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th8m hqns1n CSD 262 Professor La Salle 4/15/09

Sierra Leonean Krio in Blood Diamond: A Phonetic Interpretation

Introduction

I have always had a great interest in the languages of Africa, particularly those of West Africa, and in this case, Sierra Leone. Native Afrikaan is extremely interesting to me as well; I have several friends who speak the language, ultimately spiking my interest in the various language of Africa. The aim of this project specifically pertains to Krio, the language of the West African country of Sierra Leone. Krio, like so many languages of Africa is the culmination of several languages, due to the numerous influences the country has had by oppressors in the way of colonization in the country’s history. As a former Theatre major at NYU turned English/Global Studies/TEFL student here at UWEC, I have a great interest in language, accents, and their proper depictions and executions in Hollywood films. When I first saw Blood Diamond and Leonardo DiCaprio's depiction of a Krio-speaking Sierra Leonean, I was immediately intrigued and took mental note of the potential for further investigation. The specific purpose of this project is to identify the specific phonetic alterations of Standard American English (SAE), which are utilized by the subject with the intent to portray a Zimbabwean born, South African, raised, Krio-speaking, Sierra Leonean.

Methods The subject for this project is Leonardo DiCaprio and, more specifically, his character Danny Archer in the film Blood Diamond. Danny Archer, played by DiCaprio, a native Southern Californian, is an early 30’s Anglo-African current living as diamond smuggler in Sierra Leone.

He was born in South Africa and raised in Zimbabwe. Danny was also stationed in Angola for a few years in the film, and it is this conglomeration of language variants brought on by the characters multicultural upbringing that makes transcribing and analyzing his use of Krio so interesting.

The clip or target sample exemplifies the subject’s use of Krio in the film, for it also one of the only clips in the film where Danny speaks Krio. Choosing this segment, which is phonetically saturated with various phenomena and processes, will be an excellent source to investigate Krio as depicted in the film.

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I used a recorded speech sample of Leonardo DiCaprio taken from the film Blood Diamond. The source of this sample was taken on March 6, 2009 from a DVD source. The selected clip was extracted from the DVD by way of Audacity (version 1.3.7). Audacity was used on my personal computer; an Apple Macbook (unibody 2008) and its internal microphone. The audacity file was converted into an Mp3 format and can be accessed in d2l Dropbox entitled “Sierra Leonean Krio.”

The extracted transcript below consists of 81 words. It is a dialogue between Leonardo DiCaprio (Danny Archer) and Commander Zero (A rebel group leader) over the trade of military weaponry and diamonds. Rather than transcribing both speakers, I instead opted to just transcribe Archer’s questions and responses, which are listed below and subsequently transcribed. The words listed are not an English translation of Krio, dissimilar to what would appear in the subtitles of a movie, for example. This was done to ensure accuracy and to keep the general wording intact, (important to the phonetic analysis of the language). The words that would normally be omitted, added, changed or translated into a pseudo-equivalent form in English are left, as they appear in the film and audio sample. The word “sef” for example, is a pronoun in Krio, therefore it is listed and spelt as it sounds in English. Also, articles such as “the” that would normally be added in subtitles in order to make the statement grammatically correct in English are left out of the transcript. The orthographical transcript of the passage indicated by quotation marks is as follows: “And you sef get something for me, huh? Are you crazed? You give a pay me first for them.

This no fine, huh, this no fine. Then your boys then can use old rotten AK’s against then against them government troop and their new weapons then, huh? And you get one more dead body, instead of airplane way full with grenade launchers. So then I go to them government, huh? Then government will at least they go pay me, huh? Yah yah.”

1nd yu s2f g2t s4mftin fo mi h4=/ e yu kr3]s /yug8v1 p3] mi f7s fo d2m/ ;is no fe]n h4= ;8s no fe]n/ ;2n y1 b9]s d2n k2n yuz ol rot1n 3] k3] d2m/ 1g2nst d2m govm8nt trup 1nd d4 nu w2ponz d2m h4= 1nd yu g2t w4nmo d1dibudi/ 1nst1d4v 2ropl3]n we] ful w8d gren3]d leun.es sot2n e go tud2n govm8nt h4= d2n/ gov1m8nt qt listd2ngo p3] mi h4= ye ye Danny’s Krio has variants outside the realm of standard IPA, or broad transcription, and it thereby requires the use of diacritics associated with narrow transcription. The additional modifications of sound, as indicated in our texts Clinical Phonetics, present in the audio sample can effectively illustrate the full range of phonetic sound productions, such as those associated with temporal patterns (lengthening or shortening of sounds), aspiration, time of release and stress (Shriberg et al 118). All of these linguistic variables drastically alter the cadence and phonological properties of the sample. Listed below is the orthographical transcript separated in phrases with the narrow transcription listed below indicated by quotation marks, followed by the time code of the Mp3 file.

“And you said you have got something for me, huh?” (00:01 - 00:3) 1nd yu s2f g2t s4mf+tin fo mi h4=

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“Are you crazy? You give a pay me first for them” (00:05 - 00:08) eJyu k⌠3]s yug8v1 p(3] mi f7As fod1 “This no fine, huh. This no fine” (00:16 - 00:19) ;is no fe]n h4= ;is no fe]n “Then your boys can use those old rotten AK’s against them government troop and their new weapons, huh?” (00:21 – 00:28) | ;2n y\ b9]s d2n k2n yuz oG:l rot(1n 3] k3] d2m 1g2nst(d2m goBT:vm8nt) trup)_ 1nd d4F nuQ w2po nzW d2m h4= “And then you got one more dead body, instead of airplane way full with grenade launchers” (00:31 – 00:36) 1nd yu g2t w4nmorKd1d1budiW 1nst1d1W 2rOoB:pl3]n w3] ful w8dW gren3]d le[n.esQ1 “So then I will go to government, huh, then government at least they go pay me, huh?”

(00:36 – 00:41) sot(2n e goWgoW t(ud2n goT:vm8nt( h4= d2n goT:vm8n qd+tlist( d2ngo p(3 ] mi R h4= My general hypothesis was that the Krio used by DiCaprio will harbor similarities, to the actual Krio but in terms of its phonetic differences from SAE, I predicted there to be several differences in the way of temporal patterns and final consonant deletion.

Results The process DiCaprio altered or manipulated SAE in order to emulate a Krio speaker will illustrate by the use of broad transcription of SAE indicated by slashes and then how it’s altered (U) in his portrayal of a Krio speaker in narrow transcription, indicated by the use of brackets: The narrow transcription of this speech sample reveals three key phenomena: temporal vocalic manipulations, final consonant deletion, and the stopping and or alvealarization—the replacement of interdental fricatives with alveolar obstruents such as /',;,s,z,t,d/.

Temporal patterns found within the speech segment illustrate both shortening and lengthening of vocalic sounds. Such phonetic variants within this segment are extremely pronounced; the lengthening of the mid back tense vowel /o/, in particular, occurred with high consistency. In examples (1) and (2) from the speech segment, this phonological process is illustrated: (1) / govm8nt / U [goT:vm8nt)]

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(2) / 2ropl3]n / U [2rOoB:p l3 ] n ] (3) /w4n m9r d2d bedi/ U [w4nmorKd1d1budiW] Utterance (3) illustrates the shortening of vocalic utterances, in which the front mid lax vowel becomes a schwa and the entire utterance is condensed into a single string of sound to the point that it is almost unintelligible.

Another significant phenomenon within the speech segment is final consonant deletion, in which the final consonant of a word is omitted. This phenomenon is realized in examples (4), (5), and (6): (4) /;2m/U [d1] (5) /1nst1d4v/ U [1nst1d1W] (6) /f5st/U [f7As] In example (5) the subject, DiCaprio, omits the final consonant (the voiced labiodental fricative), and also reduces the stress on the preceding schwa from /4/ U [1] formed with the

U

preceding word [1nst1d1W]. Example (6) illustrates the omission of the final consonant /t/ present in the SAE realization of the word first.

The most prolific deviation from SAE found in the speech segment is the replacement of fricatives by an oral stop, otherwise referred to as “stopping”. This particular phenomenon, illustrated in examples (7), (8), and (9), was highly prevalent in SAE realizations of the voiced interdental fricative: (7) /so[ ;2n/

U [sot(2n]

(8) /;3]/ U [d2] (9) /;4/ U [d4F] (10) /s4m'8a/

U [s4mf+tin]

The unvoiced interdental fricative illustrated in example (10), replaced by a /t/ is a stopped fricative as well; however, another movement from an interdental fricative to the unvoiced labiodental obstruent also presents another phenomenon, known as labialization.

Reliability: The transcriptions used throughout this project have been checked for their reliability. I obtained a reliability tests to check over the results of both the narrow and broad transcriptions. My first reliability test occurred in class 3/27/09 when two classmates checked over and read through my broad and narrow transcriptions. The reliability test was, per my request, centered on vowels and

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whether or not the correct vowel was used. The two classmates generally agreed with my transcriptions, however they were initially taken aback by the unfamiliar occurrences of the Krio.

An exception to the agreed upon transcription regarded the low-mid central vowel /4 / as it was used in the line [d4F nuQ w2ponzW d2m h4=]. After to listening to the audio file in class with ibud headphones and my laptop, we mutually agreed that the first vowel in the previous segment was, while not a different vowel, raised with a higher tongue body [4F]. This was later agreed upon as well by Professor La Salle.

Also, outside of class on 4/6/09, I requested that Bobbi Tworek, Spanish language preservationists who works in the field of ELL with a degree in Spanish and language studies, experienced in transcribing speakers of other languages, reviewed and aided in the reliability testing of my narrow transcriptions. We made a few mutual corrections, particularly in the way of the use of a flap in [k⌠3]s]. I, for example, initially had the /r/ as trilled and not as a flap.

Moreover, Bobbi, along with the two other classmates, agreed that it was in fact a flap and not a trilled /r/. Another segment discussed in length with Bobbi in the reliability checks was the word “go.” The word “go” was had some interesting phonetic features that went previously unrealized in the broad transcription. The speaker says “go” twice, almost as an off glide, but after the

U

reliability checks, we mutually agreed upon the shortening of each /o/ in / go/ [goWgoW] was the correct narrow transcription of the speaker’s actual pronunciation.

Discussion: The purpose of this project was to investigate the phonetic manipulations Leonardo DiCaprio needed to undergo, as an American born and raised in Southern California, to resemble a Krio speaker of Sierra Leone. The data collected from this investigation shows a strong prevalence of three primary elements of manipulation: temporal deviations of vowels, final consonant deletion, and alveolarization.

The accuracy of said results, however, may be heavily influenced by several external factors.

Variables such as the subjects true linguistic knowledge of Krio, his simultaneous portrayal of the South African English dialect, and the true nature of the subject’s and/or character’s intentionality to produce a near native sample with all the aforementioned variables, all play a significant role and should be taken into consideration when determining the validity of these three phonetic manipulations as authentic variants of SAE present in the Krio language interpretation in the film Blood Diamond.

From the research I have done specially pertaining to Krio, the Sierra Leonean Creoles, I found the depiction to be extremely anglicized. However, while there were some general similarities between the actual and the depiction, the vast differences in the English words made the comparison difficult. There are several other factors that go in to Danny Archer’s character in the movie’s Krio.

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Making a direct assertion of accuracy is problematic because Krio, as is true of all languages of the world, has variants: dialects, accents, regional styles, etc. Furthering this complexity, the character Danny Archer, has lived extended periods of time in three different geographic regions of Africa, all with completely different languages and phonetic idiosyncrasies, to say nothing of the regional phonological differences among each region. Surely, while living in each region, Archer would have undoubtedly picked up several of the phonological characteristics from each region and corresponding languages and dialects, ultimately affecting his own speech, as a present day South African living in Sierra Leone. While doing this project, I questioned are the perceived discrepancies intentional based on the influences a person would have previously living and speaking South African or Shona in Zimbabwe, or was just a general lack of knowledge pertaining to Krio.

The hypothesis, developed prior to narrowly transcribing this segment, predicted that the use of diacritics in this segment would illustrate a more accurate representation of the subject’s speech by highlighting his lengthening of sounds, particularly vowels, and the subsequent emphasis he places on those particular words. John Kelly’s Phonology and African Linguistics in African Language Studies, supports my hypothesis—that the depiction bared similarities, but was anglicized (Kelley 17).

From this project, I learned most of the Krio in Blood Diamond contains lexical and phonological derivatives of English —recognizable to most English speakers. In Krio, this is a lot less likely, and listening to and reading Krio, as I have read and studied thus far, is extremely difficult, if not impossible for most English speakers. Although the depiction was phonetically similar to the Krio I have studied, discrepancies and inconsistencies within those similarities were pervasive as well. Discrepancies such as DiCaprio’s inconsistent aspiration on his /t/ and /p/ for example. This held true even in similar environments. Also, the final sound in the same word was at some points, released, and others in similar environment, unreleased. I did not anticipate this is my hypothesis and I found it to be rather interesting phonetic phenomenon.

Despite the discrepancies found within this project concerning DiCaprio’s interpretation of Krio, I applaud his efforts, and I am impressed by the believability of his convincing portrayal.

This project, while ambitious, has piqued my interest in linguistic and phonetic investigation of Creoles. Further investigation of this study would require a more in depth analysis of the phonetic principles Krio as well as phonetic principles of the South African accent, and the Zimbabwean Shona as well. In order to improve my success, I would incorporate a more advanced microphone, audio recording and playback equipment that would allow me to not only transcribe more accurately, but to document the findings in a more organized fashion as well.

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References Njie, Sulayman. “A Preliminary Note on Krio Proverbs.” NetNotes on Krio. Kristian Dyrvold, et al, Eds. Department of Modern Languages. Umeå University: Sweden. 2002:1. 7 April 2009. <http://www.eng.umu.se/forskning/linguistics/Krio/files/pdf/netnote_2002_1.pdf>.

Kelly, John. 1974. Phonology and African Linguistics in African Language Studies, vol.15. London: University of London.

Shriberg, D. Lawrence, and Raymond D. Kent. Clinical Phonetics. 3rd ed. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc., 2003.

Krio IPA. George Mason University, Virginia. 18 May 2009 <http://classweb.gmu.edu/accent/nl-ipa/lrioipa.html#othersounds>

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