Alicia de Barry: Speaking in a foreign language when you’re deaf

I recently had a very interesting conversation with my sister-in-law about the pronunciation of different words and how being deaf, as well as accents and background, should be taken into consideration.

This conversation was sparked when I told her that I had been watching videos on Instagram and one of them stood out.

#xtheromanempire is a terrifically funny fellow on TikTok, his ability to poke fun at himself has me giggling.

However, in a few videos he plays a character (wearing a pink wig) who tries to order food from a restaurant of which he is a waiter.

She continuously mispronounces words such as “wack-a-mole” instead of guacamole. To this, the waiter asks if she is stupid.

There are other videos like this on Instagram and TikTok with native French speakers annoyed that English speakers pronounce brand names incorrectly, or English speakers laughing at how Americans pronounce English town names.

I wonder though, does it not depend on where you live and your accent? I recently said chorizo to my mum and she informed me it is the Spanish “choritho”. I responded, I said the English translation.

For deaf people, the pronunciation of words is even harder. 

Whilst it is rather funny when we mispronounce words, I realised that this is the reason why when I do go abroad (back in the day, remember that?) I would be too self-conscious to try to speak in the local language or try out certain words.

In fact, I remember travelling through Europe in the early ‘00s and I stopped in a café. The café was Italian and the array of delicious smelling food labelled in Italian, I chose what I wanted and listened as the group each placed their order.

By the time it got to me, I was so worried about how to say the word I decided to type the word on my phone instead. This anxiety was exacerbated by the fact that the server did not speak English. 

Situations like this, coupled with the aforementioned TikTok videos, are one of the reason why I am so reluctant to practise speaking in another language.

To me, it emphasises I am deaf and makes me feel very self-conscious. Learning a new language as a profoundly deaf person is very difficult, I struggle with English as it is.

I dislike it when members of my family or friends point out that I am saying words in correctly.

Yes, it is from a good place, but as I asked my sister-in-law, ultimately if a person knows what I am saying does it actually matter? As an avid reader, I often see the word in my head and will pronounce it the way it is spelt. Sometimes this is correct, sometimes not. 

Nowadays, we live in a country where there is a myriad of accents and backgrounds dictating how we speak and actually I like that we do not all speak the same way.

My sister-in-law told me that she thinks the way we speak is a choice and that sometimes she deliberately says words incorrectly because she does not like the “proper” way it should be said. I thought I was the only one!

So from now on, I will continue to say “in-di-cay-tive” rather than “in-dik-i-tive” quite simply because I like it!

Alicia De Barry lives in Milton Keynes with her hearing husband, my judgemental cat, and obsequious dog. She currently works as a Functional Skills Trainer. She is never without a book and a cup of Earl Grey in her hand.