By Johnny Coomansingh
In a bid to save what is left of pronunciation in our culture, I would like to submit that the expression ‘Sandy Grande’ is wrong; a total mispronunciation. Speaking to the ‘hierarchy’: the journalists, news anchors, radio and television announcers, television and radio talk show hosts, and most of all, the politicians who make it to parliament, I must state that the pronunciation Sandy Grande seems to be replacing the correct term ‘Sangre Grande.’ For those who think that what I am saying here is trite and inconsequential, read a little further for some enlightenment.
In terms of what I have studied concerning the geology of Sangre Grande, my hometown in Trinidad, I would like to declare that the soil texture in that locality is a heavy clay with poor natural drainage. The Sangre Grande soil series is classified as an Aeric Tropaquepts or Fluvaquentic Endoaquepts, which is composed of approximately 37 percent sand, 11 percent silt, and 49 percent clay. It is clear that the percentage of clay outstrips the 37percent of sand. So why do so many ‘professionals’ insist on using the term Sandy Grande?
A few years ago, I listened with rapt attention to presentations of the former Peoples’ Partnership (PP). All of the speakers I heard, including Rupert Griffith (deceased), Ganga Singh, and Vasant Bharath were repeating the term “Sandy Grande.” Recently, I also heard the chairman of the Sangre Grande Regional Corporation (SGRC) on Facebook using the words Sandy Grande. Why? It could be that such people heard the term from somebody who heard it from somebody and inadvertently got transferred to them in childhood. Many individuals have not taken the time to know and practice the correct pronunciation.
My primary and secondary school teachers in Sangre Grande made sure I graduated with the correct pronunciation and what the name means. During my childhood, the way that some Trinidadians spoke about Sangre Grande, I was of the view that the little town in the east was not considered part of Trinidad. If anyone came from Sangre Grande, there was so much alienation; we were always made to feel inferior. With only 29 miles from Port of Spain, the capital, some would remark that Sangre Grande is too far! Others would think of Sangre Grande as ‘bush,’ and sometimes refer to ‘Grandians’ as ‘bush monkeys.’ So it is clear that many citizens do not know the correct pronunciation, especially those from the west and possibly from the south of Trinidad.
Let it be known that Sandy Grande is a professor of Political Science and Native American and Indigenous Studies with affiliations in American Studies, Philosophy, and the Race, Ethnicity and Politics program at the University of Connecticut.
Correct pronunciations are important if we want to preserve what is left of our culture. It is vital that we must as a nation preserve our local identity. The way we pronounce dialect and traditional words reflects our unique history. Given to us by the Spanish who once ruled Trinidad, Sangre Grande is a place name, which means ‘Big Blood.’ If we must say it, then let us say the term correctly. Refrain from saying “Sandy Grande” because in terms of geology, the soil here is not sandy at all.
Sangre Chiquito is the place name of a town east of Sangre Grande along the Eastern Main Road. The term ‘Sanny Chikit’ is more or less used by all and sundry to represent Sangre Chiquito. This toponym means ‘Little Blood.’ It is thought that there was little bloodshed in a slave revolt unlike that of Sangre Grande where there was massive bloodshed. My book titled Cocoa Woman gives an idea as to how these towns received their names:
“Legend has it that the Spanish explorers named the two towns because of the colour of the water in both the Cunapo River that passes through Sangre Grande, and the smaller Sangre Chiquito River that flows further east. They found that the waters in both rivers looked like blood, only to discover that certain flowers that fell into the water coupled with the red sand that flowed in the rivers, influenced the colour of the water.
“Who knows for sure if this ‘flower” and red sand’ story is true? There is, however, another story to the Spanish toponyms given to these towns. There is the claim by many Trinidadian historians and raconteurs that there were two violent and bloody clashes between the Spanish conquerors and the Native Amerindians. One of the battles waged in Sangre Grande where there was much bloodshed and the other about four miles east, where there was little bloodshed; hence the names Sangre Grande (big blood) and Sangre Chiquito (little blood). The history about these toponyms is nonetheless lost in the mists of time.”
Without even thinking, Sanny Chikit sounds more like a person’s name…rather than a placename.
Although many of us will contract the term Sangre Grande to “Grande” when we are hustling to catch a taxi from any point in Trinidad, we must be ever aware that Grande means Sangre Grande. Taxi drivers and commuters have also shortened San Fernando to ‘Sando.’ Valencia has been truncated to ‘Valee’ and Manzanilla to ‘Manzan.’ I have heard people using the term ‘Manzallina’ to represent Manzanilla. In the Spanish language, Manzanilla means little apple. Our offspring must know and understand the origins and use of the correct toponyms. The culture must be preserved.
Although culture is one of the most difficult concepts to define, the preservation of a country’s culture is of paramount importance. Wilbur Zelinsky in his text The Cultural Geography of the United States (1992) alluded:
“For our purposes, it will suffice to adopt one of the simplest ways of categorising the components of culture, among the almost limitless array of possible schemes. This is a tripartite classification into artefacts, sociofacts and mentifacts.
Artifacts: Those elements of culture that are directly concerned with matters of livelihood or, somewhat more broadly, the entire technology of supplying wanted goods and services. The variety of artifacts can barely be suggested: all tools, weapons, and other man-made objects; manufacturing in all its many aspects; the shelter system; the production of food and drink; the transportation system; medicine; property holding and land use systems; clothing; and many other phenomena.
Sociofacts: Those phase of the culture most directly concerned with interpersonal relations: kinship and family systems; political behavior; education; social etiquette; voluntary organisations; reproductive behavior; child reading; and a host of others.
Mentifacts: Basically cerebral, psychological, or attitudinal in character and include religion, along other ideological baggage, magic and superstition, language, music, dance, and other arts, funerary customs, folklore, the basic value system, and abstract concepts of all sorts. In a sense, the mentifactual is the innermost, least mutable, “holiest,” and most precious segment of the culture—the glue holding together the entire cultural mass and setting its tone and direction.”
As part of the mentifactual aspect, language (verbal and non-verbal expressions), and dialects are living parts of a community’s heritage. It’s part of what makes us who we are; our identity! Our unique toponyms and speech patterns in Trinidad and Tobago evolved from a rich blend of African, Spanish, French, Indian, British influences, and maybe more. Even though language is also constantly evolving, when specific pronunciations are lost or altered, it can weaken the link to that shared history.
When we lose sight of what constitutes our culture, even in the proper pronunciation of a word, a toponym, we will eventually lose our sense of place. Loss of culture can lead to placelessness. Repeating the wrong thing over and over again for generations erases the truth over time. Sometimes falsehoods overshadow the truth, eventually becoming the truth. In essence, the maintenance of our culture must be a priority. The people in authority must cease from using the wrong pronunciations because hierarchical diffusion could impact the masses. This requires the education system to implement teaching mechanisms that will promote the correct pronunciations of our toponyms.