Country Egocentric Writing

The world is an open plan thanks to the internet, but habits die hard, especially writing. I use language and situations mainly understood by Canada, where my desk is and its twin sister, the U.S.

The two countries are not identical twins by any stretch of the imagination, although they have the same wide streets, automobiles, anchor stores that sell anything from baby food to guns and sports stadiums.

Sports. Pause right there. Boys in Canada grow up chasing pucks with hockey sticks, while in America, they look forward to the first baseball mitt or a basketball. Interest in basketball surged in Canada after Toronto Raptors, the only NBA basketball team in the country, won the 2019 championship.

I should explain what the NBA is and not assume the reader knows. That is what my profs at Columbia University drilled into me. They were right but like most bloggers, I’m country egocentric. Example.

I should explain why I’m mad at the federal government or a premier. Not all readers understand Canada’s system of government, but I just skate along, leaving them behind.

Fortunately, food puts a stop to writing that is country specific. I cannot claim that pizza, hot dog, hamburger, roti, spaghetti or pasta in general, is Canadian. These food items came from other countries. They are not as authentic as let’s say ramen in Japan or haggis in Scotland.

If I use perogies (pierogi) as an example in my writing, it’s because this food is sold in grocery stores in Manitoba, one of the Canadian provinces where first generation Ukrainians settled before the First World War.

Maybe I should go back to basics and avoid country egocentric writing, for the simple reason that readers are not in one country. They are in the air, online, so they might not know what I’m talking about. Example. During the pandemic, Canadians received CERB. See what I mean?

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.