What’s in a name?

Created on Canva Pro...

There was a huge debate a few months ago on Twitter (formally known as X) about how to pronounce ‘Kamala’.

I have an aunt called Kamala, and I know how to say her name.  

But this online debate wasn’t about my aunt. 

It was about potentially the first woman President of the United States of America. 

Everyone tackled the same name from their point of view. 

And whilst the debate felt a little odd, (because everyone should really be focussing on her pledges for the country and the country’s place in the world), it was also wonderful to see how people took on a name. 

Some went with her own words from her book. 

Some went with the video communication she released specifically about it. 

Others, especially knowing the Sanskrit meaning, explained its significance.  

One person mentioned they wouldn’t say it in an Indian accent, despite it being an Indian name, in fear of being told they were ridiculing the Indian accent or culturally appropriating it. 

And another asked me how I’d say it and assumed I’d use my British accent. 

It made me stop in my tracks because I realised I don’t have my British accent when I speak in Gujarati or say words linked to the Indian subcontinent. 

I have an Indian accent. 

When I speak Gujarati I have the accent that my Mum has. 

It seems obvious to explain this but I honestly didn’t realise that along with being able to speak it with ease, I also kept it *as Gujarati as possible* by keeping the accent.

I also realised the privilege I had over the person who was worried they may be culturally appropriating if they tried the same thing. 

It’s an even bigger deal because we’re not in India, it seems to matter more (to me anyway), not only to learn our mother tongue, but to nail the accent too. 

On this, we don’t have the privilege of being close to the roots where we would be surrounded by it in society. 

There’s always this notion that everyone should speak English here because we’re in England, but we seem a little more easy going about the need for people to master the English accent. 

Accents do matter though.

They seem to communicate that there’s more to a story than just the words said. 

The term ‘accent’ has an interesting etymology. 

It comes from the Proto Indo-European root *kan- meaning ‘to sing’ or ‘to sound’.

The root forms all or part of other words like ‘chant’ and ‘incentive.

The root took route through to Latin. 

The Latin word ‘accentus’ means ‘a song added to speech’ or ‘the intonation of speaking’. 

‘Accentus’ is made up of two elements. 

The first ‘ad-’ is a prefix meaning ‘to’ or ‘towards’. 

‘Cantus’ means ‘song’ or ‘singing’ and is from the Latin verb ‘canere’ meaning ‘to sing’. 

The two elements combined evolved into the Old French in around the 13th Century as ‘acent’ 

And later into the English language in around the late 14th Century to mean ‘a particular mode of pronunciation’ as we know it today. 

How to say the first name of the potential future President of the United States is an important topic away from understanding what she wants for the country, but it also is a reflection of where we are in our global dialogue.  

Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet famously had a question ‘what’s in a name?’ 

The answer seems to be ‘quite a lot, actually’.