Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
Having said that, I think that because Singh is a cultural minority it also really complicates things. I think the OP and most of the posters in this thread who are irritated by Singh's pronunciation of Kadri's name are very much like you—put out because of a personal preference, and that's fine. However, I am also fairly certain that there are posters and readers of this forum who will use something like this specifically to fuel an existing racially motivated dislike for Singh and his playcall. There are viewers of HNIC who are repulsed because Singh is Sikh, and his choice of pronunciation of Kadri's name lends to that repulsion. And for that reason, maybe it is actually important that he keeps doing it. Maybe this is an instance in which his culturally motivated choice is the right one, in spite of its technical inaccuracy, or even its cringe-factor.
That is good to know, thanks.
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I think there' some truth to this. I also think its very interesting that we are now in a time where we are talking about a Punjabi Canadian commentator's pronunciation of the Flames best player's name, who is a Lebanese Canadian. That in itself is kind of amazing to think about, in terms of where this country is culturally. Its a great thing. I feel like all Canadians with good intentions are trying hard to operate in the right way with the multiplicity of ethnicities and cultures we deal with every day, and Singh is doing that as well.
I would offer a couple more points on the topic, from my perspective.
a) I'm not sure intentionally mispronouncing something because racists exist is the way to combat them. Who cares what they think anyways. I don't think they get a voice in this discussion, I'd rather have it with well intentioned people that are just interested in navigating these issues properly and with consideration for their fellow human beings.
b) It could bother me a little bit because perhaps I feel Singh using the accent to say Kadri almost becomes a bit of a caricature of what a Punjabi canadian should sound like. I don't speak like that, and I'm quite sure in most contexts Singh doesn't either. He speaks very fluent english. Most people that have the accents are people with english as a second language. And there's nothing wrong with that -- but plenty of Punjabi people you will come across, speak perfectly fine english and don't throw accents on top of things randomly.
I do agree its largely a non issue though, but it obviously has captured some interest, given the thread. I had a good chuckle about it when I first heard it. Not going to impact my viewing of Flames games at all, and I like Singh and what he brings to the broadcasts.