29.1507, Linguistics and Pop Culture: Language, Culture, and Black Panther

[The LINGUIST List]

LINGUIST List: Vol-29-1507. Fri Apr 06 2018. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 29.1507, Linguistics and Pop Culture: Language, Culture, and Black Panther

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Editor for this issue: Clare Harshey <clare at linguistlist.org>
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Date: Fri, 06 Apr 2018 18:07:26
From: LINGUIST List [linguist at linguistlist.org]
Subject: Linguistics and Pop Culture: Language, Culture, and Black Panther

 Dear Readers,

This week, following our Fund Drive theme of "Linguistics on the Silver Screen",
we wanted to spend some time discussing the latest installment in the Marvel
Cinematic Universe: Black Panther!

Black Panther has been a phenomenon in the box office. Since its release in
the middle of February, the movie has been vaulted to the 10th biggest movie
in history by ticket sales grossing over $1.28 Billion worldwide. The film’s
stunning depiction of the fictional country of Wakanda wouldn’t be the same
without the cultural elements introduced. The religion of Wakanda, which
borrows heavily from the pantheon of ancient Egypt, the surrounding landscape,
and the material culture depicted bring afrofuturism to the silver screen. The
linguistic elements of the film are perhaps the most striking part of Wakanda
(perhaps we’re biased though). 

If you’re really worried about spoilers, don’t keep reading. Key plot points
are not divulged but you could maybe piece something together if you tried
hard enough. 

Unlike the languages of Middle Earth, Westeros and other planets Sarah talked
about in her three part series on ConLangs, Wakanda is tied to a spot on planet Earth.
Wakanda is situated in various locations in East Africa according to different
comics. Originally, Jack Kirby and Stan Lee centered it between Kenya and
Tanzania. Later mentions placed this country on Lake Victoria while still
others, including the Black Panther film, show Wakanda on the southern edge of
Lake Turkana surrounded by both fictional and real African countries. However,
the linguistic elements used in the film originate from very different areas
of the continent. The spoken language heard in the film is isiXhosa from South
Africa, Zimbabwe and Lesotho. The written script displayed in the film is an
adaptation of the Nsibidi script from Nigeria. The decision to use these
linguistic elements appears to have been primarily influenced by artistic
motivations rather than geographic ones. The Afro-futurism vibe Nate More and
Ryan Coogler (the producer and director respectively) were seeking is there.
In the beginning of the film, the origin of Wakanda is discussed. There were
five tribes that coalesced into the country of Wakanda after they discovered
the Vibranium mound. Perhaps, the language varieties are taken from so many
regions due to the patchwork nation they’re spoken in.

Let’s talk about the most salient  linguistic component: the spoken language
used. IsiXhosa is an Nguni bantu language. Here’s a quick video by the BBC
with some isiXhosa phrases themed around the film: https://youtu.be/2afSbqlp5HU

Most viewers will notice something right away: Clicks floating above the
stream of speech. IsiXhosa has dental, lateral and alveolar clicks with a
variety of different places of articulation (including aspirated, slack voice,
and nasal clicks). Tones and vowel length contrasts can also be heard in the
video above. 

I always assumed that the language spoken in Wakanda was a Bantu language but
this was for somewhat mistaken reasons. I assumed that the Wa was a prefix
which would correspond to class 2 in Bantu languages (analogous to the wa
prefix in kiswahili). This class commonly refers to groups of people. The
semantic stretch to go from a group of people to the name of the country was
minor enough for me to see the connection. However, the name ‘wakanda’ is of
uncertain origin. One theory is that it was indeed after a group called the
kamba who have a demonym of wakanda 

(This blog seems to be very confident in this fact, but there are other proposed 
etymologies for Jack Kirby and Stan Lee's creation: 
https://cinema.everyeye.it/articoli/speciale-black-panther-storia-cultura-geografia-religioni-del-wakanda-37429.html ) 

Other proposed origins include that this is derived from a diety of
the North American Great Plains Native Americans. 

The varieties of English emulated by the actors in Black Panther are drawn
from the corners of Sub-Saharan Africa as well. As Trevor Noah remarks 
( https://youtu.be/YqxL04IvNrc ):

“Mbaku had a Nigerian inspired accent.. And Nikia had an accent that had
flair, a bit of Kenya in there and T’challa came out and there was a moment
where I was watching you and I was like why does this sound a little bit like
a young Nelson Mandela. Was there a Xhosa inspiration behind the accent?”

In fact, Chadwick Boseman (T’Challa) was carrying over an accent from a film
called “Message from the King” in which he plays a South African
( https://youtu.be/mhiuyCWZOuY ). Boseman was also emulating the accent of his
language coach and on-screen father Joni Kani (T’Chaka). 

Black Panther’s dialect coach, Beth McGuire, discussed that the different
accents used were the result of her approach to dialect selection
( https://io9.gizmodo.com/black-panthers-dialect-coach-brilliantly-explains-why
-w-1823243739 ). She gave the actors three samples to listen to and they picked
one to emulate. She also explains that the different backgrounds represented
in the cast led to different idiolects on screen.

“What was really interesting is, you’ll hear that they all sound like the same
world and they’re all speaking with a Xhosa accent, but they’re slightly
idiolectical. Daniel Kaluuya’s accent is a little different than Letitia
Wright’s accent, even though they’re both Brits, because Daniel’s parents are
from Uganda, whereas Letitia was born in Guyana.”

The written language shown adorning the walls and tapestries of Steptown is
based upon the Nsibidi script of Nigeria. Check out the two signs on the left
side of this alley. 
 
( http://www.indiewire.com/2018/02/black-panther-wakanda-written-language-ryan-
coogler-afrofuturism-1201931252/ )

This script is an ideographic writing system that is primarily used by members
of the Ekpe society in Nigeria. This script is old but it’s uncertain how old.
Estimates range from 1600 CE to 2000 BCE. 

For Black Panther, the nsibidi system was given a futuristic spin. Hannah
Beachler, the production designer, took inspiration from graffiti observed
during a visit to South Africa. In addition, orthographies like Chinese,
Arabic, Dogon and Murci were also used to inspire the various forms of
Wakandan writing seen in the movie. For example, the symbols used in Shuri’s
lab (Letitia Wright) were more much more ornate than the traditional symbols
in the throne room shown below. 

http://www.indiewire.com/2018/02/black-panther-wakanda-written-language-ryan-c
oogler-afrofuturism-1201931252/

Going off of the writing symbol chart linked above, it looks like these symbols mean
congress or meeting. Makes sense for the room where decisions are made in the
movie. 

The linguistic elements present in Black Panther are inspired by the rich
linguistic fabric of Africa. Whether the tribes that came together to create
Wakanda were spread from all around the continent or whether this geographic
mismatch was just not that important to the lore of the film, the end result
is a world that pulls you in. The linguistic landscape does as much to bring
you to Wakanda as the shimmering towers of Steptown. 

What are your thoughts on the film? What did you think of the languages and
accents used? Let us know! As a reminder, we are still short of our goal for
the 2018 funddrive. Please consider donating at our Fund Drive homepage:
https://funddrive.linguistlist.org. We are extremely grateful for your
support!

-- Kenneth Steimel, Student Editor



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