outright violence from the wrong audience, so be careful.
If the hearer is wise, you may be charged with “verbal abuse capable of leading to depression” and “hurtful words that cause physical damage”.
That being said, don’t go looking for the best English words to tell a Karen “gbo gbo ile yin ma s’ofo” if you are not ready to face the consequences.
