I know this is a post about Quvenzhané Wallis and the correct pronunciation of her name. But I think this interview with Uzo Aduba, for The Improper Bostonian, completely and accurately depict my feelings on why it’s worth the effort to try and eventually learn to pronounce Quvenzhané’s name–and other ethnic names– properly.
The magazine asked Aduba if she ever considered changing her name when she realized she wanted to enter Hollywood. And she responded:
“When I started as an actor? No, and I’ll tell you why. I had already gone through that. My family is from Nigeria, and my full name is Uzoamaka, which means “The road is good.” Quick lesson: My tribe is Igbo, and you name your kid something that tells your history and hopefully predicts your future. So anyway, in grade school, because my last name started with an A, I was the first in roll call, and nobody ever knew how to pronounce it. So I went home and asked my mother if I could be called Zoe. I remember she was cooking, and in her Nigerian accent she said, “Why?” I said, “Nobody can pronounce it.” Without missing a beat, she said, “If they can learn to say Tchaikovsky and Michelangelo and Dostoyevsky, they can learn to say Uzoamaka.”
Boom!
And there you have it. People learn the names that they want to learn. And we–Americans–should make it a point to learn this little, Black girl’s name. Not only because names are important but also because we’ll probably be seeing her around for a while.
And it was in that spirit that Jamie Foxx, along with a full choir, decided to teach a theater of Annie watchers how to properly pronounce Wallis’ name, to the tune of “Carol The Bells.”
Jamie Foxx isn’t the only celebrity taking on the task of educating America about how to pronounce the names of rising stars. Brad Pitt had a similar teachable moment when he instructed a room full of people how to pronounce actor David Oyelowo’s name properly.
“And if you don’t know, now you know…”
