If you were born in Cape Town, and resemble a caramel to dark brown skinned, but have a mixture of white and black family decent, and know what the term “Awe” means, you are definitely a Cape Coloured.
Today I was pondering the thought of being a Cape Coloured and what makes us super unique from the rest of coloureds in South Africa... conclusion.. it has to be our accented English. I can’t describe it other than to say that we lay emphasis on letters like B,R,A,J,M in words used such as ‘my BRRUUU’ or ‘NNNai man’ and the letter ‘A’ in “JAARRE” and lastly ‘M’ for “ Jo MMMM...SE”(you can fill in the rest).
The funny and strange part is that you can’t get that coloured accent out of coloured person, because of how distinct and discreet our accent is. It’s like we have this Flat English. We all use the same phrases like ‘you know man’ or ‘ya ne’ or ‘yor that’s kwaai man’... lol.
Most of coloured’s always try to deny where they came from, hence there upbringing and claim they were “RAR RAR” , a term used for a white English accent. Most White English speaking people roll the RRR which comes off very smoothly and well rounded, whereas the coloured English people would accentuate the RRRR and make it sound bold.
Since I’ve met many foreign students, they all agreed that there’s nothing like a coloured English accent from Cape Town. I told them that’s what makes us so unique, which it true.
So, instead of running away from your coloured roots, you might as well embrace it. I’m not saying you should go out and speak all gangsters on your work colleagues and managers, but when you speak, speak in the accent you know best, the Cape Coloured Accent... Now that’s Ayobaness!
Hope I humoured the Coloured people, and the rest of from Cape Town people today!
Until Next Time... Chow Bela!
Hi Michelle,
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting read. I only stumbled upon this blog post now. I am currently doing my doctorate on the constructions of coloured women's identities in post-apartheid South Africa. I am using a decolonial framework to unpack the identity. I must say the Cape coloured accent is quite unique and has come up in my findings. It is often portrayed in a comical light and I suppose it may be a possible reason as to why people may subconsciously steer away from it.
Nonetheless, thanks for the interesting read :)
Best regards,
Lynn