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What’s In My Nigerian Name
I don’t know if any English-speaking American is capable of pronouncing my name the right way. It’s not the fault of the Americans though, as the majority have not been regularly exposed to west African culture.
My name is Eze Ihenetu by the way, pronounced as (eh-zee) (i-hen-eh-too), meaning the first letter (e) in my forename is short and the second portion(ze) is long. The first letter (i) in my surname is short, the (hen) portion sounds identical to that of the female domestic fowl. The (hen) sound is followed by the(eh)sound, and the (tu) sounds identical to that of the (too). Put it all together and you get my name, Eze Ihenetu.
So now there is no excuse for anyone who reads this essay to garble the pronunciation of my name.
Growing up, the unintentional butchering of my given appellation did not bother me so much, as I preferred to think that people pronounced it incorrectly because it was a very unique name. Teachers — bless their hearts — were especially sensitive about getting the pronunciation wrong, for fear that they’d offend me with the error.
“Did I say your name right?” asked a teacher.
“It’s Eh-zee,” I said.
This teacher placed a hand on top of her chest and apologized: “Forgive me. Your name is so interesting. Where does it come from?
